^' -^^^^^ 




. y . ^ ' ' / -^ 















^ ^^ 















■^ r 



0.0- ^^^^ 




^ -^^^ 






>P ^.. 










--!:~<v 



-'^ ^^^ 



^0, X 



^^^^. 



;•■:%■■, 









' ,-.^*^% 



.V 



c^ 



■"oo^ 



^^^ V^ 



vOo 



^ < -^ o V -^ . ' 




N ■ ^^' 







f ^Z ^f€au^Ui^^o^ 



T ■ 



LAWS OF NEW YORK 



RELATING TO 



COMMON SCHOOLS, 



WITH 



COMMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS, 



AND 



A DIGEST OF DEOISIONS. 



PREPARED BY AND UNDER THE DIRECTION OP 

VICTOR M. RICE, 

SUPERINTENDENT OP PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 



.^ ;.Y OF CoT^ 



ALBANY : 

WEED, PARSONS AND COMPANY. 

1868. 



.-^ 



i^k 



THIS VOLTLVrE BELONGS TO THE LIBRAKY OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO 
WHICH IT IS SENT. IT IS TO BE KEPT, HOWEVEE, IN THE CUSTODY OF THE 
DISTRICT CLERK, AND DELI\\ERED BY HEVI TO ANY TAXABLE INHABITANT 
OR VOTER OF THE DISTRICT, TO BE RETAINED NOT EXCEEDING THREE DAYS ; 
EXCEPT THAT, WHEN ANY ANNUAL, SPECIAL OR ADJOURNED DISTRICT MEET- 
ING IS TO TAKE PLACE WITHIN FIVE DAYS, THIS BOOK IS NOT TO BE DE- 
LIVERED TO ANY INHABITANT, BUT MUST BE RETAINED BY THE CLERK AND 
PRODUCED BY HIM AT SUCH MEETING FOR CONSULTATION BY THE VOTERS. 

WHEN SENT TO ANY SCHOOL OFFICER, HE HOLDS THE SAME ONLY IN HIS 
OFFICIAL CAPACITY, AND MUST DELIVER IT, ON THE EXPIRATION OF HIS 
TERM, TO HIS SUCCESSOR IN OFFICE. 



PREFACE 



The Legislature of 1864 directed the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction to cause the school laws to be published, with com- 
ments, forms and instructions for the information and guidance 
bf school officers and the people generally, but no appropriation 
was made to pay the expense of their publication until April, 
1866. This omission on the part of the Legislature, with a desire 
on my part that these laws should be perfected in a few important 
details, and that all the schools should be free, before so con- 
Biderable an expense should be incurred for a work intended to 
be a permanent guide, has delayed their publication until this 
time. 

The act of 1864, in which the provisions of the school laws are 
classified under separate titles and articles, bringing together all 
those upon the same subject, was an improvement upon any 
former school act. This volume contains that act, as subsequently 
amended, in the same order of titles, articles and sections which 
it has in the statute book. The comments, explanations and forms 
will, therefore, be readily referred to and understood. An attempt 
has been made to compress them Avithin as brief a space as was 
consistent with full statement and clear illustration. It is hoped 



rv Preface. 

that the instructions and comments upon the duties of commis- 
sioners in relation to the formation and alteration of districts, 
the visitation of schools, the examination of teachers, and 
the apportionment of school moneys, will leave nothing to be 
explained. Great care has been taken to elucidate, for the benefit 
of trustees, the law touching the valuation of property, the assess- 
ment and collection of taxes, and the making out of tax lists and 
warrants. The several modes of acquiring title to school-house 
sites have been explained. The manner of makmg out the annual 
reports is fully illustrated. Appended to the special act for the 
taking of land for sites, page 243, is an instructive essay upon 
the history of our laws relating to real estate, and the origin and 
extent of the principle of eminent domain. 

Laws about the taxation of banking cor23orations, all the Normal 
school acts, and several other statutes affecting the common schools, 
are included in this volume. 

The digest of decisions of the Department of Public Instruction 
has been increased by many new cases. Obsolete decisions have 
been omitted. All have been collated and classified under appro- 
priate heads. A digest of the decisions of our Supreme Court 
and Court of Appeals, pertaining to the School Laws, has been 
added. 

An alphabetical list of all the laws relating to schools has been 
prejiared and inserted. 

A table of contents, with a concise abstract of every section of 
the School law, and a reference to the page where it may be 
found, precedes the act. 

An index, complete in its reference to every important matter 
contained in the volume, and not so minute as to be confusing and 
tedious to the examiner, concludes the volume. 



'yll> 



Preface. ▼ 

A. G. Johnson, Esq., has assisted in the preparation of this 

work. His familiarity with school laws and the history of th^e 

school policy of the State, and his legal ability, have enabled him 

thus to render to me and the public an important service, for 

which I desire to give him credit. 

V. M. R. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



GENERAL SCHOOL LAW, 



TITLE I. 

BECTION. PAGE. 

Of tlie Superintendent of Public Instruction, his election and his 

general powers and duties, 1 

1. Of the election of Superintendent and his term of office, 1 

2. Of the deputy superintendent, 2 

3. Office to be in State Hall, 3 

4. Of the salary of the Superintendent, 3 

5. Of the clerks and their compensation, 3 

6. Of the seal of office, and of the authentication of papers, 3 

7. Trustee, ex officio, of various institutions, 4 

8. Of his duties in relation to institution for deaf and dumb, 4 

9. Of the selection of pupils for institutions for deaf and dumb, and for 

the blind, 5 

10. Of the support of pupils in said institutions, 5 

11. Of forms and regulations for selecting pupils, 6 

12. Of visitors to examine common schools, 14 

13. Of his visitation of common schools, 15 

14. Of his annual report to the Legislature, 15 

15. Of granting certificates and licenses to teach, 15 

16. Of the annulmei^t of certificates, 16 

17. Of the record of certificates granted and annulled, 16 

18. Of the removal from office of school officers, 16 

19. Of preparing forms and blanks, and of issuing instructions for the 

business of the school officers, 18 

TITLE II. 

Of the school commissioners, their election, powers and duties, 18 

1. The office continued, 18 

2. Of the school commissioner districts, 18 

3. Of the election of school commissioners 18 



VIII , Contents. 

BECTION. PAOK. 

4. Of liis term of office and of vacancies, 19 

5. Of resignations and liow tlie office sliall be vacated, ' 20 

6. Of the fillinor of vacancies, 20 

7. Of liis salai^ from United States deposit fund, 20 

8. Of salary from board of supervisors, 20 

9. Of expenses, liow audited and paid, 20 

10. Of removal from office for cause, 21 

11. Of commissioner doing duty in adjoining district, 21 

12. Commissioner not to act as book agent, 21 

13. Of his general powers and duties, 22 

14. Of his taking affidavits and reporting testimony, 38 

15. Of his duties, subject to Superintendent of Public Instruction, 39 

TITLE III. 
Of the State and other school moneys, their apportionment and dis- 
tribution, and, herein, of trusts and gifts for the benefit of common 

schools, 40 

FIRST ARTICLE. 

Of the State school moneys, and their apportionment by the Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, and payment to the county and city 

treasurers, 40 

1. State tax of one and one-fourth mills, 40 

2. Tax for must be levied, 41 

3. Moneys, how paid in and drawn out 41 

4. Comptroller to withhold moneys from any county until tax is raised 

and paid over, 41 

5. What are State school moneys, 41 

6. Apportionment by State Superintendent, 42 

7. The district quotas, how apportioned, 43 

8. The two-thirds apportioned according to population, 45 

9. Apportionment to separate neighborhoods, 46 

10. Omissions, how corrected and made up, 46 

11. Excessive apportionment, how corrected, 46 

12. Deficiencies, how made good, 47 

13. Apportionment, to whom certified, 48 

14. Moneys, when payable, 48 

SECOND AUTICLE. 

Of trusts for the benefit of common schools, and of town school funds, 

fines, penalties, and other moneys held or given for their benefit, . . 48 

15. Property that may be granted, and to whom, 48 

16. Grants not void for want of a competent trustee, 48 

17. The control and regulation of trusts, 49 

18. Reports of condition of trusts, 49 

19. Supervisor's report of town funds, 49 



Contents. ix 

SECTION. PAGE. 

20. Supervisor's report of " poor money," 49 

21. Report of Superintendent of Public Instruction concerning trust funds, 50 

22. Fines and penalties, how paid, collected and reported, 50 

23. District attorneys' report of prosecutions, and of fines and penalties 

collected, 53 

24. Fines and penalties for districts, towns or cities, liow credited 53 

25. How credited wlien district lies in two or more towns, 53 

26. Penalty for embezzlement pf moneys by officers, 53 

THIRD ARTICLE. 

Of the apportionment of the State school moneys, and of other school 
moneys, by the school commissioners, and their payment to the 

supervisors, 54 

37, sub. 1. Library moneys set apart, 54 

" 2. District quotas, 54 

" 3. Unexpended moneys in hands of supervisors, 54 

" 4. Fines and penalties in hands of county treasurers, 54 

" 5. Library moneys to joint districts, 54 

" 6. Limitation applicable to last subdivision, 55 

" 7. Apportionment according to average attendance, 55 

" 8. Moneys set apart to districts and neighborhoods, 55 

" 9. Certificates of apportionment, how made, signed, and to wdiom 

transmitted, 55 

" 10. Certified statement to supervisors, 55 

28. Errors, how corrected, 62 

29. What districts forfeit apportionment, 62 

30. Super\'isors to make copy of certificate, and file original with town 

clerks, 62 

31. Supervisors to give bonds, 62 

32. Penalty for refusal to give bonds, 64 

TITLE IV. 
Of the disbursement of the school moneys by the supervisors, and of 

some of their special powers, duties and liabilities under this act, . . 64 

1. Supervisors have charge of gospel and school funds, .... 64 

2. Supervisors have custody of certain poor funds, 66 

3. Penalty for embezzlement, 67 

4. Supervisors' return to county treasurers, 68 

5. Penalty for neglect to make return, 68 

6. sub. 1. Supervisors to disburse library moneys and moneys applicable 

to teachers' wages, on written orders of trustees, 68 

" 2. Other library moneys, on similar orders, for books, maps, etc., 68 

" 3. Moneys for union free school district, ... 68 

" 4. A just and true account to be kept, 68 

" 5. Blank book for keeping accounts, 69 

II 



X Contexts. 

BDCTIOK. PAGE. 

6, sub. 6. To make final account within fiftoen days, . . 69 

" 7. When to demand moneys of predecessor, '. 69 

" 8. When to pay over moneys to successors, 69 

" 9. To sue for fines and penalties, 69 

" 10. To act in the alteration of school districts, 69 

TITLE V. 

Of the duties of the town clerk under this act, 72 

1, sul\ 1. Carefully to keep books, maps, etc., 73 

" 2. To file certificates of apportionment, 72 

" 3. To notify trustees of such filing, 72 

" 4. To obtain annual reports of trustees, and give to school com- 
missioners their names and post-office address, 72 

" 5. To distribute blanks and circulars, 72 

" 6. To record supervisor's annual account, 72 

" 7. To record supervisor's final account, 72 

" 8. To record certificate of treasurer that supervisor has executed 

bond, 72 

" 9. To record description of school districts, 73 

" 10. To act in alteration of school districts, 73 

" 11. To preserve books and records of dissolved districts, 73 

" 12. Other duties, 73 

2. His expenses a town charge, 73 

TITLE VI. 
Of the formation, dissolution and alteration of school districts and 

separate neighborhoods, 75 

1. sub. 1. School commissioners form districts, 75 

" 2. Set off joint districts, 75 

" 3. Set off separate neighborhoods 75 

" 4. Description and numbering of districts, 75 

" 5. To deliver description to town clerk, 75 

2. Alteration of districts with consent of trustees, 83 

3. Order, when trustees refuse their consent, 84 

4. Notice of such order to trustees, and request to supervisor and town 

clerk to be associated with commissioner, 84 

5. Pay for services of town clerk and super\'isor, 88 

6. Formation of districts out of parts of two or more school commissioners' 

districts, 88 

7. Joint meeting of commissioners, 89 

8. Kights of property of consolidated district, 89 

9. Sale of property of dissolved district, 89 

10. Debts due dissolved district, how collected, 91 

11. DissDlved district to be deemed in existence until all business affairs 

are settled 92 



Contents. , xi 

BBCTION. PAGE. 

12. Books, papers and vouchers of dissolved district to be deposited witli 

town clerk, 92 

TITLE VII. 
Of scliool district and neigliborliood meetings, and of the choice, 
duties and powers of school district and neighborhood officers, 92 

FIRST ARTICLE. 

Of school district and neighborhood meetings, the voters and their 

powers generally, 92 

1. Notice of formation of district, and calling of first meeting, 92 

2. Inhabitants, how notified, , 94 

3. Second notice, if there is failure to hold first, 95 

4. Commissioner may give notice of meeting, when all the officers have 

removed therefrom, 95 

5. Penalty for neglecting to serve notice, 95 

6. Special meetings, how called and noticed, ' 96 

7. Proceedings not illegal for want of notice to all the inhabitants entitled 

to vote, 96 

8. Annual neighborhood meetings to be held second Tuesday of October, 97 

9. Annual district meetings to be held second Tuesday of October, 97 

10. If annual meeting be not held, and if within twenty days a special 

meeting be not called, the supervisor or Superintendent of Public 
Instruction may call meeting, 97 

11. Duties of iiiliabitants to attend meeting, 98 

12. Qualifications of voters, 98 

13. Oath of person challenged, 102 

14. Penalty for taking false oath, 103 

15. Meetings in separate neighborhoods, 104 

16. sub. 1. Inhabitants in district meeting may appoint a chairman, 104 

" 2. May appoint clerk pro tempore, 104 

" 3. May adjourn from time to time, 104 

" 4. May choose one or three trustees, clerk, collector and librarian, 104 

" 5. May fix amount of collector's bond, 104 

" C. May designate site of school-house, 104 

" 7. May vote taxes to buy or lease sites to build and repair houses, 104 

" 8. May vote $25 a year to buy maps, etc., 104 

" 9. May vote $10 a year for district library, 104 

" 10. May vote tax to make up deficiency in former taxes, 105 

" 11. May authorize house to be insured, 105 

" 12. May alter, repeal or modify proceedings, 105 

" 13. May vote a tax to buy a book to record their proceedings, 105 

" 14. May vote taxes to replace moneys lost or embezzled, to pay 

reasonable costs, expenses of officers in suits or proceedings, 105 

" 15. May vote $25 to meet anticipated deficiencies, or wages of 

teachers, 105 



XII ^ Contents. 

SECTION. PAGE. 

16. sub. 16. May vote tax to pay teachers' wages, after the application of 

public money ; but if such tax is not voted the trustees may 

levy a tax for whatever is due, , . 118 

SECOND ARTICLE. 

Of district school-houses and sites, 121 

17. School-house must not be built upon division lines of towns, 121 

18. Tax for building, hiring or purchasing school-house exceeding- $1,000,. 121 

19. Tax for building may be raised by installments, 121 

20. Change of site, 123 

21. Sale of old site and disposal of proceeds, 123 

22. Proceeds of sale, how applied, 124 

THIRD ARTICLE. 

Of the qualification, election, choice and terms of office of district 

and neighborhood ofiicers, and of vacancies in such offices, 125 

23. Eligibility of district officers, 135 

34. Residence of officers, 135 

25. Terms of office, 125 

26. When terms shall expire, 126 

37. First annual meeting. Sole trustee, or three trustees, 126 

28. Notice to persons elected to office, 126 

29. Collector not giving bond vacates his office, 137 

30. Vacancy in office of trustees, how filled, 137 

31. Trustee refusing to serve, vacates his office, 137 

33. Trustees may fill vacancy in office of clerk, collector, or librarian, 127 

33. Appointments to fill vacancies, filing notice of, 128 

34. Penalties for refusal to serve, . 128 

35. Resignation accepted by supervisors, 128 

FOURTH ARTICLE. 

Of the duties of the neighborhood clerk, and of the district clerk 

and librarian, 129 

86. Record of proceedings of neighborhood 129 

S7. sub. 1. Clerk to record proceedings, 129 

2. Notice of meetings, . 129 

3. Notice in writing in case of adjournment for more than a month, 129 

4. Notice of annual meeting, 129 

5. Notice to persons appointed or elected to office, and post-office 
address of district officers, 129 

6. Notice of resignation to supervisors, 129 

7. Preservation of record and penalty for neglect, 129 

8. Books and papers of dissolved districts, 129 

9. To attend meetings of trustees, 130 

10. When to call special meetings, 130 

38. Librarian has charge of library, 130 



Contents. xiii 

g-ECTION. PAGE. 

FIFTH ARTICLE. 

Of the pupils and teachers, 131 

39. Common schools free. Non-residents, 131 

40. Indian children not admitted, 132 

41. Qualifications of teacher, 133 

42. School moneys cannot be paid to unqualified teacher 133 

43. Penalty for paying school moneys to unqualified teacher, 133 

44. Teachers must keep accounts and school lists, 133 

SIXTH ARTICLE, 

Of the trustees, their powers and duties ; and, herein, of school 

taxes, and annual reports, 134 

45. District property vested in trustees. 134 

46. Powers of a sole trustee, 134 

47. Board of trustees, how to act, 134 

48. Powers of trustees, when there is one and when two vacancies, 135 

49. sub. 1. Calling of special meetings, 135 

" 2. Notices of meetings, 135 

" 3. Making out tax lists, 136 

" 4. Annexing warrant to tax list, 136 

" 5. Purchasing of sites, and building ; leasing and hiring of school- 
houses, 136 

" 6, Custody of school property, 136 

" 7, Insurance of school property, 136 

" 8. Insurance of library, 136 

" 9. Employment of teachers, 136 

" 10. Payment of teachers, 136 

" 11. Division of school money for the terms of school, 137 

" 12. Library money less than $3, 137 

" 13. Orders on supervisors for school and library moneys, 137 

" 14. Tax for residue of teachers' wages, after the application of 

public moneys, 137 

50. Repairing school-house, abating nuisances, providing furniture, etc., 

and hiring temporary rooms, 146 

51. Taxes for expenses, or charges authorized by law, or by vote of the 

district, 147 

52. Use of school-house by persons assembling for education, learning, or 

music, 148 

53. Blank-books for accounts and for teachers' lists 148 

54. If supervisor do not pay over moneys apportioned to district, to give 

notice to county treasurer and to Superintendent Public Instruction, 150 

55. Account rendered to district meeting, 150 

66. Outgoing trustee to pay moneys to successor, 150 

67. Penalty for nsglect or refusal so to pay, If 

68. Penalty for willful neglect or refusal, 151 



xiY Contents, 

SECTION, PA&B. 

59. Suits for moneys in hands of former trustees, 151 

60. Annual report to school commissioner, 151 

61. What shall be included in annual reports, 153 

63. Reports of joint districts, 153 

63. Reports of separate neighborhood, 153 

64. Penalty for making false reports, 153 

SEVENTH ARTICLE. 

Of the assessment of district taxes, and the collection of such taxes ; 

and, herein, of the collector, his powers, duties and liabilities, 166 

65. Making out of tax lists, 166 

66. What property shall be included in tax list, 169 

67. Valuation, how ascertained, 178 

68. Proceedings when reduction is claimed, 180 

69. Equalization of property lying partly in two or more towns, 183 

70. Persons working land to be deemed possessors, 184 

71. Persons owning or holding property in a district, improving it by 

servant or agent, to be deemed taxable inhabitants, 185 

73. When tenants may charge owners of land with tax, 185 

73. When a man is exempt from tax for building school-house, 186 

74. Non-resident land, how assessed and taxed, 186 

75. If non-resident tax is unpaid, how returned, 187 

76. Trustees to transmit account to county treasurer, 189 

77. Treasurer to pay the amount, . 189 

78. Board of supervisors to impose tax on persons and property liable^ .... 193 

79. Person liable for tax, when he may pay, 190 

80. Proceedings of board of supervisors 1 90 

81. Warrant for collection of tax, 191 

82. Warrant, when to be delivered to collector, 193 

83. Collector's bond, 193 

84. Collector to receive payment for two weeks, 194 

85. Collector's jurisdiction, '. „ 195 

86. Renewal of warrant by trustees, 195 

87. Errors in tax list, how amended, 196 

88. Collector to have custody of moneys, and to report to annual meeting, 197 

89. Collector's liability, 198 

90. Remedy of trustees for forfeitures of bond, 198 

TITLE VIII. 

Of school district libraries and the application of library moneys, 199 

1. Districts may raise tax of $10, 199 

3. Library money, $55,000, how applied, 200 

3. When it may be used for purchasing apparatus, &c., 201 

4. When the district's share is less than $3, it may be used for teachers' 
203 



Contents. xv 

BBCTION. PAGE. 

5. Trustees to be in charge of library, 203 

6. Liability of trustees for lost books, 203 

7. Moneys and fines recovered, how applied, 203 

8. Adjoining districts may unite libraries, 203 

9. Agreement to unite, how terminated, 204 

10. Property, how distributed after dissolution of agreement, 204 

11. Regulations for libraries, 205 

12. Report by trustees to Superintendent of Public Instruction of the condi- 

tion of library, 210 

13. Penalty for neglecting or refusing to report, 210 

14. Superintendent may select books for district libraries at request of 

trustees, 211 

15. Repeal of act of April 12, 1856, 211 

TITLE IX. 
Of union free schools 211 

1. Petition to call meeting, 211 

2. Notices, how given and posted, 213 

3. Expenses, how paid, 213 

4. When trustees must call meeting, 213 

5. Organization of meeting and election of oflBcers, 214 

6. Board of education within the limits of incorporated city or village,. . . 216 

7. Powers of board, 216 

8. Tho raising of taxes, 217 

9. Duties of board in case corporate authorities refuse to provide for 

expenses, 217 

10. Powers of voters in districts not within corporate limits, 218 

11. Schools to be free, 219 

12. Union districts to be deemed school districts for the purposes of appor- 

tionment and distribution of school moneys, 219 

13. General powers of board of education in cities and villages, 219 

14. Powers of board in other districts, 220 

15. Statement in writing of moneys wanted, 221 

16. Vote to be taken on raising money, 221 

17. Disputed questions, how settled, 221 

18. Visitation of schools, 221 

19. Meetings of board, , 221 

20. Expenditures, how made by board 223 

21. Moneys, how to be kept and paid out in cities and villages 223 

33. Moneys, how to be kept and paid out in other districts, 223 

23. Academical departments, 223 

24. Academies may become departments in union free school districts, . . . 233 

25. Subject to visitation of Superintendent of Public Instruction 223 

23. Superintendent may remove members of board for cause, 224 

27. To what schools this title applicable, 224 



x^^i Contexts. 

OECTION. . ^^ 

TITLE X. 
Of gchools for colored children, 224 

1. Organized in cities, 224 

2. Organization in union school districts, 225 

3. Teachers of, 225 

4. Eepeal of g 147, chap. 480, Laws of 1847, 225 

TITLE XL 
Of teachers' institutes, 225 

1. How to he organized, 225 

2. Notice of holding institute, 225 

8. Advice of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 225 

4. Regalations to govern, 226 

5. Time of teachers attending to he allowed, . 226 

6. Expenses of institute, how paid, 227 

7. School commissioner's report of holding, 227 

TITLE XII. 

Of appeals to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 229 

1. On what grounds appeals may be brought, 229 

2. Powers of Superintendent, 229 

3. Record of appeals and rules for, 229 

TITLE XIII. 
Miscellaneous provisions, 234 

1. Lost school moneys, how recovered, ...... 284 

2. Penalties, how sued for, 234 

3. Penalty ff)r disturbing school and district meetings, 234 

4. Complaint of and trial for, 235 

5. Punishment of persons found guilty, 235 

6. Actions against school officers, 235 

7. Costs and expenses of school officers, 236 

8. Meetings to vote payments of costs, charges and expenses, 236 

9. Appeal to county judge, 236 

10. Duty of county judge, 287 

11. Trustees to levy tax for amount ordered to be paid, 237 

12. Support of Indian schools, 288 

13. Publiciition of school laws, 289 

14. General repealing clause, 239 

Rate bills abolished. Section 26, chap. 406, Laws of 1867, 240 

School tax of one and one-fourth mills upon the dollar. Section 23, chap. 

408, Laws of 1867, 240 

Directions about city taxation for local purposes. S^iction 27, chap. 406, 

Laws of 1867 242 



STATUTES RELATING TO COMMON SCHOOLS. 



CHAP. 555. 



AN ACT to revise and consolidate the General Acts relating to 
Public Instruction, as amended by subsequent statutes. 

Passed May 2, 1864, three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of NewYorh^ represetited in Senate and 
Assembly^ do enact as follows: 

TITLE I. 

OF THE supeeintks'de:n^t of public insteuctiox, his election 

AND GENEEAL POWEES AND DUTIES. 

Section 1. The office of State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion is continued, and the term of said office shall be three years, 
commencing on a day after an election thereto, and continuing 
until a successor shall have been duly elected. Such Superintend- 
ent shall be elected by joint ballot of the Senate and Assembly, on 
the first Tuesday of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
five, and on the first Tuesday of April next after the occurrence 
of any vacancy in the office. 

The first section of the " act for the establishment of common schools," passed 
June 19, 1813, provided for the appointment of an ofiicer, to be styled the 
Superintendent of Common Schools, with a salary of $300 a year. On the 14th 
of January, 1813, the Council of Appointment appointed Gideon Hawley, of 
Saratoga county. Superintendent of Common Schools. He held the office until 
February 22, 1821, when Welcome Esleeck, of Albany, was appointed. But the 
Legislature, by a clause in the supply bill, April 3, 1821, abolished the offke, 
and devolved its duties upon the Secretary of State, which officer continued to 
be, ex officio, Superintendent of Common Schools until April 4, 1854, when the 



2 SUPEEINTENDENT OF PuBLIC INSTRUCTION. 

first Superintendent of Public Instruction was elected, under tlie act of March 
30, 1854. 

The office was administered by John Van Ness Yates from' April 3, 1821» 
until February 14, 1826, he having been re-appointed by the Legislature, under 
the Constitution of 1821, on the 13th February, 1823. He was superseded Feb 
ruary 14, 1826, by Azariah C. Flagg. 

Azariah C. Flagg administered the office until February 1, 1833 ; John A. Dix 
administered the office until February 4, 1839 ; John C. Spencer administered 
the office until October 11, 1841 ; Samuel S. Randall, deputy, administered the 
office until February 7, 1842; Samuel Young administered the office until 
February 3, 1845 ; Nathaniel S. Benton administered the office until December 
31, 1847 ; Christopher Morgan administered the office until December 31, 1851 ; 
Henry S. Randall administered the office until December 31, 1853 ; Elias W. 
Leavenworth administered the office until April 8, 1854 ; Victor M. Rice, Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction, administered the office until April 7, 1857 ; 
Henry H. Van Dyck, Superintendent of Public Instruction, administered the 
office iintil April 19, 1861 ; Emerson W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, administered the office until February 1, 1863. Victor M. 
Rice was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction February 1, 1862, and 
re-elected April 4, 1865. 

§ 2. He shall apj)oint a deputy ; and, in case of a vacancy in the 
office of Superintendent, the deputy may perform all the duties of 
the office until the day after the day hereinbefore fixed for an 
election by the Senate and Assembly. In case the office of both 
Superintendent and deputy shall be vacant, the Governor sliall ap- 
point some person to fill the office, until the Superintendent shall 
be elected and assume it. 

The business of the Superintendent of Common Schools was done by that 
officer without an assistant or clerk, until the duties were imposed upon 
the Secretary of State. After that time the work was chiefly performed by 
a clerk. In 1841 the Legislature authorized the appointment of a general 
deputy superintendent of common schools, and Samuel S. Randall, who, as 
clerk under Mr. Dix, had for many years had charge of the school department, 
was sworn in as general deputy, July 12, by John C. Spencer. He acted as 
Superintendent from October 11, 1841, until February 7, 1842, Mr. Spencer 
having resigned his office and accepted from President John Tyler the position 
of Secretary of War. He continued in the office as deputy until October 1, 
1846, when Samuel L. Holmes was appointed in his place. Alexander G. John- 
son was appointed in place of Mr. Holmes, February 1, 1848. On the 8th De- 
cember, 1849, Mr. Johnson having been made deputy secretary of state, Mr. S. 
S. Randall again became deputy superintendent. January 1, 1852, Henry W. 
Johnson was appointed in place of Mr. Randall, who was again appointed Jan- 
uary 2, 1854, and held the office until the Department of Public Instruction was 



Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 3 

created, and Mr. Rice assumed the office, April 8, 1854. He was appointed 
deputy superintendent of public instruction by Mr. Rice, and served until lie 
accepted the office of superintendent of common schools, in the city of New 
York. Joseph J. Chambers was appointed in his place, June 14, 1854, but was 
succeeded by Erasmus Peshine Smith, December 26, 1854. Mr, Smith was 
succeeded by Emerson W. Keyes, who held the office until August 19, 1865, 
when Samuel D. Barr was appointed in his place. 

§ 3. The Superintendent's office shall continue to be in the State 
Hall, and maintained at the expense of the State. 

§ 4. His salary shall be two thousand five hundred dollars a 
year, payable quarterly, by the Treasurer, on the warrant of the 
Comptroller. 

§ 5. He may appoint so many clerks as he may deem neces- 
sary ; but the compensation of such clerks shall not exceed in the 
aggregate the sum of five thousand dollars in any one year, and 
shall be payable monthly by the Treasurer, on the warrant of the 
Comptroller and the certificate of the Superintendent.* 

§ 6. The seal of the Superintendent, of which a description and 
impression are now on file in the office of the Secretary of State, 
shall continue to be his official seal, and, when necessary, may be 
renewed from time to time. Copies of all papers deposited or filed 
in the Superintendent's office, and of all acts, orders and decisions 
made by him, and of the drafts or machine copies of his official 
letters, may be authenticated under the said seal, and, when so 
authenticated, shall be evidence equally with and in like manner 
as the originals. 

Chapter 129 of the Laws of 1838 provides that no " record, whereof a tran- 
script duly certified may by law be read in evidence, shall be removed by vir- 
tue of any subpoena duces tecum from the proper office in which such record 
shall be kept, * * * * imless by order of some court of record, 
made in open court, and entered in the minutes thereof, which order shall specify 
that the production of such record instead of such transcript is necessary." 

The Revised Statutes, section 74, title 3, chapter 7, part 3, provide that 
" whenever a certified copy of any affidavit, record, document, or other paper is 
declared by law to be evidence, such copy shall be certified, by the clerk or officer 
in whose custody the same is required by law to be, to have been compared by 
him with the original, and to be a correct transcript therefrom and of the whole 
of such original ; and, if such officer have any official seal by law. such certificate 
shall be attested by such seal." The 76th section of the same title provides 

* As amended by chapter 520, Laws of 1866. 



4 Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 

that " in all cases, wliere the seal of any court or of any public oflBcer shall be 
authorized or required by law, the same may be affixed by making ^n impression 
directly on the paper, which shall be as valid as if made on a wafer or on wax." 

§ 7. The Superintendent shall be, ex officio^ a trustee of the 
People's college, and of the New York State asylum for idiots, 
a Regent of the University of the State of New York, and chair- 
man of the executive committee of the State normal school ; he 
shall have the general supervision of the training school for pri- 
mary teachers in the city of Oswego, with the powers conferred 
upon him by chapter four hundred and eighteen of the Laws of 
eighteen hundred and sixty-three ; and he shall provide for the 
education of the Indian children of the State, as required by chap- 
ter seventy-one of the Laws of eighteen hundred and fifty-six. 

He is also a trustee of the Cornell university, established at Ithaca, and 
incorporated by chapter 585, Laws of 1865. 

He has also the general supervision of the four normal schools established 
at Fredonia, Brockport, Cortland and Potsdam, by virtue of chapter 466, Laws 
of 1866 ; and of the similar schools authorized at Geneseo, by chapter 195, and 
at Buffalo, by chapter 583, Laws of 1867. 

§ 8. The institution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, 
the New York institution for the blind, and all other similar insti- 
tutions, incorporated, or that may be hereafter incorporated, shall 
be subject to the visitation of the Superintendent of Public Listruc- 
tion, and it shall be his duty : 

1. To inquire, from time to time, into the expenditures of each 
institution, and the systems of instruction pursued therein, respect- 
ively ; 

2. To visit and inspect the schools belonging thereto, and the 
lodgings and accommodations of the pupils ; 

3. To ascertain, by a comparison with other similar institutions, 
w^hether any improvements in instruction and discipline can be 
made ; and for that purpose to appoint, from time to time, suita- 
ble persons to visit the schools ; 

4. To suggest to the directors of such institutions, and to the 
Legislature, such improvements as he shall judge expedient ; 

5. To make an annual report to the Legislature on all the mat- 
ters before enumerated, and particularly as to the condition of the 
schools, the improvement of the pupils, and their treatment in re- 
spect to board and lodging. 



Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 5 

§ 9. Every indigent person, resident in this State, between 
twelve and twenty-five years of age, whose parent or parents, or, if 
an orphan, whose nearest friend, shall have been resident in this 
State for the three years preceding, and who may make applica- 
tion for that purpose, shall be received, if deaf and dumb, into the 
institution for the deaf and dumb; and, if blind, into the New 
York institution for the blind, provided his or her application be 
approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and in 
those cases where, in his opinion, absolute indigence is not estab- 
lished, he may approve of such application, and, at the same time, 
may impose conditions, whereby some proportionate share of the 
expense of educating and clothing such pupils shall be paid into 
the treasury, by their parents, guardians or friends, in such way 
and manner, and at such time or times, as he shall designate, 
which conditions he may subsequently modify as he shall deem 
expedient. 

§ 10. Each pupil so received into either of the institutions afore- 
said shall be provided with board, lodging and tuition ; and the 
directors of the institution shall receive for each pupil so provided 
for, the sum of * dollars per annum, in quarterly payments, 

to be paid by the Treasurer of the State, on the warrant of the 
Comptroller, to the treasurer of said institution, on his presenting 
a bill showing the actual time and number of such pupils attend- 
ing the institution, and which bill shall be signed by the president 
and secretary of the institution, and verified by their oaths. The 
regular term of instruction for such pupils shall be five years ;t but 
the Superintendent of Public Instruction may, in his discretion, 
extend the term of any pupil for a period not exceeding three 
years. The pupils provided for in this and the preceding section 
of this title shall be designated State pupils ; and all the existing 
provisions of law applicable to State pupils now in said institu- 
tions shall apply to pupils herein provided for. 

* Prior to 1822 the yearly allowance was $130, but was then increased to $150. 

t Chapter 244, Laws of 1838, had authorized an extension of two years. Section 3 of chap- 
ter 272, Laws of 1854, authorizes an extension of three years beyond the full term of eight 
years, as follows : " § 3. It shall be lawful for the Superintendent of Public Instruction to 
continue at the said institution, for a period not exceeding three years, for the purpose of 
pursuing a course of studies in the higher branches of learning, such pupils, not exceeding 
twelve in number, as may have completed their full term of instruction, and who may be 
recommended by the directors of the institution." 

The twelve pupils thus selected are known as the " high class." 



6 Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 

§ 11. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may make such 
regulations and give such directions to parents and guardians, in 
relation to the admission of pupils into either of the above named 
institutions, as will prevent pupils entering the same at irregular 
periods. 

(1.) Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. — The institution for the instruc- 
tion of the deaf and dumb was incorporated by chapter 264, Laws of 1817, 
passed April 17. By chapter 338, Laws of 1819, passed April 13, it received 
from tlie State $10,000, and by chapter 250, Laws of 1821, passed April 3, 
$2,500. By chapter 234, Laws of 1822, passed April 16, provision was made 
for the selection of thirty-two indigent deaf and dumb pupils, between the ages 
of ten and twenty-five years (four from each of the eight Senate districts), on 
the certificate of the overseers of the poor, to be supported at the expense of 
the State at $150 a year each. The supervisors of each county were also 
authorized to send additional pupils, one for each member of Assembly, at $150 
a year, to be levied and collected in the same manner as moneys raised by the 
sixth section of the act for support of common schools. 

The first section of chapter 97, Laws of 1827, passed March 23, appropriated 
$10,000 for the purchase of a site and the erection of a building. The money 
was not to be paid until the Superintendent of Common Schools should approve 
the price of the ground and the plan of the buildings. The second section of 
the act subjected the institution to the supervision and visitation of the Super- 
intendent of Common Schools, in terms nearly the same as the present law, and 
providing that no money should be paid for the support of pupils, until the 
directors of the institution had filed in the office of the Secretary of State their 
assent to the provisions of the second section of the act, and their " consent at 
all times to permit the inspection and inquiries herein directed." 

The consent was given in the follomng terms, and filed in the Secretary's 
office April 25, 1827: 

Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, ) 
City of New York. ) 

Whereas, the Legislature of the State of New York did, on the 23d day 
of March, 1827, pass an act entitled "An act to provide for the building an 
asylum for the deaf and dumb in the city of New York," and, whereas, the 
second section of the said act is in the words following, to wit : 

" And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Superintendent 
of Common Schools, from time to time, to inquire into the expenditures of the 
said institution and the system of instruction pursued therein, to visit and 
inspect the schools and the lodging of the pupils, to ascertain, by a comparison 
with other similar institutions, whether any improvements can be made, and 
for that purpose appoint such and so many persons, as he shall from time to 
time deem necessary, visitors of the said schools, to suggest to the directors 



Powers AND Duties op Superintendent. 7 

and the Legislature such improvements as he shall deem expedient, and to 
report annually to the Legislature, on all the matters aforesaid, and particu- 
larly the condition of the schools, the improvement of the pupils, and their 
treatment in respect to their board and lodging. And that no money shall he 
paid out of the treasury, pursuant to this act, until the directors of the institu- 
tion for the deaf and dumb in the city of New York shall have filed their 
assent to the provisions of this section, under their corporate seal, in the office 
of the Secretary of State, and shall thereby consent at all times to submit to 
the inspection and inquiries herein directed." 

Now, therefore, be it known, that the directors of the said institution have 
assented, and by these presents do assent, to the provisions of the second sec- 
tion of the aforesaid act, and have accordingly directed the same to be signed 
by the president of the institution, and sealed with their seal, and the same to 
go into operation when the asylum is built. 

Done and subscribed in the city of New York this twenty-tliird day 

[L. s.] of April, 1837. 

SAMUEL L. MITCHILL, 

President. 

Attest: 

Samuel Akerly, Secretary. 

By chapter 170, Laws of 1830, three additional pupils from each of the eight 
Senate districts were to be selected ; by chapter 109, Laws of 1833, five addi- 
tional pupils from each district ; by chapter 238, Laws of 1838, three additional 
pupils from each Senate district ; by chapter 174, Laws of 1840, one additional 
pupil from each district ; by chapter 14, Laws of 1845, four additional from 
each district ; by chapter 97, Laws of 1852, one additional from each of the 
thirty-two Senatorial districts ; by chapter 373, Laws of 1854, page 595, every 
indigent deaf and dumb pei-son in the State could be received into the institu- 
tion on conditions which have been since continued, and are substantially 
retained in sections eight, nine, ten and eleven of this title. 

The following two sections of chapter 333, Laws of 1833, are still in force : 

^ 1. It shall be the duty of the overseers of the poor in each town to furnish 
the Superintendent of [Public Instruction] with a list of the deaf and dumb 
persons in their respective towns, so far as they can ascertain them, with such 
particulars in relation to the condition of each as shall be prescribed by the 
Superintendent. 

§ 3. From the list thus obtained the Superintendent may select, as State 
pupils, such as are properly embraced within the provisions of existing laws, 
and make such regulations, and give such directions to parents and guar- 
dians, in relation to the admission of pupils, at stated periods, as will remove 
the inconvenience of having pupils of the same class entering the school at 
different periods. 

By chapter 335, Laws of 1863, page 546, passed April 25, provision was 
made for the instruction of deaf mutes between the ages of six and twelve 
years, as follows : 



8 Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 

§ 1. Whenever a deaf mute child, under the age of twelve years, shall 
become a charge for its maintenance on any of the towns or counties of this 
State, or shall be liable to become such charge, it shall be the duty of the over- 
seers of the poor of such town, or of the supervisors of such county, to place 
such child in the New York institution for the deaf and dumb. 

§ 2. Any parent, guardian or friend of a deaf mute child within this State, 
over the age of six years, and under the age of twelve years, may make appli- 
cation to the overseers of the poor of any town, or to any supervisor of the 
county where such child may be, showing, by satisfactory affidavit, or other 
proof, that the health, morals or comfort of such child may be endangered, or 
not properly cared for ; and thereupon it shall be the duty of such overseer or 
supervisor, if satisfied that the parents or natural protectors of such child are, 
or said child is, in indigent circumstances, to place such child in the New 
York institution for the deaf and dumb. 

§ 3. The children placed in said institution, in pursuance of the foregoing 
sections, shall be maintained therein at the expense of the county from whence 
they came, provided that such expense shall not exceed one hundred and fifty 
dollars each per year, until they attain the age of twelve years, unless the di- 
rectors of said institution shall find, as to any such child, that it is not a proper 
subject to remain in said institution. 

§ 4. The expenses for the board, tuition and clothing for such deaf mute 
children, placed as aforesaid in said institution, not exceeding the amount of 
one hundred and fifty dollars per year, above allowed, shall be raised and col- 
lected as are other expenses for the support of the poor of the county from 
which such children shall be received ; and the bills therefor, properly authen- 
ticated by the principal, or one of the officers of said institution, shall be paid 
to said institution by the said county ; and its county treasurer or chamberlain, 
as the case may be, is hereby directed to pay the same on presentation, so that 
the amount thereof may be borne by the proper county. 

In pursuance of section eleven the Superintendent has prescribed the follow- 
ing questions to parents and guardians of deaf mutes : 

In the case of each pupil admitted into the New York institution for the in- 
struction of the deaf and dumb, it is desirable to obtain answers to the following 
questions. The information asked for is designed, in part, to aid in reseaxches 
into the causes of deafness, but mainly for the benefit or information of the 
pupil himself. The answers should be written on the blank spaces, and the 
paper returned to this office without delay. Particular attention to this subject 
is required. 

1. What is the name and age of the deaf mute? If he has a middle name, 
it should be given in full. Add the place, and the day, month and year of 
birth. 

2. Was he born deaf? and if so, was there any cause which is supposed to 
have operated before birth ? If not, at what age did he lose his hearing ? and 
by what disease or accident ? Mention his place of residence at the time of the 
loss of hearinsf. 



PowEKS AND Duties of Superintendent. 9 

3. Was liis place of birth, or of residence at the time of the loss of hearing, 
reputed to be healthy or unhealthy ? and if unhealthy, for what reasons ? Was 
the dwelling of the family at that time comfortable or uncomfortable ? e. g., 
was it in a basement, in an unfinished house, in rooms with unplastered walls, 
or the like ? Was its situation low and damp, or otherwise ? Was the deaf 
cliild more exposed to cold and dampness than the other children not deaf? 

4. Is the deafness total or partial ? If the latter, what is the degree of hear- 
ing ? e. g., can he distinguish words uttered in a raised voice ? or hear the 
human voice at all? 

5. Have any attempts been made to remove the deafness ? and if so, what are 
the results ? 

6. Is there any, and if any, what degree, of ability to articulate, and to dis- 
tinguish words by the motions of the lips ? 

7. Have any attempts been made to communicate instruction? Has the 
deaf mute learned to write after a copy ? Does he know the meaning of any 
written words ? Has he acquired any art or trade, or been accustomed to steady 
employment ? 

8. How, and to what extent, can the family and intimate friends communicate 
with the deaf mute ? 

9. Does he show any signs of idiocy? Is he afflicted with palsy, nervous 
trembling, malformation of the limbs, defective vision, or similar bodily 
infirmities ? 

10. Has the deaf mute had the small pox, or been vaccinated ? Has he had 
the scarlet fever, measles, mumps, or whooping cough ? 

11. Are there any other cases of deafness in the same family ? And are there 
any kno-s\ii cases of deafness among the ancestors, or the collateral branches 
of kindred ? In each case give the name, degree of relationship, age, if living 
(if not, the age at death, and cause of death, if known), whether educated or 
not, and if adults, whether married and parents or not. 

12. Have there been any eases of blindness, idiocy or insanity in the same 
family, or among the near connections ? If so, give the particulars. 

13. What are the names, ages, place of nativity and present residence, occu- 
pation and state of health of the parents ? Give the Christian name of each 
parent, and the mother's maiden name. 

14. Give the name and most convenient post-office of the person who Mall 
correspond with the deaf mute, or with the officers of the institution in his 
behalf. 

15. Is either of the parents dead ? Has either been married more than once ? 
If so, to whom ? 

16. Was there any relationship between the parents before marriage ? e. g., 
were they cousins ? 

17. Give the names of all their children (the deaf mute included) in the order 
of their ages, distinguishing those who were the children of another marriage, 
and noting which, if any, are dead or married. If any are married, state to 
whom. 

2 



10 Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 

Form of Certificate to he made hy Overseer of the Poor. 

The undersigned, overseer of the poor of the town of ' , in the county 
of , do hereby certify that , of said town, is deaf and 

dumb. The said was years of age on the day of , 

186 , is of good moral character, free from disease, and possesses intellectual 
faculties capable of instruction. 

The names of the parents of the said are , 

and the said ha not sufficient pecuniary ability to pay for the 

board, tuition or clothing* of said at the New York institution for 

the instruction of the deaf and dumb ; and I would recommend 
to the favorable consideration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Dated 186 

Overseer of the Poor of the Town of 
To the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Albany. 

Circumstances of Parent or Guardian : 



Circular to Supervisors. 

IirSTITUTIOIf FOR THE DeAF AND DUMB. 

Superintendent's Office, J 

Department of Public Instruction, >• 
Albany, , 186 . ) 

To the Board of Supervisors of the Countij of 

By provision of an act of the Legislature in relation to the New York insti- 
tution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, passed April 25, 1864 (chapter 
386), " the supervisors of any county in this State, from which county pupils 
may be selected, whose parents or guardians are unable to furnish them with 
suitable clothing, are authorized and required to raise in each year for this 
purpose, for each such pupil from said county, the sum of thirty dollars."f 

* The overseers are requested to state whether the parent or guardian has any real or 
personal property, liable to taxation, and if any, the value ; what is the occupation and the 
probable yearly income of the parent, and whether, in the opinion of the overseers, the 
parent or guardian is unable to provide clothing for the pupil. If the circumstances of the 
parent or guardian are such that they could clothe a child in possession of all its faculties, 
it is difficult for the department to understand why they cannot provide clothing for it 
equally well now that misfortune has befallen it, especially as the State proposes to assume 
the burden of its board and tuition. It must be remembered that, if the parents are shown 
to be unable to provide clothing, this then becomes a county charge. The State does not 
furnish clothing. 

t Chapter 244, Laws of 1838, page 233, passed April 18, required the sum of $20 to be 
raised. 



Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 11 

A certificate has been produced to me, signed by 
overseer of the poor, that , of , in your county, is a proper 

candidate for selection as a State pupil at the New York institution for the 
instruction of the deaf and dumb, and that parents are unable to pay 

for board and tuition or to clothe at the institution. ha been 

selected by me for admission into the said institution for the term of 
years from , 186 . It will, therefore, be your duty, under the act 

aforesaid, at your next annual meeting, to raise the sum necessary to pay for 
clothing. As the law limits the amount to $30, the institution will pro- 
vide clothing for that sum, although it is obviously inadequate. You will, 
therefore, raise the sum during each year for which the pupil has been selected. 
If is dismissed, due notice will be given. 

I will thank your clerk for a copy of the resolution of your board on this 
subject. 

The principal of the institution will draw on your county treasurer, some 
time after the month of February, in each year, for the amount so raised. 
Your obedient servant. 

Superintendent of Public Instrtiction. 

(3.) Institution for the Blind, — This institution was incorporated by 
chapter 214, Laws of 1831. Chapter 316, Laws of 1834, passed May 6, author- 
ized it to receive, from each of the eight Senate districts, four indigent pupils, 
between eight and twenty-five years of age, on the same terms as the institu- 
tion for the deaf and dumb, during a period not exceeding five years, to be 
supported, educated and instructed in some useful trade. 

Chapter 226, Laws of 1836, page 293, passed April 30, as amended by chapter 
399 of the same year, page 593, appropriated $12,000 to procure a site and erect 
buildings on condition that $8,0€0 should be raised in New York for the same 
purpose. The managers were required annually, February 1, to make, under 
catli, to the Legislature, a report of their proceedings, and of the disposition of 
the moneys j)aid to them from the treasury of the State. Provision was also 
made for four additional pupils from each Senate district. By chapter 200, 
Laws of 1839, page 171, passed April 18, eight additional pupils were to be 
admitted, and $15,000 were appropriated to coniplete the buildings. The com- 
missioners of common schools were required to apportion school money to the 
institution according to the number of pupils, without regard to their iage. An 
extension of the term of any pupil could be granted with the approbation of the 
Superintendent of Common Schools, and the institution was subjected to the 
visitation and inspection of the Superintendent. By chapter 333,*Laws of 1852, 
page 496, passed April 16, the institution was permitted to receive four indi- 
gent pupils from each of the thirty-two Senate districts. By the last act, also, 
the charter was continued in force without limitation of time. By chapter 539, 
Laws of 1855, page 1018, passed April 14, provision was made for the reception 
into the institution of every indigent blind person in the State, between the ages 
of twelve and twenty-five years, whose parent or parents, or, if an orphan, whose 



12 Powers and Duties of Supeeintexdent. 

nearest friend, sliall have been a resident in this State, and who may make 
application for that piirpose, there to be instructed in literary or school educa- 
tion, and in some trade or employment, now or hereafter to be taught and 
carried on in said institution, provided his or her application be first approved 
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Chapter 200, section 5, Laws of 1839, also provided that " the supervisors 
of any county in this State (from which State pupils may be sent and received 
into said institution, whose parents or guardians are unable to furnish them 
with suitable clothing) are hereby authorized and required, while such pupils 
are under instruction, to raise a sum of money for this purpose, not exceeding 
twenty dollars in any one year, for each pupil from said county," 

By chapter 351, section 1, Laws of 1862, page 563, passed April 19, the sum 
to be annually paid was raised to $30. It was also provided that if the money 
should not be paid for six months after the annual meeting of the supervisors 
of any county, the sum unpaid should, from the end of that time, bear interest 
at the rate of seven per cent. If county paupers are sent to said institution, 
the supervisors are also required to raise and pay to the order of the Comp- 
troller a sum equal to that which the county would have to pay for the sup- 
port and clothing of such pupils at home. 

Section two of said act also provided that "the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction is hereby authorized to visit and inspect the Xew York institution 
for the blind, in all its departments, to report to the Legislature such matters 
and things as he may deem necessary, and in the selection and appointment of 
pupils he may, in those cases where, in his opinion, absolute indigence is not 
established, require and impose conditions, whereby some proportionate share 
of the expenses of educating and clothing such pupils shall be paid by their 
parents or guardians, in such way, manner and time as he may designate." 

Form of Certificate to he made hy Overseers of the Poor. 

State of New York: 

The undersigned, overseers of the poor of the town of , in the 

county of , do hereby certify that , of the said town, is blind, that 

was years of age on the day of , 18 ; moral 

character is good, and is free from disease other than that of the eyes, and 

that possesses mental and physical faculties capable of instruction. 

The names of parents are , who reside in the town 

of , and have not sufficient pecuniary ability to pay for the board or 

tuition of the said at the Xew York institution for the blind. 

We do recoramend to the favorable consideration of the Superintendent of 

Public Instruction. We do further certify that we have good evidence that 

the answers to the following questions are correct. 

Ques. 1. — Is the blindness of applicant temporary or permanent ? Ans. — 
Qv^es. 2. — Was born blind ? A'os. — ^^ 

Ques. 3. — Were both or either of parents blind ? and which, and how 

long ? Ans. — 



Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 13 

Ques. 4. — Were the parents related before marriage ? and wliat was that 
relationsliip ? A ns. — 

Ques. 5. What other causes of blindness have occurred in the families of the 
parents ? Ans.^ 

Ques. 6. — Has the applicant any blind brothers, sisters or cousins ? Ans. — 

Ques. 7. — Was the blindness of applicant caused by accident ? If so, describe 
when and how it occurred. Ans. — 

Ques. 8. — Was the blindness caused by disease ? if so, describe it and any 
operation on the eyes. Ans. — 

Qu^s. 9. — What are the pecuniary circumstances of the parents or guar- 
dian?* Ans. — 

Dated this day of , 18 . Town of , County 

of 

> Overseer of the Poor. 

To the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Albany, K. Y. 

Circular to Boards of Supervisors. 
Institution for the Blind, State of New York. 

Superintendent's Office, 
Department of Public Instruction, 
Albany, 186 . 

To the Board of Supervisors of the County of 

By the existing provisions of law, the supervisors of any county from which 
State pupils may be selected for admission to the New York institution for the 
are required to raise a sum of money annually, for the purpose 
of providing suitable clothing for any such pupil whose parents or guardians 
are unable to furnish it ; but such sum is not to exceed, for each pupil, $30. 
Chapter 351, Laws of 1862. 

A certificate has been produced to me, signed by » 

that , of , in your county, is a proper candidate 

for selection as a State pupil at the institution for the , and that 

parents are unable to pay for board and tuition, or to clothe at the 

institution. ha been selected by me for admission into the said 

* Upon this poiut the overseers are requested to state whether the parent or guardian has 
any real or personal property liable to taxation, and if any, the value ; what is the occupa- 
tion and the probable yearly income of the parent, and whether, in the opinion of the over- 
seers, the ]jarent or guardian is unable to provide clothing for the pupil. If the circum- 
stances of the parent or guardian are such that they could clothe a seeing child, it is diffi- 
cult for the department to understand why they cannot provide clothing for it equally well 
now that misfortune has befallen it, especially as the State proposes to assume the burden 
of its board and tuition. It must be remembered, that if the parents are shown to be 
unable to provide clothing, this then becomes a county charge. The State does not furnish 
clothing. 



14 Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 

institution for tlie term of years, from 186 . It will, therefore, 

be your duty, under the act aforesaid, at your next annual m.eeting, to raise the 
sum necessary to pay for clothing. As the law limits the amount to $30, 

the institution will provide clothing for that sum, although obviously inade- 
quate. You will, therefore, raise the sum dviring each year, for which the 
pupil selected. If dismissed, due notice will be given. 

The principal of the institution will draw on your county treasurer, some 
time after the month of February, in each year, for the amount so raised. 
Your obedient servant. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction 



ON, y 



Certificate of Selection of Deaf and Diimh and Blind Pupils. 
State of New Yobk. 

Superintendent's Office, 
Department of Public Instruction, 

Albamj, , 186 

Dear Sir : I have this day selected , of , county 

of , aged years (parents P. 0., 

), as a State pupil in the New York institution for the 
for the term of years from the day of 186 ; to be 

educated and supported therein during that period, at the expense of the State. 
Clothing will be furnished by the " . 

Respectfully yours. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
I 

§ 12. The Superintendent may, in his discretion, appoint persons 
to visit and examine all or any of the common schools in the 
county wherein such persons reside, and to report to him all such 
matters respecting their condition and management, and the means 
of improving them, as he shall prescribe ; but no allowance or 
compensation shall be made to such visitors for their services 
or expenses. 

This section is copied from section 8, chapter 330, Laws of 1839. Soon after 
its passage visitors were appointed in all the counties of the State. The visitors 
did not generally enter upon the work. Of the 10,700 school districts in the 
State at that time, only 1,865 were visited. From twenty-three counties no 
reports were received. The Superintendent of Common Schools sent to the 
fjegislature, April 13, 1840, an abstract of the reports received by him, which 



Powers and Duties of Superintendent. 15 

were published in Assembly Document No. 307. The power vested in the 
Superintendent by this section has not since been exercised. 

§ 13. So often as he can, consistently with his other duties, he 
shall visit such of the common schools of the State as he shall see 
fit, and inquire into their course of instruction, management and 
discipline, and advise and encourage the puj^ils, teachers and offi- 
cers thereof. 

§ 14. He shall submit to the Legislature an annual report, con- 
taining : 

1. A statement of the condition of the common schools of the 
State, and of all other schools and institutions under his supervis- 
ion, and subject to his visitation as Superintendent ; 

2. Estimates and accounts of expenditures of the school moneys, 
and a statement of the apportionment of school moneys made by 
him; 

3. All such matters relating to his office, and all such plans and 
suggestions for the improvement of the schools and the advance- 
ment of public instruction in the State, as he shall deem expedient. 

The Revised Statutes, section 1, title 2, chapter 15, part 1, 4th edition, 
declared it the duty of the Superintendent of Common Schools " to prej)ar8 and 
submit an annual report to the Legislature, containing, 

" 1. A statement of the condition of the common schools of the State ; 

" 2. Estimates and accounts of expenditures of the school moneys ; 

"3. Plans for the improvement and management of the common school 
fund and for the better organization of the common schools ; and 

" 4. All such matters relating to his office and to the common schools as he 
shall deem expedient to communicate." 

Chapter 350 of the Laws of 1847, page 452, in relation to reports of State 
officers, requires them (including the Superintendent of Common Schools) " to 
complete their several annual reports for the previous fiscal year, before the 
expiration of the current calendar year, and cause the same to be presented to 
the Legislature immediately after the commencement of its next annual ses- 
sion." It also requires them to embrace in said annual reports a true account, 
so far as the same is practicable, of the funds and accounts of which each of 
said officers is in charge, to the termination of the current calendar year. 

§ 15. He may, on the recommendation of any school commis- 
sioner, or on other evidence satisfactory to him, grant, under his 
hand and seal of office, a certificate of qualification, and may, 
upon the like recommendation or evidence, revoke the same. 



16 POYv'EES AND DuTIES OF SUPERINTENDENT. 

While unrevoked, such certificate shall be conclusive evidence that 
the person to whom it was granted is qualiJSed, by his moral char- 
acter, learning and ability, to teach any common school in the 
State. He may also issue temporary licenses to teach, limited to 
any school commissioner district or school district, and for a period 
not exceeding six months, whenever, in his judgment, it may be 
necessary or expedient for him to do so. 

§ 16. Upon cause shown to his satisfaction, he may annul any 
certificate of qualification granted to a teacher by a school com- 
missioner, or declare any diploma issued by the State normal 
school ineffective and null as a qualification to teach a common 
school within this State, and he may reconsider and reverse his 
action in any such matter. 

§ 17. He shall prepare and keep in his oflSce alphabetical lists of all 
persons who have received, or shall receive, certificates of qualifi- 
cation from himself, or diplomas of the State normal school, with 
the dates thereof, and shall note thereon all annulments and revers- 
als of such certificates and diplomas, with the date and causes 
thereof, together with such other particulars as he may deem 
expedient. 

§ 18. Whenever it shall be proven, to his satisfaction, that any 
school commissioner, or other school officer, has been guilty of 
any willful violation or neglect of duty under this act, or any other 
act pertaining to common schools, or of willfully disobeying any 
decision, order or regulation of the Superintendent, the Superin- 
tendent may, by an order under his hand and seal, which order 
shall be recorded in his office, remove such school commissioner or 
other school officer from his office. 

This section is an amplification of section 15, chapter 382, of the Laws of 1849. 

When it becomes necessary to ask the removal of a school officer, under the 
foregoing section, the following practice must be pursued : An affidavit or affi- 
davits must be prepared and duly verified before some officer authorized to 
administer oaths, charging him with one or more of the offenses of which he 
is supposed to have been guilty, and which are above enumerated, as with 
having " embezzled money coming to his hands for school purposes," or with the 
willful neglect of some specified duty, or with disobeying some decision or 
order of the Department of Public Instruction, setting out the date of such 
order and its requisition in words or in substance. The affidavit, after distinctly 
stating the charge, should proceed with a specification of the facts by which it 
is established, whicli must be set forth with such certainty as to time, place. 



FowERs AND Duties op Superintendent. 17 

etc., as to furnisli tlie officer with, precise information as to what he is expected 
to meet, and to enable him to look for repelling testimony. After being verified, 
a copy of the affidavits, including the jurat or certificate of the officer adminis- 
tering the oath, must be served upon the officer whose removal is sought, 
together with a notice of the application, which may be substantially in the 
following form : 

Sir : Take notice that the affidavits, with copies of which you are herewith, 
served, will be presented to the Superintendent of Public Instruction at Albany, 
and application thereupon made for your removal from the office of trustee of 
Joint District No. , of Shandaken, in Delaware county, and Denning, in 
Ulster coimty ; and that you are required to transmit your answer to such 
application, duly verified, to the Department of Public Instruction within ten 
days after the service hereof, or the charges contained in such affidavits will be 
deemed to be admitted by you. 

Your obedient servant, 

A B . 

Post-office address. Port Jervis, Orange Co. 

A copy of this notice, together with an affidavit proving the service thereof 
and of the affidavits therein referred to, and the date and manner of sucli 
service, must be transmitted, with the original affidavits, to the Department of 
Public Instruction. No fact, although otherwise known to the department, will 
be taken into consideration, nor will any paper be read or referred to, in dispos- 
ing of the case, unless evidence is furnished that a copy of such paper has 
been served upon the party against whom the complaint is made. He cannot 
be prejudiced by any statement which he has not been called upon to answer. 

The form of the notice above given indicates the course of the respondent. 
He is to. transmit his sworn answer, together with the affidavits of other 
persons, if he deems them necessary, to the department within ten days. If, 
for any reason, as the absence of material witnesses, he is unable to complete 
his defense in that time, he should before its expiration transmit his own 
answer duly verified, with a statement, under oath, of the facts which render it 
necessary that the time to procure further evidence should be extended, and 
stating the earliest day at which he expects to be able to obtain such evidence. 
If a probable defense appears from his answer, and the application for further 
time is reasonable, an order will be made granting it. 

Both parties should have their affidavits, etc., legibly written upon legal cap 
paper, if practicable, and upon the same sheet or continuous sheets, written on 
both sides, and fastened together in the manner of legal pleadings, and not 
npon separate scraps of paper. They should be indorsed with a title, indica- 
ting the nature of the application, and the district, town and county where the 
matter arose, together with the post-office address of the person transmitting 
them. Though these may appear trifling minutiae, the neglect of them pro- 
duces great embarrassment and delay in a public office which is burdened with 
a very extensive correspondence. 
3 



18 School Commissioneks. 

§19. He shall prepare suitable registers, blanks, forms and reg- 
ulations for making all reports and conducting all necessary- 
business under this act, and shall cause the same, with such infor- 
mation and instructions as he shall deem conducive to the proper 
organization and government of the common schools, and the 
due execution of their duties by school officers, to be transmitted 
to the officers and persons intrusted with the execution of the 
same. 

This section is substantially the same as section 38 of chapter 159, Laws of 
1819, page 187. The registers to be used by teachers in keeping an account 
of the attendance at school, and the blanks for the report of trustees to school 
comjnissioners, are prepared late in the summer of each year, and are sent by 
the department to school commissioners ; by those officers they are usually 
transmitted to town clerks, and by town clerks to the trustees of school 
dictricts. 

For the duties imposed upon town clerks in this matter, see subdivision 5, 
section 1, title 5, post. 



TITLE 11. 

OF THE SCHOOL COMMISSIONEES, THEIR ELECTION, POWEES AND 

DUTIES. 

Section 1. The office of school commissioner is continued, and 
the present incumbents shall continue in office in their respective 
districts for the residue of the terms for which they were elected 
or appointed. 

§ 2. The districts as organized under existing laws, and as 
recognized in the election of school commissioners at the annual 
election in eighteen hundred and sixty-three, shall continue to be 
held and res^arded as the school commissioner districts in this 
State, except as the same shall be altered or modified by the Leg- 
islature. 

§ 3. The school commissioner for each school commissioner 
district shall be elected by the electors thereof, by separate 
ballot, at the general election, in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-six, and triennially thereafter, and the ballots 
shall be indorsed "school commissioner." The laws regulating 
the election of and canvassing the votes for county officers shall 



School Commissioners. 19 

apply to such elections. And it shall further be the duty of 
county clerks, and they are hereby required, as soon as they shall 
have official notice of the election or appointment of a school 
commissioner, for any district in their county, to forward to the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction a duplicate certificate of such 
election or appointment, attested by their signature and the seal 
of the county. 

When the school commissioner districts were first created by the statute of 
1856, they coincided in boundaries, very nearly, with the Assembly districts. 
Since that time the Assembly districts have been changed in many counties ; 
and the school commissioner districts have been altered in some instances by 
statute, and in others by the boards of supervisors, under section 4, chapter 
179, Laws of 1856. By the second section of this title the present districts 
remain unchanged, until altered by act of the Legislature. By the third 
section, the school commissioner must be elected on a separate ballot, and of 
course the inspectors of election must provide a separate box. 

§ 4. The term of office of such commissioner shall commence 
on the first day of January next after his election, and shall be for 
three years and until his successor qualifies. Every person elected 
to the office, or appointed to fill a vacancy, must take the oath of 
office prescribed by the Constitution, before the county clerk, or a 
judge of a court of record, and file it with the county clerk, 
within ten days after the commencement of the term, or after 
notice of his appointment ; and if he omit so to do, the office shall 
be deemed vacant. 

It will be observed that every school commissioner can hold his office, even 
after his term of three years has expired, until the person elected as his suc- 
cessor shall have taken and filed his oath of office, but not longer than ten 
days. 

This oath must be in the following form = 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm^ as the case may be) that I will support the Con- 
stitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of New York, 
and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the oj05ce of school commis- 
sioner according to the best of my ability. 

" Sworn before me this day of ,18 ." 

This oath or affirmation must be subscribed and taken before the county 
clerk, or a judge of a court of record. It cannot, therefore, be taken before 
any other officer. If the oath be not filed within ten days, then the office is 
vacant, as the previous incumbent can hold over ten days only. 



20 School Commissioners. 

§ 5. A commissioner may, at any time, vacate his office, by 
filing his resignation with the county clerk. His removal from the 
county, or his acceptance of the office of supervisor, town clerk or 
trustee of a school district, shall vacate his office. 

§ 6. The county clerk, so soon as he has official or other notice 
of the existence of a vacancy in the office of commissioner, shall 
give notice thereof to the county judge, or if that office he vacant, 
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In case of a 
vacancy the county judge, or if there be no county judge, then 
the Superintendent, shall appoint a commissioner, who shall 
hold his office until the first of January succeeding the next 
general election, and until his successor, who shall be chosen 
at such general election, shall have qualified. A person elected to 
fill a vacancy shall hold the office only for the unexpired term. 

§ 7. Every school commissioner shall receive an annual salary 
of eight hundred dollars, payable quarterly, by the Treasurer, on 
the warrant of the Comptroller and the certificate of the Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, out of the income of the United 
States deposit fund appropriated to this purpose, or to the support 
of common schools. 

§ 8. Whenever a majority of the supervisors from all the towns 
composing a school commissioner district shall adopt a resolution 
to increase the salary of their school commissioner, beyond the 
five hundred dollars payable to him from the United States deposit 
fund, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the county 
to give efiect to such resolution, and they shall assess the increase 
stated therein upon the towns composing such commissioner 
district ratably, according to the corrected valuations of the real 
and personal estate of such towns. 

§ 9. The board of supervisors shall annually audit and allow to 
each commissioner within the county the fixed sum of two hun- 
dred dollars for his expenses, and assess and levy that amount 
annually by tax upon the towns composing his district. 

Chapter 84, Laws of 1867, increased the salary of the school commissioners, 
payable from the United States deposit fund, from five to eight hundred dollars 
a year. Although section eight is not amended in terms, it might be considered 
amended by force of the amendment of the seventh section, the words five 
hundred in the eighth section, being a mere reference to or recital of the 



School Commissioxees. 21 

seventh section ; and for tlie furtlier reason that the later law repeals a pre- 
vious statute. 

§ 10. Whenever the Superintendent of Public Instruction is 
satisfied that a school commissioner has persistently neglected to 
perform his duties, he may withhold his order for the payment of 
the whole or any part of such commissioner's salary as it shall 
become due, and the salary so withholden shall be forfeited ; but 
the Superintendent may remit the forfeiture, in whole or in part, 
upon the commissioner disproving or excusing such neglect. 

§ 11. A commissioner, upon the written request of the commis- 
sioner of an adjoining district, may perform any of his duties for 
him, and upon requirement of the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction must perform the same. 

The j urisdiction of the school commissioner is strictly limited to the district 
for which he is elected. But the commissioner may at times be necessarily 
absent, or he may from sickness or injury be unable to perform his duties, or 
he may be incapacitated by some legal disability. In such cases his written 
request, or the requirement of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, will 
call to his aid another commissioner of an adjoining district. 

But whenever a commissioner is so called upon to exercise any powers or 
perform any duties out of his own jurisdiction, and the acts are of an impor- 
tant and permanent character, such as ought to be recorded or be put in writing, 
as for instance certificates, or alterations of districts, he should in every written 
instrument recite the written request, under which he is acting, substantially 
or in full. It would also be advisable to file such written request in the oflBce 
of the county clerk, for safe keeping and future reference, in case any question 
should arise as to the validity of his acts. 

§ 12. "No school commissioner shall act as agent for any author, 
publisher or bookseller, nor directly or indirectly receive any gift, 
emolument, reward or promise of reward, for his influence in 
recommending or procuring the use of any book, or school appara- 
tus, or furniture of any kind whatever, in any common school, or 
the purchase of any book for a district library. Any one who 
shall procure or solicit a violation of this provision, or any part 
thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor ; and any such violation 
shall subject the guilty commissioner to removal from his office by 
the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

A serious charge against coujity superintendents was that they acted as 
book agents ; how many, if any, were liable- to such a charge cannot be deter- 



22 School Commissioners. 

mined. The present law relieves them not only from numerous importunities, 
but from the imputation of recommending text books on account of self- 
interest. It is very desirable that the books used in the same school should be 
uniform ; but it is not desirable, among the first and prominent acts of the 
commissioners, to make a general change of text books. The reforms in the 
schools depend more upon the teacher than upon the influence of any series 
of books. 

§ 13. Every commissioner shall have power, and it shall be his 
duty: 

1. From time to time to inquire and ascertain whether the 
boundaries of the school districts within his district are definitely 
and plainly described in the records of the proper town clerks ; 
and in case the record of the boundaries of any school district 
shall be found defective or indefinite, or if the same shall be in 
dispute, then to cause the same to be amended, or an amended 
record of the boundaries to be made. 

2. To visit and examine all the schools and school districts 
within his district as often in each year as shall be practicable ; to 
inquire into all matters relating to the management, the course 
of study and mode of instruction, and the text books and discipline 
of such schools, and the condition of the school-houses, sites, out- 
buildings and appendages, and of the district generally ; to exam- 
ine the district libraries ; to advise with and counsel the trustees 
and other officers of the districts in relation to their duties, and 
particularly in respect to the construction, warming and ventila- 
tion of school-houses, and the improving and adorning of the 
school grounds connected therewith; and to recommend to the 
trustees and teachers the proper studies, discipline and manage- 
ment of the schools, and the course of instruction to be pursued. 

3. Upon such examination, to direct the trustees to make any 
alteration or repair on the school-house or out-buildings which 
shall, in his opinion, be necessary for the health or comfort of the 
pupils, but the expense of making such alterations or repairs shall 
in no case exceed the sum of two hundred dollars, unless an addi- 
tional sum shall be voted by the district. He may also direct the 
trustees to abate any nuisance in or upon the premises, provided 
the same can be done at an expense not exceeding twenty-five 
dollars. 

4. In concurrence with the supervisor of the town in which si 
school-house is situated, by an order under their hands, reciting 



School Commissioners. 23 

the reason or reasons, to condemn such school-house, if they deem 
it wholly unfit for use and not worth repairing, and to deliver 
the order to the trustees, or one of them, and transmit a copy to 
the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Such order, if no time 
for its taking effect be stated in it, shall take effect immediately. 
They shall also state what sum, not exceeding eight hundred dol- 
lars, will, in their opinion, be necessary to erect a sehool-house 
capable of accommodating the children of the district. Immedi- 
ately upon the receipt of said order, the trustee or trustees of such 
district shall call a special meeting of the inhabitants of said dis- 
trict, for the purpose of considering the question of building a 
school-house therein. Such meeting shall have power to deter- 
mine the size of said school-house, the material to be used in its 
erection, and to vote a tax to build the same ; but such meeting 
shall have no power to reduce the estimate made by the commis- 
sioner and supervisor aforesaid by more than twenty-five per cent 
of such estimate. And where no tax for building such house shall 
have been voted by such district, within thirty days from the time 
of holding the first meeting to consider the question, then it shall 
be the duty of the trustee or trustees of such district to contract 
for the building of a school-house capable of accommodating the 
children of the district, and to levy a tax to pay for the same, 
which tax shall not exceed the sum estimated as necessary by the 
commissioner and supervisor as aforesaid, and which shall not be 
less than such estimated sum, by more than twenty-five per cent 
thereof But such estimated sum may be increased by a vote of 
the inhabitants at any school meeting subsequently called and held 
accordinoj to law. 

5. To examine persons proposing to teach common schools 
within his district, and not possessing the Superintendent's certifi- 
cate of qualification or a diploma of the State normal school, and 
to inquire into their moral fitness and capacity, and, if he find 
them qualified^ to grant them certificates of qualification, in the 
forms which are or may be prescribed by the Superintendent. 

6. To re-examine any teacher holding his or his predecessor's 
certificate, and, if he find him deficient in learning or ability, to 
annul the certificate. 

7. To examine any charge affecting the moral character of any 
teacher within his district, first giving such teacher reasonable 



24 School Commissioners. 

notice of the charge, and an opportunity to defend himself there- 
from ; and, if he find the charge sustained, to annul the teacher's 
certificate, by whomsoever granted, and to declare him unfit to 
teach; and, if the teacher held a certificate of the Superintendent, 
or a diploma of the State normal school, to notify the Superintend- 
ent forthwith of such annulment and declaration. 

8. And, generally, to use his utmost influence and most strenu- 
ous exertions, to promote sound education, elevate the character 
and qualifications of teachers, improve the means of instruction 
and advance the interests of the schools under his supervision. 

Comments upon tlie first, third and fourth subdivisions of section thirteen 
will be found under title six, and the second article of title seven. The remain- 
ing sections may be considered separately. 

2. To visit and examine all the schools and school districts committed to his 
charge, as often in each year as shall be practicable ; to inquire into all matters 
relating to the management, the course of study and mode of instruction, and 
the text books and discipline of such schools, and the condition of the 
school-houses, out-buildings and appendages, and of the district generally ; 
to examine the district libraries ; to advise and counsel the trustees and other 
officers of the districts in relation to their duties, and particularly in respect to 
the construction, warming and ventilation of school-houses, and the improving 
and adorning of the school grounds connected therewith, and to recommend to 
the trustees and teachers the proper studies, discipline and management of the 
schools, and the course of instruction to be pursued. 

The duties comprised in this subdivision may be stated under two heads : 

I. Visiting and examining the schools ; 

II. Advising and counseling trustees and other school officers. 

I. The number of commissioners in the State, excluding the cities, is one 
hundred and twelve. Each commissioner is required to visit all the schools in 
his district each year, as often as is practicable. The number of districts to be 
visited by any commissioner will, in a few cases, reach one hundred and fifty ; 
perhaps, in most cases, will be less, and in some a little more, than one hun- 
dred. Allowing half a day to a visit, it will be found practicable to visit each 
school and school district in the State not less than three times a year. It 
would be found useful, where practicable, to assemble together two or three 
schools, and devote a whole day to their examination. A comparison of schools 
would excite emulation, and improve both scholars and teachers. 

Having acquired a complete and familiar knowledge of the geography of 
his district, the commissioner should arrange a plan for visitation, as a judge 
does the terms of his courts, for a year or two years. It would be well to print 
his progamme, and distribute it in every town and district, so that trustees and 
pupils and people may be prepared for his visits. The publishers of news- 
papers would be found ready to insert the programme of visitation in their 



School Commissioners. 25 

papers, as an item of news liiglily important to tlieir subscribers and read- 
ers. 

In addition to this general notice, the commissioner should give a particular 
notice to the trustees and teacher of every school, of the day when he will be 
present and examine the school. He should invite the trustees to inform the 
parents of pupils of his visit, and urge them to attend. 

Examination of the School. — Preparatory to this, the commissioner should 
ascertain from the teacher the number of classes, the studies pursued by each, 
the routine of the school, the successive exercises of each class during each 
hour of the day, the play spells allowed, etc., and thus obtain a general knowl- 
edge of the school, which will be found greatly to facilitate his subsequent 
duties. Every commissioner is enjoined to call for and examine the list of 
scholars in the book which the statute requires the teacher to keep, in order 
that he may see whether the names are correctly and neatly entered. He 
should be particular in his examination of the record of attendance, and, in 
case it be not kept according to the plan prescribed in the directions accom- 
panying the register, he should call the attention of the teacher to his omis- 
sions or neglect, and instruct him how to keep it correctly. Young teachers 
often find difficulty in following the plainest rules, and the commissioner will 
serve them and the people of the districts, by exacting from the teachers con- 
stant care as to the safety, neatness, and correctness with which they keep the 
school registers. The commissioner should not omit to inform them of their 
duty to keep the registers under lock and key, and, at the close of their schools, 
to make oath to their being correctly kept, and to deliver them, in good order, 
to the district clerk. 

The commissioner will then hear each class recite the ordinary lesson of the 
day. It will then be examined on the subjects of study. Generally it will be 
better to allow the teacher to conduct the exercises and examinations, as the 
pupils will be less likely to be intimidated, and an opportunity will be given 
of judging of his qualifications. 

To enable him to compare the school with itself at another time, and with 
other schools, and to comply with the regulations hereinafter contained respect- 
ing the annual reports, the commissioner should keep notes of his observations, 
and of the information he obtains on all the subjects on which he is required 
to report ; and he should particularly note any peculiarities which seem to 
require notice in the mode of instruction, in the government and discipline erf 
the school, and the appearance of the pupils in respect to their cleanliness of 
person and neatness of apparel. 

II. Advising and consulting with other officers of the district. 

This duty is by the act especially enjoined upon commissioners. The law, 
in the broadest terms, requires them to advise and counsel the trustees and 
other school officers in relation to all their duties. 

The performance of this duty will demand great care and circumspection. 
It should be constantly borne in mind that the office of an adviser and coun- 
selor is to ascertain facts and learn the true condition of things, and then to 
suggest and propose improvements and remedies. Interrogatories judiciously 
4 



26 School Commissioners. 

aimed at abuses, errors, mistakes and omissions, will call attention to them as 
clearly as if they were condemned outright, and at the same time give no 
offense. 

The advice and counsel needed will generally come under the heads of 
proper studies ; the discipline and conduct of the school ; the course of instruc- 
tion ; the elementary books ; the erection of school-houses ; and the ability of 
the district to maintain a school. 

1. The proper studies. — These vary with the age and advancement of the 
scholars. The great object of the common schools is, unquestionably, to 
instruct the youth of the State in the ordinary branches of a good English 
education. To spell, to read and write, should be the first care. As soon as a 
child can write, spelling and writing should be one exercise. The meaning 
of the words spelled should also be explained to the scholar, as a great assist- 
ance to the memory. Correct spelling and a clear comprehension of the words 
are essential to good reading. A distinct articulation of every syllable is the 
most important requisition, A correct, and not too forcible accent, an utter- 
ance neither too rapid nor too slow, and a clear understanding of the subject, 
are also important requirements. 

The commissioner will carefully note the capabilities of the scholars, and 
their grade of improvement, and advise that no studies be imposed or permit- 
ted until the pupil can enter upon them understandingly. The hill of science 
must be climbed with patient assiduity, step by step. Some may be able to 
step faster than others ; but whoever attempts to overleap any of its acclivities 
will be sure to fall back and be compelled to start anew, 

2, Tlie discipline and conduct of the school. — The commissioners cannot too 
strongly inculcate the necessity of a pimctual and continuous attendance during 
school hours for the whole term. Teachers should be advised to inast upon 
this. The first hour of a session, in the morning or afternoon, should not be 
interrupted by the noisy dropping in, every few minutes, of truant and tardy 
children. The interruption is not the worst of the evil. The want of punctu- 
ality involves the loss of time that should be applied to study ; and the tardy 
and often absent soon lag behind their associates, become disheartened, relax 
their efforts, and finally, in many cases, acquire a habit of irregularity, insub. 
ordination and negligence, which marks their character through life. 

Order and system should prevail in the whole conduct of the school. The 
routine of recitations and other exercises should be regular and seldom 
changed. The pupils should give a ready obedience to the commands of the 
teacher, and a strict compliance with rules and regulations should be exacted. 
Pupils should be instructed that these commands, rules and regulations are not 
imposed upon them as a restraint or humiliation, but for their good, as the 
best means of expediting the sole business of the school, their acquisition of 
knowledge. 

The commissioners should also observe whether the teachers possess the 
respect of their scholars, and whether their deportment in and out of the school 
is such as to preserve it. They should particularly note how the authority of the 
teacher is maintained ; whether it is the result of a mild and conciliating, but 



School Commissioners. 27 

firm and steady government, or whether it is an unwilling submission to the 
arbitrary rule of a high temper and the fear of the rod, 

3. The course of instruction. — The order of studies which long experience has 
decided to be best, and which is generally followed, is, the alphabet, spell- 
ing, reading, arithmetic, geography, history and grammar. To learn the 
names of things is among the earliest efforts of the infant mind. It is the 
work of several years to master the simplest combinations of language. In 
teaching the elements of knowledge, therefore, great discretion and discrimi- 
nation are necessary in graduating instruction to the capacity of pupils. Pri- 
mary books should contain only familiar household words and the commonest 
forms of speech. When these have been mastered, others of a higher grade 
should be substituted ; and the pupil should be all the time, insensibly but 
constantly, climbing an ascending grade. 

. The four simple rules of arithmetic are easily taught, not by arbitrary rules 
and a few examples, but by continual practice and repetition, with blocks or 
balls, by which the numbers are represented to the eye. The little boy who 
sells newspapers, or peddles peanuts and apples, will learn in a few weeks all 
the combinations of simple numbers, less than one himdred, without having 
ever heard of Colburn or Emerson. Make a purchase of him, and hand him a 
quarter of a dollar, and he will make his computation and give you the change 
as promptly as the readiest bank teller. 

Geography, by means of maps, charts and globes, may be taught at a very 
early age. History requires a more advanced age. The study of history and 
geography may be combined. In the course of the reading lessons, and during 
the lesson in history, whenever a place is named the pupil should be required 
to point it out on the map. A daily newspaper may be of essential service in 
teaching geography and current history. The use of a map, with a daily paper, 
will very soon make the pupils acquainted with all the principal commercial 
ports and political divisions of every part of the world. Geography and history, 
thus learned, would be indelibly impressed upon the memory. Biography, 
however, has a charm for the very young, and many brief narratives might be 
made a part of the school exercises. Grammar, treating of the structure and 
composition of language, is a difficult study, and should not be undertaken till 
the mind of the pupil has attained a maturity and strength capable of compar- 
ing, analyzing and combining phrases and sentences. To read, to speak and 
to write, correctly and elegantly, may all be learned without consulting a 
grammar. But a knowledge of English grammar is a very important part of 
a good common education, and its study a very useful exercise of the intellectual 
powers. 

4. Boolcs of elementary instruction. — -Within the last few years a great improve- 
ment has been made in elementary books. A great many series of books, 
elucidating and illustrating every branch of education in our common schools, 
have been published. None of them are so defective as to require exclusion 
from the schools, and none of them are comparatively so superior to others as to 
merit particular recommendation. Trustees should be advised not to permit every 
new teacher to introduce a new set of books. A teacher is very poorly quali- 



28 School Commissioners. 

fied who cannot use one set of text books as well as another. The trustees 
should exercise their authority, in relation to text books, to prevent any unnec- 
essary change, and to preserve an uniformity. Classes of the same grade 
should have the same books. 

Whenever the commissioner finds in any school a number of pupils of the 
same standing using different books, and classed separately, he should point 
out the evil, by showing how, if all had the same books, one class and one 
recitation would suflBce for all, and the teacher's corrections and observations, 
repeated to several classes, might be limited to one, and much valuable time 
of iDupils and teacher be saved. 

Where the evil of a variety of text books prevails, it might not be advisable 
to compel uniformity by an immediate change of books. The trustees could 
however decide upon the text books to be used, and require every scholar who 
should afterward have occasion to purchase a new book to conform to their 
decision. 

In cities and large villages, the adoption of uniform text books is a pecuniary 
advantage'to the people, particularly to the transient population that frequently 
move from one district to another, and are generally least able to purchase new 
books. But the positive necessity of uniformity is not so apparent in rural 
di^ricts. The inhabitants there do not often change their residence. It is not 
best to be indifferent as to the merit of text books, but to exercise prudence in 
recommending them. It is desirable that the people should understand that 
while the interests of their children command the first attention, the subject of 
expenses has also a fair consideration. Their confidence and co-operation will 
thus be secured. 

5. School-homes and grounds. — It is highly important that an earnest appeal be 
made to the trustees and inhabitants of the several school districts to give 
attention to the condition and improvement of school-houses and grounds. It 
is not possible to have schools high toned and in healthy spirit where inatten- 
tion to comfort and beauty exists. If any element of character unfavorable to 
order and progress is called into morbid activity, it may often be traced to this 
source. 

Health of body and vigor of mind should be carefully regarded. There 
should never be too long confinement in school rooms. Pure air is absolutely 
indispensable. It has been suggested, by distinguished writers on education, 
that six hours of daily confinement will impair the health of the great majority 
of pupils ; that, with the very best ventilation, no school room containing a 
score or more of children can be as healthy as the open air ; hence, that no 
pupil should be kept in school for a longer time than is necessary to fix his 
attention upon his lessons. Growth and development of body are indispensa- 
ble to the future well-being of the child and to realize the ideal of a well 
constituted man or woman. To this end the enjoyment of pure, fresh air, 
unconstrained attitudes of body, ample exercise and exhilarating play, are 
absolutely necessary ; and the school-house, its location and grounds, should 
supply these wants. The mind of every child craves, receives and assimilates 
knowledge. We should so adapt our educational facilities that the desire for 



School Commissioners. 2d 

intellectual acquirement shall remain through life unimpaired. But very many 
children are so stupefied by the noxious air which they are compelled to 
breathe six hours every day, their vital apparatus so wearied, that they acquire 
an abhorrence of school and a disgust for study which are never eradicated. 
It is in the nature of things that any exertion, connected with physical su£fer- 
ing or oppressive sense of constraint, induces repugnance. Hence, in spite of 
the efforts employed to impress such children with an earnest conviction of the 
importance of a good education, they regard the school room as a prison, the 
vacations as seasons of delight, and adult age as the era of emancipation from 
an arduous bondage. 

It is the vocation of the commissioners to discover and suggest a correction 
for these evils. When they visit school-houses, they should notice whether 
they are properly located. Many are situated on the line of the highway. 
They should be removed from it sufficiently far to escape the noise, dust and 
other inconveniences. If they are old, and a few boards and shingles and 
a little paint will improve their external appearance, and make them internally 
more safe and comfortable, surely they should be applied. If the doors are 
broken or the seats and desks marred, they should be repaired and adapted to 
the physical comfort of the pupils ; if the grounds need grading, it should be 
done ; if pools of stagnant water are near, they should be drained and filled ; 
if proper fencing is required, let the subject receive prompt attention. Trees 
should be planted, shrubs and flowers should be set. Let free application be 
made of broom, brush and lime, to renovate the internal economy of the school 
room. Willing hands enough can be found in every school district to make all 
the improvements suggested, provided attention is directed to their importance. 
Certainly it is the school-house, if any building, which ought to be constructed 
and preserved with care and surrounded with pleasant scenery. Few parents 
would reside in a dwelling constructed "^ith as little regard to beauty and com- 
fort as are many of our school-houses. They should care as well for the place 
where their children congregate for instruction. They should be impressed 
with the conviction, that there the associations of nature and art should be 
attractive, to secure on the part of scholars a love for their school ; that associ- 
ations with order and beauty give birth, in the minds of the young, to pure 
and holy emotions, whose happy influence will establish them in purity of 
desire and thought. 

The attention of trustees should be called to this subject ; and, if possible, 
they should be induced to appoint a suitable day for making necessary improve- 
ments and embellishments. Let the matrons and maids assist. Let the 
children participate in the work ; they should share the pleasure and receive 
the lesson it would teach. 

5. To examine persons proposing to teach common schools within his 
district, and not possessing the Superintendent's certificate of qualification or a 
diploma of the State normal school, and to inquire into their moral fitness and 
capacity, and, if he find them qualified, to grant them certificates of qualifica- 
tion, in the forms which are or may be prescribed by the Superintendent. 



30 School Commissioners. 

The commissioners, being the only persons in their Eeveral districts author- 
ized to grant certificates, should be prepared to make examinations whenever 
making their round of visitations. To aflford every reasonable accommodation 
to persons who may offer themselves, they should appoint some particular day 
and place, in each town, where they will be in readiness to examine teachers. 
It would also be well to give notice in the county papers in the spring and fall, 
jist before the summer and winter terms generally commence, of certain 
times and places at which applications may be made to them for licenses. Such 
notices would probably bring together several applicants, and thereby lessen 
the labor and time required for examination. One or more hours of each day 
might be set apart for this purpose, at the time of holding a teachers' institute. 

The examination should be confined to ascertaining the qualifications of can- 
didates, under three heads, viz. : in respect, first, to moral character ; second, 
learning ; third, ability. 

First. The testimonials as to moral character should be full and explicit, and 
should be from persons long and intimately acquainted with the applicant. 
This is no unimportant matter ; and this department establishes it as a positive 
regulation, that no certificate is to be granted without entire satisfaction on 
this point. The training of youth must not be committed to persons of bad 
manners and questionable morals. Children will necessarily be more or less 
influenced by the example of their teachers, whose principles, therefore, should 
be such as to inspire confidence, and whose behavior worthy of imitation. 

The commissioner will be careful not to push his inquiries beyond the field 
of morals, and extend them into the debatable ground of opinion, religious or 
political. All he can ask is that the applicant shall hold a fair reputation, free 
from the reproach of crime, or any taint of immorality. He would be justified 
in rejecting a noisy zealot, with manners rude, obtrusive and offensive, indicat- 
ing uncurbed passions and unsound principles, liable to render him obnoxious 
to the inhabitants and unfit for a teacher of youth. The use of intoxicating 
liquors would be a serious objection to the character of a teacher. Temperance 
and sobriety should be demanded of every applicant. The objection is to the 
drinking of spirituous liquors, and not to drunkenness only. Persons under 
the influence of intoxicating drinks seldom act calmly and deliberately, but aro 
liable to outbreaks of passion, moments of petulance, seasons of unnatural . 
excitement or depression, entirely unfitting them for the government of a 
school or the management of young people. 

The man who puts the inebriating cup to the lips of a child is instinctively 
execrated, and no voice is ever raised to justify the inhuman act. However 
besotted and degraded a man may be, he would be glad to have his children 
grow up pure, temperate and respected. In all nations, and all ages, the cor- 
rupters of youth have been stigmatized as the worst enemies of society and of 
the State. A rule, therefore, which excludes from the ofl&ce of teacher the 
habitual drinker of intoxicating liquors, harmonizes with the better feelings of 
the inebriate himself, as well as with the general sense of mankind 

Second. As to the learning of applicants. 



School Commissioners. 81 

The improvement in text books, the use of charts and philosophical appa- 
ratus, and the general diflusion of knowledge, have raised the standard of 
qualification for teachers within the last ten years. Notwithstanding the 
faults and defects of our school system, there is abundant proof that it has 
produced fruit an hundred fold, and that our common schools, throughout the 
State, are now the best schools, and have almost entirely superseded private 
instruction. While, therefore, teachers must bear an examination on the same 
subjects as formerly, a much more minute, accurate and extensive knowledge 
of them is required. 

In spelling, reading and penmanship, they are expected to be proficients, and 
they should also be well versed : 

1. In the definition of words ; 

2. In arithmetic, mental and written ; 
'6. In geography ; 

4. In the use of charts, globes and school apparatus ; 

5. In the principles of English grammar ; and, 

6. In the history of the United States, England, and of Europe generally, 
and in universal history ; 

7. In the science of government, at least they should know the character and 
operation of our own State and national governments. 

In a large majority of the schools, a limited acquaintance with the last two 
heads is admissible, if the applicant is familiar with the other branches. 

It may be advisable, also, if the power is exercised with due discretion, to 
grant certificates permitting the holder to teach a particular school, or to 
occupy the post of an assistant in departmental schools. The same extent and 
degree of knowledge is not needed to fill a subordinate place, and hear recita- 
tions in primary classes, as to take charge of a large school. Many summer 
schools may also be profitably intrusted to young girls, not qualified by age, 
education or experience to take charge of large schools. 

In some schools, especially in high and union free schools, the range of 
examination might include the higher branches of mathematics, physiology 
and mental philosophy. 

In all casses a familiarity with the current history of the present time, 
gathered from newspapers, should be required. 

Third. Ability to teach. This implies something more than good character 
and mere learning. A faculty of imparting knowledge is essential to success 
as a teacher. The management of a school requires a certain tact in dealing 
with children; a patience and good nature not possessed by every one, and by 
very few in the same degree. The commissioners, by general inquiries and by 
pertinent questions to the applicant, on personal examination, may form a very 
fair judgment of his qualifications in these respects. Subsequently, their 
observations on visiting the schools will enable them to correct their judgment. 
Certificates, in the first instance, should be granted for a term not exceeding a 
year. A second one should not be given to a person whose ill nature, or petu- 
lance, or want of tact, or incapacity to impart instruction, disqualifies him for 
the proper government of a school. 



82 School Commissioners. 

Having satisfied themselves of the qualifications of the applicaj;it, the com- 
missioners will grant certificates, in the following forms. 

Certificate of the First Grade. 

To ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: Be IT KNOWN, that 

1, , school commissioner for the district, in the county of 

, having examined A. B., and having ascertained his qualifications 
in respect to moral character, learning and ability to instruct a common school, 
DO HEREBY CERTIFY that he is duly qualified, and that his experience in and 
devotion to the profession entitle him to the rank of a teacher of the first 
GRADE, and he is accordingly hereby licensed to teach any common school in 
this district for three years from this date. 

Given under my hand, this day of , in the year one thousand 

eight hundred and 

C. D. 

Certificate of the Second Grade. 

To ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: BE IT KNOWN, that 

I, , school commissioner for the district, in the county of 

, having examined , and having ascertained Ms qualifica^ 

tions in respect to moral character, learning and ability to instruct a common 
school, DO HEREBY CERTIFY, that he is qualified and entitled to the rank of a 
teacher of the second grade, and he is accordingly licensed to teach com- 
mon schools in any town in this district for the term of one year from this 
date. 

Given under my hand, this day of , in the year one thousand 

eight hundred and 

C. D. 

Third Grade — Limited Forms. 

To ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME; BE IT KNOWN, that 

I, , school commissioner for the district, in the county of 

, having examined A. B., and having ascertained his qualifications 
in respect to moral character, learning and ability to instruct a common school, 
DO HEREBY CERTIFY that he is entitled to the rank of a teacher of the third 
GRADE, and is qualified to teach the school in District No. , in the town 

of , in this district, and not elsewhere, and he is accordingly hereby, 

LICENSED to teach the said school for the term of one year from this date. 
Given under my hand, etc. C. D. 

Another 

To ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: Be IT KNOWN, that I, 

, school commissioner for the district, in the county of , 

having examined , and having ascertained qualifications in 

respect to moral character, learning and ability to instruct a common school, 
DO HEREBY CERTIFY that he is entitled to the rank of a teacher of the third 



School Commissioners. 33 

GRADE, and is qualified for the place of first (or second) assistant in the school 
in the district, in the town of , and is accordingly hereby 

LICENSED to teach in said school in that capacity for one year from this date. 
Given under my hand, etc. C. D. 

Another. 
To ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: Be IT KNOWN, that 

I, , school commissioner for the district, in the county of 

, having examined A. B., and having ascertained his qualifications 
in respect to moral character, learning and ability to instruct a common school, 
DO HEREBY CERTIFY that he is entitled to the rank of a teacher of the third 
GRADE, and is qualified to be a teacher in the primary department in the pub- 
lic schools in this district (or city), and he is accordingly hereby licensed to 
teach in that capacity for one year from this date. 

Given under my hand, etc. C. T> 

Certificates of the first grade are intended for those who have had expe- 
rience in their profession, who are endowed by nature with a peculiar tact or 
\vho have acquired a superior skill, in the management of youth and the gov- 
ernment of schools, and should be granted to those only who can bear an 
examination in the whole range of studies taught in common schools. Every 
qualification heretofore and hereafter indicated as necessary or valuable in a 
teacher should be possessed by the applicant. 

Candidates for the second grade should be familiar with the rules of elocu- 
tion and pronunciation, and be able to read with ease, intelligence and expres- 
sion ; they should write a bold, plain hand, and be able to teach some good 
system of writing ; they should be fully versed in mental and commercial 
arithmetic, and well fitted to teach fractions, and the involution and evolution 
of roots ; they should be able to teach bookkeeping by single entry ; they 
should know the common rules of orthography, and be able to parse any sen- 
tence in prose or poetry submitted to them, and to write grammatically, with 
correct spelling and punctuation, the substance of any passage which may be 
read to them ; and be entirely familiar ^vith the elements of physical, civil and 
political geography, as contained in any common school geography. 

In short, the second grade certificates are intended for those who, with less 
experience and a more limited acquaintance with some of the higher branches, 
have, nevertheless, proved themselves able to impart to others what they have 
themselves acquired, and who have attained the skill necessary to govern a 
school, but who, on account of their youth or their want of opportunity, are 
fully prepared to teach only the ordinary studies considered essential in the 
common schools. 

Candidates for the third grade certificates should be required to spell cor- 
rectly the words of any ordinary sentence dictated by the commissioner ; to 
read distinctly and intelligently any passage from any ordinary reading book ; 
to work readily questions in common arithmetic ; to understand the elements 
of English grammar, and to parse any easy sentence in prose ; to have a knowl- 
5 



34 School Co:iorissioxERS. 

edge of tlie elements of geo^aphy, and the general outlines of the globe ; to 
write a plain, open hand, and to exhibit good taste in the arrangement of 
words and paragraphs ; to write letters intelligibly and grammatically, and to 
fold and superscribe them properly ; and to know so much of morals and disci- 
pline as to appreciate the importance of self-government. 

The third grade certificates are intended for temporary licenses, to be 
granted to novitiates and persons who for lack of experience or ability have 
need to acquire the knowledge and skill necessary for higher positions. 

But the best set of rules and regulations respecting the examination of can- 
didates must, after all, be regarded only as a partial help to the commissioner. 
The T\isdom and justice of his conclusions will depend mainly upon his own 
judgment. Whatever gift, or acquirement, or habit of thought and action 
may constitute his ideal of the true teacher, the apphcants will nearly all 
come short of it. He can only look hopefully for an approximation, and grant 
his certificates to those who approach nearest to his ideal. 

In pursuance of the discretion vested in the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, it is established as a regulation that no certificate shall be granted 
by any commissioner for a longer period than three years. Experience has 
proved the impossibihty of finding one hundred and twelve school commission- 
ers, some one of whom vvill not injure liis reputation as a wise and considerate 
public ofiicer by granting to his favorites or friends these certificates for the 
long term without regard to the high qualifications named. I wish to place here 
a strong expression of my disapproval of such a course of action on the part of 
any commissioner. Official preferences are not to be given for the benefit 
of any officer or on account of the favor of any one, but solely for the public 
welfare, and to say that a school officer who, when his term is about to expire, 
grants certificates to which teachers are not entitled, thus embarrassing the 
action of his successor in office, is unworthy of public confidence, is expressing 
the wrong in mild terms. 

6. To re-examine any teacher holding his or his predecessor's cer- 
tificate, and, if he find him deficient in learning or ability, to annul 
the certificate. 

A commissioner may judge of the learning of a person by questions relating 
to the studies to be taught in the district school. A searching examination 
would expose ignorance and reveal deficiencies. But ability to teach may not 
be combined with learning, and upon this point the commissioner must make 
liis observations in school, or obtain his information from others. A person 
may be unfit to teach from want of self-control. The first qualification of a 
good teacher is the ability to rule his own passions, and keep them under sub. 
jection. If complaints are made against any teacher of exhibitions of bad 
temper, of yielding to ungovernable passions, of cruelty in the infliction of 
punishment, the commissioner should investigate the charges, and give the 
teacher an opportunity to refute or explain them. If they are sustained by 
sufficient proof, he should annul the certificate. 



School Commissioners. 35 

Another deficiency may be in the ability to manage and govern a school. 
Without good government, which secures obedience, keeps good order, and 
commands respect, learning is of little avail, for disobedience leads to disorder, 
and in the midst of confusion there can be no application to study. In a young 
teacher something may be forgiven on this score, for ability may be gained by 
experience. But teachers who, after years of experience, fail in government, 
should give up the profession. 

7. To examine any charge affecting the moral character of any 
teacher within his district, first giving such teacher reasonable 
notice of the charge, and an opportunity to defend himself there- 
from; and if he find the charge sustained, to annul the teacher's 
certificate, by whomsoever granted, and to declare him unfit to 
teach; and, if the teacher held a certificate of the Superintendent, 
or a diploma of the State normal school, to notify the Superin- 
tendent forthwith of such annulment and declaration. 

When complaint is made of deficiency in moral character, full opportunity 
should be given the teacher for defense. He should be made acquainted wT.th 
the precise charges affecting his character, and ample time allowed to prepare 
proofs and bring witnesses to explain or disprove them. 

The refusal of any person to submit to an examination to ascertain his quali- 
fications as to learning and ability, or a failure to appear and answer charges 
touching his moral character, after due notice of the time and place for a hear- 
ing, would be an admission of incompetency or immorality, ks the case might 
be, sufficient to justify the annulling of his certificate. 

The mode of procedure is not prescribed by the statute in express terms. 
It will, therefore, be safer to consider section 37, of chapter 480, Laws of 1847, 
as still in force, and as controlling the manner in which the school commis- 
sioner is to exercise this power. 

The section is as follows : 

" § 37. The town superintendent may annul any such certificate given by 
him, or his predecessors in ofl&ce, when he shall think proper, giving at least 
ten days' previous notice, in writing, to the teacher holding it, and to the 
trustees of the district in which he may be employed, of his intention to annul 
the same." 

In 10th Barbour's Reports, 296, it was held by the supreme court that ten 
days' notice, and an order at the expiration of that time, were necessary to 
annul the certificate of a teacher. In that case, the superintendent examined 
a teacher on the last day of January, and, as he testified, decided him to be 
incompetent to teach, on account of his education being in some respects insuf- 
ficient, and annulled his certificate. On the second of February, he gave 
notice to the teacher that he intended to annul his certificate, and filed a sitni- 
lar notice with the town clerk, " to take effect February 12th." The court say 



36 School Commissioners. 

tliat the order annulling tlie certificate must be in writing, and, commenting 
on tlie evidence of the superintendent, remark : " He doubtless formed the 
mental conclusion that he would annul the certificate, and gave notice to that 
effect. This was not a compliance with the provisions of the law. A notice 
of an intention to do an act is not an actual performance. The object of the 
statute in requiring notice was to fulfill the great requirement of justice, that 
no man shall be condemned unheard. The parties were entitled to a day 
before the superintendent, of which they v»^ere to have ten days' notice. To 
the teacher it was a matter of deep concern that he should have an opportu- 
nity of resisting a sentence of degradation, affecting his character and his pros- 
pects of usefulness in life. It does not appear that the superintendent made 
any order at the expiration of the ten days mentioned in the notice. The con- 
trary is conclusively to be inferred from the fact that he left the State on the 
seventh of February, and did not return until three weeks afterward. It fol- 
lows, therefore, that the certificate of the teacher was not legally annulled on 
the third- of February, nor indeed on any day in that month." 

It is undoubtedly the right of the commissioner to examine a teacher in 
respect to his literary qualifications, and to satisfy himself, by inspection of 
his method of conducting school exercises, as to his intellectual and moral 
capacity to teach, without previous notice. A very unfavorable impression 
might often be formed, and that justly, which the teacher could remove by 
showing facts not apparent upon the examination. 

The notice may be in the following form, and should be served personally 
upon the teacher and upon one or more of the trustees in whose employment 
he may be : ' 

Take notice that it is my intention to annul the certificate of R. S., a teacher 
employed in district No. , of the town of for want of sufficient 

literary qualifications (or ability to teach, or whatever the cause may be), 
unless cause to the contrary shall be shown on or before the day of 

A. B., 

School Commissioner. 

At the expiration of the notice, if the commissioner determine to annul the 
certificate, he should make an order substantially as follows : 

Notice having been given by me in writing, at least ten days pre\T.ous to the 
day of , to R. S., a teacher employed in district No. , in 

the town of , and also to the trustees of such district, of my intention 

to annul the certificate of such teacher for want of sufficient literary qualifica- 
tion (or ability to teach, or as the case may be), unless cause to the contrary 
were shown on or before the day aforesaid, and no cause having been shown 
(or if the parties have appeared to show cause, after hearing the proofs and 
allegations of the said R. S. [or the trustees], and mature deliberation being 
thereupon had), it is hereby ordered that the certificate of qualification of tlid 



School Commissioners. 37 

said R. S., as a teacher of common schools, be, for the cause aforesaid, and 
the same is hereby annulled. Dated this day of 

A. B., 

School Commissioner for , etc. 

If charges affecting the moral character of the teacher be presented, the 
notice should be : 

Take notice that the following charges, affecting the moral character of R. S., 
a teacher employed in district No. , of the town of , have been 

presented by James Jackson, of the town of , as a cause for annulling 

the certificate of said teacher, viz. : (Here recite the charges, in which the 
precise nature, time, place and circumstances of the offenses imputed to the 
teacher should be stated) ; and that I shall proceed to examine into the charges 
aforesaid, and to hear the defense of the said teacher at o'clock of the 
day of , at , in the town of 

C. O., 
School Commissioner for , etc. 

It is believed that a. commissioner ought not to subject a teacher to the noto- 
riety of a public accusation, unless some person shall make complaint to him, 
and sustain it by his own oath or that of witnesses whom he produces. He 
should ascertain that there is probable cause for proceeding in substantially 
the same manner as a justice of the peace, to whom application is made for a 
criminal warrant. He may, for this purpose, administer oaths, examiiie the 
complainant and his witnesses orally, and reduce their testimony to writing. 

The charges must be direct and positive of such offenses as would justify the 
annviUing of the certificate. They ought to be sufficiently particular to apprise 
the teacher of what he is accused, and enable him to prepare for defense ; 
for example, if an immoral habit, as profane swearing, licentiousness, intem- 
perance in the use of spirituous liquors, is charged, one or more instances of it 
should be specified. 

When the time for examination arrives, it is for the complainant first to ad- 
duce evidence in support of his charges. The accused is not bound to offer 
any testimony until something is proved against him by witnesses whom he 
has the opportunity to cross-examine. The preliminary complaint is only for 
the purpose of putting him upon trial, but is not evidence upon the trial, unless 
for the purpose of discrediting the witnesses, by showing that they have testi- 
fied differently as to the same transaction. 

As the commissioner is required to report his action to the State Superin- 
tendent, and as an appeal may be taken from his decision, he should take full 
minutes, as it is given, as nearly as possible in the language of the witnesses. 
It would be well, also, though not indispensable, that the testimony of each 
witness should be read over to and subscribed by him as soon as he has 
concluded. 



38 School Commissioners. 

The statute contemplates a decision by the commissioner, and the testimony 
may be needed only in case an appeal is brought from the decision. 

The commissioner should di'aw three copies of his instrument annulling a 
certificate, one of which he should keep, and another serve upon the teacher, 
and the third send to the State Superintendent. The trustees, also, should be 
notified of the fact immediately, in order to save the district from the loss of 
the public money consequent upon the employment of a teacher without a 
license. 

The commissioners are instructed to report, once in three months, to this 
department, the names of all teachers whose certificates have been annulled, 
with the cause of such proceeding. 

They should also keep a register of the names of all persons to whom they 
grant certificates of qualification, with the date of each certificate and the term 
and place for which it was given ; and also the names of all persons whose 
certificates are annulled by them, with the date, and the general reasons 
therefor. 

§ 14. Every school commissioner shall have power to take affi- 
davits and administer oaths in all matters pertaining to common 
schools, but without charge or fee ; and, under the direction of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, to take and report to him 
the testimony in any case of appeal. 

It was not the design of this section to supersede the present mode estab- 
lished by regulation of presenting testimony upon appeals in the form of 
written affidavits, but to enable the Superintendent to obtain additional light, 
where the written evidence is conflicting, ambiguous or otherwise unsatisfac- 
tory, by the oral examination of witnesses before a commissioner. Where the 
Superintendent conceives this necessary or desirable, an order "vvill be made in 
the case, referring it to the proper commissioner to hear and report all testi- 
mony which may be produced before him by the respective parties to the 
appeal, or the testimony of particular witnesses named in the order, or testi- 
mony in relation to particular issues specified. The range of inquiry will be 
limited by the terms of the order. 

Upon receiving the order, the commissioner will give notice to both parties 
of the time and place at which he will hear the evidence to be produced by them 
respectively, if the reference is general, or of the witness named, or in relation 
to particular issues or subjects of inquiry, if the reference is limited in either 
respect. At the time and place appointed, the commissioner will administer an 
oath to the witnesses in the following form : 

You swear (or declare and affirm) that the e\idence you shall give upon this 
hearing, imder the order of the Superintendent of Public Instruction . on the 
appeal of (reciting the title of the proceeding as the same is 

given in the entitling of the order), shall be the truth, the whole truth, and 
nothing but the truth, so help you God. 



School Commissioners. 39 

The evidence of each witness on his direct examination should be reduced to 
writing, read over to the witness, any additions or corrections he desires 
to make stated (without erasing any thing that has been written), and then 
subscribed by the witness and certiiied by the commissioner, before the witness 
is cross-examined. The cross-examination is to be taken, corrected, subscribed 
and certified in the same manner. 

At the conclusion of the examination the commissioner should indorse or 
under-write upon the original order " The execution of this order appears by 
the depositions hereto annexed. A. B., Commissioner." He should then 
append to the order, and return therewith to the Superintendent, the depositions 
in the following form : 



[Title of the ca^e as in the order.] j \ Depositions taken on the day 

' of , at , under an order of 

the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, dated , before A. B., school 
commissioner for the commis- 

sioner district of county. 



C. D., a witness produced, was duly sworn by said commissioner, and on 
being orally examined by for the appellant (or respondent), 

deposeth as follows : I reside in the town of ; 1 was present at a 

meeting held in District No. , on the 10th day of May, 1856, etc. 

On hearing the above read, the witness further deposeth : I want to be under- 
stood that I was not present at the meeting (give the additions and correc- 
tions of the Avitness to his testimony as reported. 

(Signed) 

CD. 

Subscribed and sworn to this ) 

day of , before me, j" 

A. B., Commissioner, 

On being cross-examined by for the respondent, the witness above 

named deposeth : I saw James Jones at the meeting to which I have testifi.ed. 
He was outside of the building when the meeting was organized, etc. 

The commissioner has no power to compel the attendance of witnesses. If 
any of those named in the order do not appear, he should take and report the 
evidence of the parties, showing their refusal or other reason for non-attendance. 

§ 15, The commissioners shall be subject to such rules and reg- 
ulations as the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, from 
time to time, prescribe ; and appeals from their acts and decisions 
may be made to him, as hereinafter provided. They shall, when- 
ever thereto required by the Superintendent, report to him, as to 
any particular matter or act, and shall severally make to him 
annually, up to the first day of October in each year, a report in 
such form, and containing all such particulars as he shall prescribe 



40 State and Other School Moneys. 

and call for ; and for tliat purpose shall procure the reports of the 
trustees of the school districts from the town clerks' offices, and 
after abstracting the necessary contents thereof, shall arrange and 
indorse them properly, and deposit them with a copy of his own 
abstract thereof, in the office of the county clerk; and the clerk 
shall safely keep them. 

The annual reports of the trustees of school districts are required to be made 
between the first and second Tuesdays of October in each year, and filed with 
the town clerks. (Sec. 60 of title 7.) The commissioner should call for them 
promptly ; and, if any districts are delinquent, should at once proceed to ascer- 
tain the cause. It should be his care, if possible, to cause a report to be made 
by every district in his jurisdiction, and he should aid trustees who may need 
his counsel and advice. 

The reports of the commissioners are required to be made at such times and 
to contain such statistical information as the State Superintendent shall 
prescribe. Blank forms will be annually prepared and distributed to the com- 
missioners, and circulars will be addressed to them, with instructions as to the 
information required and the time when the reports must be completed, and 
deposited in the mail or sent by express to this department. 

It must be borne in mind that the State Superintendent is directed to send 
in his annual report to the Legislature, dated December 31st of each year. The 
reports of commissioners must, therefore, be prepared two or three months 
pre\aous to this time ; negligence on the part of one, two or three commission- 
ers will necessarily cause serious delay and embarrassment to the department, 
as the Superintendent cannot comment upon results until all the details are 
received 



TITLE III. 

OE THE STATE AND OTHER SCHOOL MONEYS, THEIR APPORTIONilENT 
AND DISTRIBUTION, AND, HEREIN, OF TRUSTS AND GIFTS FOR THE 
BENEFIT OF COMMON SCHOOLS. 

FIRST ARTICLE. 

Of the State school moneys and their apportionment hy the Super- 
intendent of Pichlic Instructi07i^ and payment to the county and 
city treasurers. 

§ 1. There shall be raised by tax, in the present and each suc- 
ceeding year, upon the real and personal estate of each county 
within the State, one mill and one-fourth of a mill upon each and 
every dollar of the equalized valuation of such estate, for the sup- 
port of common schools in the State; and the proceeds of such tax 
shall be apportioned and distributed as herein provided. 



State and Other School Moneys. 41 

The law of 1814 required tlie boards of supervisors to levy upon eacli town 
in the county a tax equal in amount to the money apportioned to it from the 
school fund. The first State tax was levied by authority of chapter 151, Session 
Laws of 1851, page 293. The fixed sum was $800,000. By section 1, chapter 
180, of 1856, the Legislature ordered a tax of three-fourths of a mill on every 
dollar of valuation. This provision graduated the tax so that increasing wealth 
would yield a larger tax to meet the wants of a growing population. Chapter 
405, of 1867, has added half a mill to the rate, with the intention of making 
the revenues of the school fund and United States deposit fund, together with 
the tax, support the common schools for at least twenty-eight weeks in most 
of the districts. 

§ 2. No clerk of any board of supervisors, or other person who 
shall make out the tax list or assessment roll of any town, shall 
omit to include and apportion among the moneys to be raised 
thereby the amount hereby required to be raised for the support 
of schools, by reason of the omission of the board of supervisors 
to pass a resolution for that purpose. 

§ 3. The moneys so raised shall be paid into the State treasury, 
and the Treasurer may transfer them from one depository to 
another by his draft, countersigned and entered by the Superin- 
tendent of Public In&trnction. No such money shall be paid out 
of the treasury except upon such warrant of the Superintendent/ 
countersigned by the Comptroller, referring to the law under which 
it is drawn. The Superintendent shall countersign and enter all 
checks drawn by the Treasurer in payment of his warrants, and all 
receipts of the Treasurer for such money paid to the Treasurer, and 
no such receipt shall be evidence of payment unless it be so coun- 
tersigned. 

§ 4. The Comptroller may withhold the payment of any moneys 
to which an}'- county may be entitled, from the appropriation of 
the incomes of the school fund and the United States deposit fund 
for the support of common schools, until satisfactory evidence 
shall be furnished to him that all moneys required by law to be 
raised by taxation upon such county, for the support of schools 
throughout the State, have been collected and paid or accounted 
for to the State Treasurer ; and whenever, after the first day of 
March, in any year, in consequence of the failure of any county 
to pay such moneys on or before that day, there shall be a defi- 
ciency of moneys in the treasury applicable to the -payment of 
school moneys to which anv other county may be entitled, the 
6 



42 State and Other School Moneys. 

Treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction are hereby- 
authorized to make a temjDorary loan of the amount so deficient, 
and such loan, and the interest thereon at the rate of twelve per 
cent per annum, until payment shall be made to the treasury, shall 
"be a charge upon the county in default, and shall be added to the 
amount of State tax, and levied upon such county by the board 
of supervisors thereof, at the next ensuing assessment, and shall 
he paid into the treasury in the same manner as other taxes. 

The object of the Legislature in the preceding provision was to prevent the 
moneys raised for school purposes in the several counties from being withheld 
from the State treasury, and being temporarily employed to supply the defi- 
ciencies in the county treasuries arising from delay in the collection of taxes 
imposed for county purposes. It is therefore required that the county's propor- 
tion of the school tax should have been actually collected, and either paid into 
the State treasury or accounted for — as it might be by receipts from the super- 
visors of their respective towns, showing the payment to them, on account of 
the apportionment to their towns made by the State Superintendent and the 
Bchool commissioners, of an amount equal in the aggregate to the school tax 
due from the county — ^before the coimty treasurer is authorized to require from 
the Comptroller a warrant for the amount apportioned to his county from the 
incomes of the school fund and United States deposit fand. 

It also subjects the county to the payment of interest upon so much of its 
Bchool tax as is withheld from the State treasury, whenever it becomes neces- 
Eary to make a loan to furnish the State treasury with the funds for the pay- 
ment of school moneys to any other county which is not in default, and is 
therefore entitled to immediate payment. 

It is obviously, therefore, the duty of the coimty treasurer, for the purpose 
of protecting his county from the liability to the payment of interest on a loan 
to be made on its account, to regard the first moneys which come to his hands 
from the town collectors as belonging exclusively to the school fund. Other 
claims may be postponed without incurring a charge for interest, while this 
cannot. The power and duty of the Treasurer and State Superintendent to 
make loans under this section is not suspended, when, as is often the case, the 
Legislature extends the time for the collection of taxes ; and it would be most 
unjust that the schools should suflPer in those counties which have collected 
their taxes promptly, for want of the exercise of that power, at the expense of 
the counties where their collection is delayed, either by an extension of the time 
for collection or by the return of non-resident lands. In the latter case, the 
county treasurer can obtain the money or a credit thereof from the Comptroller, 
for all the arrears of taxes admitted by him, and should not therefore subject 
the school tax to any deduction or reservation on account of returned lands. 

§ 5. The moneys raised by the State tax or borrowed as afore- 
said to supply a deficiency thereof, and such portion of the income 



State and Other School Moneys. 43 

of the United States deposit fund as shall be appropriated, and 
the income of the common school fund, when the same are appro- 
priated to the support of common schools, constitute the State 
school moneys, and shall be divided and apportioned by the Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction, on or before the twentieth day 
of January in each year, as follows ; and all moneys so appor- 
tioned, except the library moneys, shall be applied exclusively to 
the payment of teachers' wages : 

By chapter 237, Laws of 1838, the sum of $110,000, for teachers' wages, and 
$55,000, for district libraries, were appropriated from ttie income of tlie United 
States deposit fund, to be distributed " in like manner and upon like conditions 
as tlie scliool moneys are now or shall be hereafter distributed." 

The moneys raised by the State tax, and the revenue of the common school 
fund, and that of the United States deposit fund appropriated to the support 
of common schools, constitute the " State school moneys." 

§ 6. He shall apportion and set apart, from the income of the 
United States deposit fund so appropriated, the amounts required 
to pay the annual salaries of the school commissioners elected or 
elective under this act, to be drawn out of the treasury and paid 
to the several commissioners as hereinbefore provided ; and he 
shall also apportion to each of the cities of the State, which under 
a special act employs a superintendent of common schools or a 
clerk of the board of education who does the duty of supervision, 
out of the income of the said fund, or out of the income of the 
common school fund so appropriated, five hundred dollars for each 
member of Assembly to which such city shall be entitled according 
to the unit of representation adopted by the Legislature, to be paid 
into the city treasury and expended according to law, for the sup- 
port of the common schools of the city. He shall then set apart, 
from the income of the United States deposit fund, for and as 
library moneys, such sum as the Legislature shall appropriate for 
that purpose. He shall also set apart from the free school fund a 
sum not exceedinor two thousand dollars for a continorent fund. 
He shall then set apart and apportion, for and on account of the 
Indian schools under his supervision, a sum which will be equita- 
bly equivalent to their proportion of the State school moneys 
upon the basis of distribution established by this act, such sum to 
be wholly payable out of the proceeds of the State tax for the 
support of common schools. After deducting the said amounts, 



44 State axd Otiiee ScnooL Moxeys. 

he shall divide the remainder of the State school moneys into two 
parts, one to be one-third and the other to be two-thirds of such 
remainder, and shall apportion them as hereinafter specified. 

By tlie " free school fund " is meant the money raised by the State tax. 

1. The salaries of the school commissioners are first ascertained and set 
apart from the income of the United States deposit fund. 

2. The number of AssembljTnen to which each city is entitled is next ascer- 
tained, and five hundred dollars for each is set apart either from the income of 
the United States deposit fund or the common school fund. 

3. He sets apart from the income of the United States deposit fund fifty-five 
thousand dollars, specially appropriated by the Legislature for libraries. 

4. He then sets apart from the free school fund, or avails of the State tax, 
two thousand dollars for a contingent fund. 

5. He then sets apart an equitable sum for the support of Indian schools, 
payable from the " free school fund," or proceeds of the State tax. 

The sum of these five items is then deducted from the aggregate of the 
State school moneys, and the remainder divided into two parts, one consistirig 
of one-third and the other of two-thirds of such remainder. 

§ 7. He shall apportion the one-third of the remainder equally 
among the school districts and cities from which reports shall have 
been received in accordance with law, as follows : 

To entitle a district to a distributive portion or district quota, 
a qualified teacher, or successive qualified teachers, must have 
actually taught the common school of the district, for at least 
the term of time hereinafter mentioned, during the last pre- 
ceding school year. For every additional qualified teacher and 
his successors who shall have actually taught in said school during 
the whole of said term, the district shall be entitled to another 
distributive quota ; but pupils employed as monitors, or otherwise, 
shall not be deemed teachers. The aforementioned term, during 
the current school year, shall be six months, and thereafter shall 
be twenty-eight weeks of five school days each, inclusive of Xew 
Year's day, Washington's birthday, the fourth day of July, Christ- 
mas day, and any other day which shall be, by law, declared a 
holiday, which shall occur during the term. A deficiency not 
exceeding three weeks during the current year, or in any subse- 
quent year, caused by a teacher's attendance upon a teachers' 
institute within the county, shall be excused. 

The one-third is apportioned to those districts, and to those only, that have 
made their annual report in accordance with law ; and their reports must also 



State and Other School Moneys 45 

show that school has been taught, during the preceding school year, by quali- 
fied teachers. (See § 41, of title 7.) If a district has employed a single teacher 
for the whole term, or has employed one or more teachers, whose terms of 
service make up the requisite time of twenty-eight weeks, it is entitled to a 
single quota. If a district has employed two or more teachers, it is entitled to 
an additional cjuota for every teacher, or succession of teachers whose terms of 
service amount to twenty-eight weeks. The number of reported districts 
increased by the number of additional teachers so employed will give the 
whole number of quotas in the State. Dividing the " one-third of the remain- 
der " by the whole number of quotas, will give the amount of money to which 
each district is entitled, and that amount is called the district quota. 

The school year is twenty-eight weeks of five days each. No school district 
will be entitled to any share in the " State school moneys " unless the report 
of the trustees shows, affirmatively, that a school has been taught the full school 
year by a qualified teacher. If a legal holiday comes Avithin the term, the 
teacher will not keep school on that day, nor be required tp make it up as a 
deficiency. A teacher may also be absent in attendance upon a teachers' insti- 
tute, not exceeding three weeks, and the time so spent will not be deemed a 
deficiency, and the trustees must pay him as for time employed in his school. 
(See § 5, of title 11, of this act.) 

Evening schools, when conducted under the supervision of trustees, are con- 
sidered simply as a continuation of the day schools, not as separate branches of 
the day schools. Those persons attending the evening and not the day schools 
may be included in the trustees' report of aggregate and average attendance, 
and public money may be drawn upon their attendance. But persons attend- 
ing both the day and evening schools should be counted but once in the report 
of attendance. 

§ 8. Having so apportioned and distributed the one-third, the 
Superintendent shall apportion the two-thirds of the said remainder, 
and also the library moneys separately, among the counties of the 
State, according to their respective population, excluding Indians 
residing on their reservations, as the same shall appear from the 
last preceding State or United States census ; but as to counties in 
which are situated cities ha\'ing special school acts, he shall appor- 
tion to each city the part to which it shall so appear entitled, and 
to the residue of the county the part to which it shall appear to 
be so entitled. If the census according to Avhicli the apportion- 
ment, should be made docs not show the sum of the population of 
any county or city, the Superintendent shall, by the best evidence 
lie can procure, ascertain and determine the population of such 
county or city at the time the census was taken, and make his 
apportionment accordingly. 



46 State and Other School Moneys. 

The two-tliirds of the said remainder is then apportioned to the several 
counties and cities ha^ang special acts, according to populjltion. A census of 
the United States is taken every tenth year of the century, as 1810, 1820, and 
so on. A census of the State is taken once in ten years, also, as 1805, 1815, 
and so on. The population upon which the apportionment must be based is 
the last preceding census, whether of the State, or the United States, 

The provision in the last sentence of this section was made to meet cases 
which might arise from the erection of new cities, or counties, or the alteration 
of their boundaries by the Legislature, thereby taking from or adding to their 
population, after the last preceding census has been taken. 

§ 9. The Superintendent shall apportion to each separate neigh- 
borhood which shall have duly reported such fixed sum as will, in 
his opinion, be equitably equivalent to its portion of all the State 
school moneys upon the basis of distribution established by this 
act ; such sum to be payable out of the contingent fund hereinbe- 
fore established. 

The separate neighborhoods formed to accommodate inhabitants whose 
children can more conveniently attend school in an adjoining State are situated 
in the towns of Independence, Allegany county ; North Castle and Lewisboro, 
Westchester county ; Southport, Chemung county ; Nichols, Tioga county, and 
Hampton, Washington county. The first three only have made reports for the 
last two years, and the number of children of school age in the three was 39. 

§ 10. Whenever any school district or separate neighborhood 
shall have been excluded from participation in any apportionment 
made by the Superintendent, or by the school commissioners, by 
reason of its having omitted to make any report required by law, 
or to comply with any other provision of law, or with any rule or 
regulation made by the Superintendent under the authority of law, 
and it shall be shown to the Superintendent that such omission 
was accidental or excusable, he may, upon the application of such 
district or neighborhood, make to it an equitable allowance; and 
if the apportionment was made by himself, cause it to be paid out 
of the contingent fund; and, if the apportionment was made by 
the commissioners, direct them to apportion such allowance to it, 
at their next annual apportionment, in addition to any apportion- 
ment to which it may then be entitled. 

§ 11. If money to which it is not entitled, or a larger sum than 
it is entitled to, shall be apportioned to any county, or part of a 
county, or school district, and it shall not have been so distributed 



State and Other School Moneys. 47 

or apportioned among the districts, or expended, as to make it 
impracticable so to do, the Superintendent may reclaim such 
money or excess, by directing any officer in whose hands it may 
be to pay it into the State treasury, to the credit of the free 
school fund ; and the State Treasurer's receipt, countersigned by 
the Superintendent, shall be his only voucher ; but, if it be imprac- 
ticable so to reclaim such money or excess, then the Superintendent 
shall deduct it from the portion of such county, part of a county 
or district, in his next annual apj^ortionment, and distribute the 
sum thus deducted equitably among the counties and parts of 
counties, or among the school districts in the State entitled to 
participate in such apportionment, according to the basis of appor- 
tionment in which such excess occurred. 

§ 12. If a less sum than it is entitled to shall have been appor- 
tioned by the Superintendent to any county, part of a county or 
school district, the Superintendent may make a supplementary 
apportionment to it, of such a sum as shall make up the deficiency, 
and the same shall be paid out of the contingent fund, if sufficient, 
and, if not, then the Superintendent shall make up such deficiency 
in his next annual apportionment. 

Sections 10, 11, and 12 are remedial, and give the Superintendent power to 
grant relief to districts ; 

1. For omissions or neglect of duty. 

2. For wrong or excessive apportionments of money. 

3. For deficiencies in apportionment. 

The most common omissions and neglects of duty are failure to report, 
failure to have school kept during the school year, and the employment of 
unqualified teachers for a part of the year. If the trustees have any excuse 
for their neglect or omission of duty, or if circumstances not under their con- 
trol interfere with its performance, they may make a written statement of 
facts, and verify it by affidavit, and the Superintendent in his discretion may 
grant refief. 

The errors under the other two heads would arise from wrong computations 
or mistakes in transcribing, and the Superintendent will correct them as soon 
as they are brought to his notice. 

This power is not to be exercised arbitrarily and without good cause. The 
Superintendent does not want reasons and argument, but facts. The sickness 
or death of a trustee ^vill excuse a failurt' to report. A deep snow, an unex- 
pected storm, or a railroad accident would explain delay. The burning of a 
school-house, the sickness or death of a teacher, or the prevalence of an epi- 
demic or contagious disease would excuse a failure to keep school for the 
whole twenty-eight weeks required by law. The facts must be sufficient to 



48 State and Other School Moneys. 

relieve tlie trustees from all blame. If they are guilty of a willful violation 
of duty, or of slieer neglect, tlie Superintendent cannot lawfully grant tlie 
district any relief. 

§ 13. As soon as possible after the making of any annual or 
general api3ortionment, the Superintendent shall certify it to the 
county clerk, county treasurer, school commissioners and city 
treasurer or chamberlain, in every county in the State; and if it 
be a supplemental apportionment, then to the county clerk, county 
treasurer, and school commissioners of the county in which the 
neighborhood or the school-house of the district concerned is 
situate. 

§ 14. The moneys so annually apportioned by the Superintend- 
ent shall be payable on the first day of February next after the 
aj^portionment, to the treasurers of the seA^eral counties and the 
chamberlain of the city of New York respectively ; and the said 
treasurers and chamberlain shall apply for and receive the same so 
soon as payable. 

SECOND ARTICLE. 

Of trusts for the benefit of common schools, and of toion school 
funds, fines, pencdties cmd other moneys held or given for their 
benefit. 

§ 15. Keal and personal estate may be granted, conveyed, de- 
vised, bequeathed and given in trust and in perpetuity, or other- 
wise, to the State, or to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
for the support or benefit of the common schools within the State, 
or within any part or portion of it, or of any particular common 
school or schools within it ; and to any county, or the school com- 
missioner or commissioners of any county, or to any city or any 
board or officers thereof, or to any school commissioner district or 
its commissioner, or to any town or supervisor of a town, or to 
any school district or its trustee or trustees, for the support and 
benefit of common schools within such county, city, school com- 
missioner district, town, or school district or within any part or 
portion thereof respectively, or for the support and benefit of any 
particular common school or schools therein. 

§ 16. No such grant, conveyance, devise or bequest shall be 
held void for the want of a named or competent trustee or donee; 
but where no trustee or donee, or an incompetent one is named, 



State and Otiiek School Moneys. 49 

the title and trust shall vest in the people of the State, subject to 
its acceptance by the Legislature, but such acceptance shall be 
jDresumed. 

§ 17. The Legislature may control and regulate the execution 
of all such trusts ; and the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
shall supervise and advise the trustees, and hold them to a regular 
accounting for the trust property and its income and interest, at 
such times, in such forms, and with such authentications, as he 
shall from time to time prescribe. 

§ 18. The common council of every city, the board of supervi- 
sors of every county, the trustees of every village, the supervisor 
of every town, the trustee or trustees of every school district, 
and every other officer or person who shall be thereto required by 
the Superintendent of Public Listruction, shall, on or before the 
thirtieth day of September next, report to him whether any, and, if 
any, what trusts are held by them respectively, or by any other 
body, officer or person, to their information or belief, for school 
purposes, and shall transmit therewith an authenticated copy of 
every will, conveyance, instrument or paper embodying or creating 
the trust; and shall, in like manner, forthwith report to him the 
creation and terms of every such trust subsequently created. 

§ 19. Every supervisor of a town shall, by the thirtieth day of 
September next, report to the Superintendent whether there be, 
within the town, any gospel or school lot, and, if any, shall 
describe the same, and state to what use, if any, it is put by the 
town; and whether it be leased, and if so, to whom, for what 
term and upon what rents ; and whether the town holds or is enti- 
tled to any land, moneys or securities arising from any sale of 
such gospel or school lot, and the investment of the proceeds 
thereof, or of the rents and income of such lots and investments, 
and shall report a full statement and account of such lands, moneys 
and securities {See sec. 1 of title 4.) 

§ 20. Every supervisor of a town shall, in like manner, by the 
thirtieth day of September next, report to the Superintendent 
whether the town has a common school fund originated under the 
*' act relative to moneys in the hands of overseers of the poor," 
passed April 27, 1829, and, if it have, the full particulars thereof, 
and of its investment, income and application, in such form as the 
Superintendent may prescribe {See sec. 2 of title 5). 
7 



60 State and Other School Moneys. 

§ 21. In respect to the property and funds in the two last seo- 
tionri mentioned, the Superintendent shall, at the next session of 
the Legislature, and annually thereafter, include in his annual 
report a statement and account thereof. And, to these ends, he 
is authorized, at any time, and from time to time, to require from 
the supervisor, board of town auditors, or any officer of a town, a 
report as to any fact, or any information or account, he may deem 
necessary or desirable. 

§ 22. Whenever, by any statute, a penalty or fine is imposed for 
the benefit of common schools, and not expressly of the common 
schools of a town or school district, it shall be taken to be for the 
benefit of the common schools of the county within which the con- 
viction is had ; and the fine or penalty, when paid or collected, 
shall be paid forthwith into the county treasury, and the treasurer 
shall credit the same as school moneys of the county, unless the 
county comprise a city having a special school act, in Avhich case 
he shall report it to the Superintendent, who shall apportion it 
upon the basis of population by the last census, between the city 
and the residue of the county, and the portion belonging to the 
city shall be paid into its treasury. 

The fines and penalties imposed by this act are as follows : 

1. Title II, § 10. If a school commissioner neglects his duty the Superintend- 
ent of Public Instruction may withhold the whole or a part of his salary. 

2. Title II, § 12. If a commissioner acts as ag-ent for the sale of books, he 
may be removed from office by the Superintendent. He is also guilty of a 
misdemeanor. 

3. Title III, § 26. The embezzlement, the withholding, or the omission to 
pay into the county treasury of any fine or penalty, collected or received by 
any officer, is a misdemeanor. 

4. Title III, § 32. The supervisor Avho refuses to give a bond for the school 
moneys paid into his hands commits a misdemeanor. 

5. Title IV, § 3. The supervisor who embezzles any money or security 
received by him is guilty of a m.isdemeanor. 

6. Title IV, § 5. The supervisor who neglects to make an annual report to 
the county treasurer of the school moneys in his hands incurs a penalty of 
twenty-five dollars, to be recovered by his successor in office. 

7. Title VI, § 12. The clerk, or other person, refusing to obey an order to 
deposit the books, papers and records of a dissolved district with the town 
clerk incurs a penalty of fifty dollars. 

8. Title VII, § 5. Any taxable inhabitant refusing to give the notice of a 
district meeting, under article first of title seven, forfeits five dollars. 



State and Other School Moneys. 51 

9. Title VII, § 14. Any person making a false declaration of bis right to vote 
at a district meeting is guilty of a misdemeanor, and liable to imprisonment 
not less than six months and not more than a year. Any person not qualified 
to vote, who votes at a district meeting, forfeits five dollars, to be sued for by 
the supervisor, for the benefit of the schools of the town. 

10. Title VII, § 37, sub. 5. If a district clerk neglect to give notice to all 
persons elected or appointed to ofl&ce, and to report their names, and post-ofiice 
address, to the town clerk, he forfeits five dollars in each instance. 

11. Title VII, § 37, sub. 7. If the district clerk neglects to keep and preserve 
all books and records, and deliver them to his successor, he forfeits fifty dollars 
for the benefit of the district, to be recovered by the trustees. 

12. Title VII, § 34. A person chosen or appointed to a district school office 
and refusing to serve forfeits five dollars, and any person not having refused to 
accept ofiice, but neglecting or refusing to perform any duty thereof, vacates 
his ofiice and forfeits ten dollars. 

13. Title VII, § 43. The trustee who applies, or directs, or consents to the 
application of any public money to the payment of the wages of an unqualified 
teacher is guilty of a misdemeanor. 

14. Title VII, § 57. Every trustee who refuses or neglects to render liis 
annual account in writing to the district meeting, forfeits twenty-five dollars; 
and every trustee who refuses to pay over to his successor any balance of 
money in his hands, forfeits twenty-five dollars. He also forfeits his office and 
becomes liable for the money in his hands. 

15. Title VII, § 64. Every trustee who signs a false report, with intent to 
obtain from a commissioiier a larger sum than is legally due the district for- 
feits twenty-five dollars, and commits a misdemeanor. 

16. Title VII, § 89. A collector whose neglect to collect money causes £t 
loss to the district is liable for such loss, and forfeits the amount to the 
district. 

17. Title VIII, § 6. The trustees are liable to the district, and the librarian 
to the trustees, for loss of books, or damage to them, caused by their neglect 
of duty. 

18. Title VIII, § 11. The fines imposed by the general instructions as to the 
management and care of libraries are legalized, and may be recovered by 
the trustees in an action of debt. 

19. Title VIII, § 13. If any trustee refuses to make a report of the condition 
of the library, at the request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the 
library money may be withheld from the district, and the trustee is liable 
therefor to the district. 

20. Title XIII, § 1. The officer of any town, district or separate neighbor- 
hood, by whose neglect any money is lost to the district, forfeits the full 
amount of the loss with interest. 

21. Title XIII, g 2. The officer whose duty it is to sue for a fine or penalty, 
and who neglects to prosecute, is himself liable to pay the penalty. 

22. Title XIII, §§ 3 and 4. Every person who willfully disturbs any school, or 
any lawful meeting held in a school-house, forfeits twenty-five dollars for the 



62 State and Other School Moneys. 

benefit of the district ; and a refusal to pay the money, after judgment obtained 
for it, subjects him to imprisonment for tliirty days. 

In all cases in which a fine or forfeiture is imposed, and the amount is fixed 
or may be ascertained by evidence, suit may be brought before any justice of 
the peace ; or in cases of embezzlement, or withholding of money, when the 
amount may be large, before a county court, or the supreme court. 

Of the twenty-two cases above enumerated, in which penalties are provided 
for neglect of duty or violation of the school laws, seven are declared to be 
misdemeanors. 

A misdemeanor is any crime or offense less than a felony. A felony is any 
crime punishable by death or imprisonment in a state prison. 

As the school law in these several sections has not in every case prescribed 
the fine or penalty to be inflicted for the misdemeanor, we must look to the 
Revised Statutes for instruction. 

The fifty-third, fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth sections of part fourth, chapter one, 
title sixth, Revised Statutes, fifth edition, are applicable. 

§ 53. Where any duty is or shall be enjoined by law upon any public officer, 
or upon any person holding any public trust or employment, every willful neg- 
lect to perform such duty, where no special provision shall have been made for 
the punishment of such delinquency, shall be a misdemeanor punishable as 
herein prescribed. 

§ 54. \Alien the performance of any act is prohibited by any statute, and no 
penalty for the violation of such statute is imposed, either in the same section 
containing such prohibition, or in any other section or statute, the doing such 
act shall be deemed a misdemeanor. 

§ 55. Every person who shall be convicted of any misdemeanor, the punish- 
ment of which is not prescribed in this or some other statute, shall be pun- 
ished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not 
exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars, or by both such fine and imprison- 
ment. 

It is to be hoped that there vrill be no occasion to prosecute for these pen- 
alties and forfeitures, nor to punish for these misdemeanors. It is, however, 
enjoined upon the people, and especially upon school officers, to see that the 
laws be obeyed, and the offices be faithfully administered. 

If, unfortunately, it becomes necessary to prosecute a suit for any penalty, it 
should be done promptly. Suits for penalties or forfeitures must be brought 
within three years after the cause of action shall have accrued. See Code of 
Procedure, chapter 3, section 93. 

An indictment for misdemeanor must be found witliin three jeajrs after the 
commission of the crime. See Revised Statutes, fifth edition, volume 3, page 
1017. 

A reference to the several sections of the law imposing penalties and for- 
feitures will show by whom the prosecutions are to be made. 

But an indictment must be found by a grand jury, and any person cognizant 
of the facts can appear before them and testify in any case of misdemeanor ; 
or he may procure the aid of the district attorney, who can issue subpoenas to 
bring witnesses before the jury. 



State a^d Other School Moneys. 53 

§ 23. Every district attorney shall report, annually, to the board 
of supervisors, all such fines and penalties imposed in any prose- 
cution conducted by him during the previous year ; and all moneys 
collected or received by him or by the sheriff, or any other officer, 
for or on account of such fines and penalties, shall be immediately 
paid into the county treasury, and the receipt of the county 
treasurer shall be a sufficient and the only voucher for such 
money. 

§ 21. Whenever a fine or penalty is inflicted or imposed for the 
benefit of the common schools of a town or school district, the 
magistrate, constable or other officer collecting or receiving 
the same, shall forthwith pay the same to the county treasurer 
of the county in which the school-house is located, who shall 
credit the same to the town or district for w^hose benefit it is col- 
lected. If the fine or penalty be inflicted or imposed for the ben- 
efit of the common schools of a city having a special school act, or 
of any part or district of a city, it shall be paid into the city 
treasury. 

§ 25. Whenever, by this or any other act, a penalty or fine is 
imposed upon any school district officer for a violation or omission 
of official duty, or upon any person for any act or omission within 
a school district, or touching property or the peace and good order 
of the district, and such penalty or fine is declared to be for, or 
for the use and benefit of, the common schools of the town, or of 
the county, and such school district lies in two or more towns or 
counties, the town or county intended by the act shall be taken 
to be the one in which the school-house, or the school-house 
longest owned or held by the district is, at the time of such vio- 
lation, act or omission. 

§ 26. Any district attorney, sheriff, justice of the peace, police 
justice or other magistrate or officer, who shall embezzle, or Tvill- 
fally withhold from or omit to pay into the county treasury any 
money received or collected in payment or satisfaction, in w^hole 
or in part, of any fine or penalty in the four last preceding sec- 
tions mentioned, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor ; and any fine 
imposed upon a conviction thereof shall be for the benefit of the 
common schools of the county. 



54 .Appoktionment of School Moneys. 

THIRD ARTICLE. 

Of the apportionment of the State school moneys^ and of other 
school inoneys^ hy the school coinmissionerSy and their payment 
to the supervisors. 

§ 27. The school commissioner, or commissioners of each county, 
shall proceed, at the county seat, on the third Tuesday of March 
in each year, to ascertain, apportion and divide the State and other 
school moneys as follows : 

1. They shall set apart any library moneys apportioned by the 
Superintendent. 

2. From the other moneys apportioned to the county, they shall 
set apart and credit to each separate neighborhood and school dis- 
trict the amount apportioned to it by the State Superintendent, and 
to every district which did not participate in the apportionment 
of the previous year, and which the Superintendent shall have 
excused, such equitable sum as he shall have allowed to it. 

3. They shall procure from the treasurer of the county a tran- 
script of the returns of the supervisors hereinafter required, show- 
ing the unexpended moneys in their hands applicable to the 
payment of teachers' wages and to library purposes, and shall add 
the whole sum of such moneys to the balance of the State moneys 
to be apportioned for teachers' wages. The amounts in each 
supervisor's hands shall be charged as a partial payment of the 
sums apportioned to the town for library moneys and teachers' 
wages respectively. 

4. They shall procure from the county treasurer a full list and 
statement of all payments to him of moneys for or on account of 
fines and penalties, or accruing from any other source, for the 
benefit of schools and of the town or towns, district or districts for 
whose benefit the same were received. Such of said moneys as 
belong to a particular district, they shall set apart and credit to it ; 
and such as belong to the schools of a town, they shall set apart and 
credit to the schools in that town, and shall apportion them, together 
with such as belong to the schools of the county, hereinafter pro- 
vided, for the payment of teachers' wages. 

5. They shall apportion the library moneys to the school dis- 
tricts and parts of school districts joint with parts in any city or 
in an adjoining county, which shall be entitled to participate 
therein as hereinafter specified, in proportion to the number of 



Apportionment of School Moneys. 55 

children in each between the ages of five and twenty-one years, 
as the same shall appear from the reports of the trustees for the 
last preceding school year. 

6. They shall apportion in like manner and upon the same basis, 
until the apportionment of the year eighteen hundred and sixty- 
six, the remaining unapportioned moneys among such school dis- 
tricts and parts of school districts. 

7. In the apportionment of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and 
in every subsequent apportionment, they shall apportion one-half 
of such remaining unapportioned moneys, in the like manner and 
upon the same basis, among such school districts and parts of 
districts; and the other half they shall apportion among such 
districts and parts of districts, in proportion to the average daily 
attendance of the pupils resident therein between the ages of five 
and twenty-one years, at their respective schools during the last 
preceding school year. The average daily attendance of the pupils 
is to be ascertained from the records thereof kept by the teachers, 
as hereinafter prescribed, by adding together the whole number of 
days' attendance of each and every such pupil in the district, or 
part of a district, and dividing the aggregate by the whole num- 
ber of days the school was kept during the year. 

8. They shall then set apart to each town the moneys so set apart 
and apportioned to each separate neighborhood ; to each district 
the school-house of which is therein ; and to each part of a joint 
district therein the school-house of which is located in a city or in 
a town in an adjoining county. 

9. They shall sign, in duplicate, a certificate, showing the 
amounts apportioned and set apart to each separate neighborhood, 
school district and part of a district, and the towns in which they 
are situated, and shall designate therein the source from which 
each item of the aggregate to each district and town was derived ; 
and shall forthwith deliver one of said duplicates to the treasurer 
of the county and transmit the other to the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction. 

10. They shall certify to the supervisor of each town the 
amount of school moneys so apportioned to his town, and the por- 
tions thereof to be paid by him for library purposes and for 
teachers' wages, to each such distinct separate neighborhood, dis- 
trict and part of a district. 



56 Apportionment of School Moneys. 

The commissioners, before proceeding to make their apportionment, will 
examine their statistical abstracts of the reports of the trustees, and see that 
they are correct. If, since the abstracts have been made, errors have been dis- 
covered, let them be corrected. 

Inquire, also, of the county treasurer, whether the several supervisors have 
made the return of school moneys remaining in their hands, as directed by 
section four of title four, of the school act. 

See further, whether the district attorney, sheriff, or any other ofl&cer, has 
paid into the county treasury any moneys collected for fines and penalties, as 
directed by section twenty-three, of title three. 

In case of joint districts, the apportionment is to be made according to the 
number of children and the average daily attendance for that part only of 
the district situated in the county. 

The apportionment for average daily attendance must be made, not for the 
average daily attendance of all the children attending the school, but for 
the averiage daily attendance of children attending the schools in the districts 
in which they reside. That is, resident children only are to be enumerated as a 
basis of apportionment. 

In accordance A\ith section seven and section twenty-nine of this title, no 
apportionment of school moneys can be made by the commissioners to districts 
to which the Superintendent has not apportioned the district quota, in conse- 
quence of not having maintained school twenty-eight weeks by a qualified 
teacher. 

Having settled these preliminaries and ascertained the amount of moneys to 
be apportioned, every thing is in readiness for the work. The follo^\dng is an 
example of the process, for which we use the statistics taken from the annual 
abstracts sent to the department in the year 1865, by the commissioners of 
Jefferson county : 



Apportionment of School Moneys. 



67 



STATISTICAL. 

First Commissioner District 



TOWNS. 


is 


No. of ch ildren over 
5 and under 21 years 
of age in districts 
not entitled to ap- 
portionment. 


.32 

Ui 

m 
1- 


Ave'ge daily attend- 
ance of children re- 
siding in districts. 


Ave'ge daily attend- 
ance of children in 
distr'ts not entitled 
to an appor'nment. 


Ave'ge daily attend- 
ance of children re- 
siding in districts 
entitled to an ap- 
portionment. 


Adams, 


1,064 
1,244 
1,644 
652 
944 
595 
521 
206 


84 
30 


980 
1,244 
1,644 
622 
944 
595 
521 
206 


301.640 
460.868 
576.599 
218.867 
308.153 
187.969 
226.483 
73.249 


27.246 
■■■6."386 


274.394 
460.868 
576.599 
212.481 
308.153 
187.909 
226.483 
73. M9 


Ellisbnrgh, 


Henderson 

Hounsfield, 

Lorraine, 

Rodman, . ... 


Worth, 


Totals, 


6,870 


114 


6,756 


2,353.828 


33.632 


2,320.196 





Totals, 



Second Commissioner District. 



Antwerp, . . . 
Champion, . 

Le Ray, 

Philadelphia 
Rutland, — 
Watertown, 
Wilna, 

Totals, . 



Alexandria, . . 
Cape Vincent, 

Clayton, 

Lyme 

Orleans, 

Pamelia 

Theresa, 



1,15> 

778 
947 
592 
565 
2,941 
1,597 


8,573 



31 


1,122 


a50.S40 




778 


248.183 


31 


916 


340.350 




592 


199.452 




565 


216.554 




2,941 


876.047 


75 


1,522 


441.871 


137 


8,436 


2,673.297 



7.711 



9.000 



19.5.56 



36.267 



Third Commissioner District. 



1,386 

1,258 

1,705 

838 

1,074 

754 

917 



7,932 




Total for County, 



1,386 

1,181 

1,629 

792 

1,044 

714 

917 



7,663 
8,436 
6,756 

22,855 



414.801 
358.674 
552.691 
305.737 
376.178 
268.010 
314.522 



2,590.613 84.293 



16.031 
20.529 
19.214 
16.842 
11.677 



343.129 
248.183 
a31.350 
199.452 
21 6.. 5.54 
876.047 
422.315 



414.801 
342.643 
532.162 
286.523 
359.3.36 
2.56.333 
314.522 



2,506.320 
2,6.37.030 
2,320.196 



7,463.456 



58 



Apportionmejstt of School Moneys. 



FINANCIAL. 

Supposed statement of moneys in hands of Supervisors^ rendered by the 
the School Commissioners. 



Treasurer to 



1st Commissioner District. 


2d Commissioner District. 


3d Commissioner District. 


Adams, $11 50 

Brownville, . 5 30 

EUisburgh 1 28 

Henderson, 45 


Antwerp, 

Champion, .. .. 
Le Ray, 


. . . . $2 00 
.... 1 25 


Alexandria, 

Cape Vincent, . . 
Clayton, 


... $5 15 

... 4 26 

1 15 


Philadelphia, . . . 
Rutland, 


.... 3 18 




5 12 


Houusfield, 3 10 


Orleans 

Pamelia, 

Theresa, 


... 7 is 


Watertown, 

Wilna, 


.... 7 28 
56 


Rodman, 

Worth, 1 24 






$14 27 

22 83 

23 25 


$22 83 


$23 25 
Total for the county, 


. . $60 35 







General Statement of School Moneys to be Apportioned. 

391 district quotas at $28.29 each, 

Pupil and average attendance quotas, 

Library money, 

Allowed for district quotas since general apportionment, 

In hands of supervisors, 



Total, 



Amount for pupil and average attendance quotas, 

Amount in hands of supervisors, 

The statement procured from the county treasurer, in compliance with subdi- 
vision 4 of section 27, of title 3, Consolidated School Law of 1864, shows no 
moneys in his hands from fines, penalties, etc. 



Sll,061 39 


15,234 86 


954 80 


56 58 


60 35 


$27,367 98 


$15,234 86 



Total, $15,295 21 

Deduct amount ordered by Superintendent of Public Instruction as equitable 
allowances to districts not strictly entitled to an apportionment, in place of 
pupil and average attendance quotas. (See section 10, title 3, Consolidated 
School Law of 1864), 65 21 

Balance, $15,230 00 



In cases where district quotas shall have been allowed as supplementary- 
quotas, by the Superintendent, subsequent to the time of making his general 
apportionment, notice will be given to the commissioners interested. 

Before proceeding to make the regular apportionment, there must also be 
deducted, from the moneys set apart for pupil and average attendance quotas, 
the equitable allowances made by the Superintendent to districts that have for- 
feited their money. The pupil and average attendance quotas will be found in 
the apportionment for the previous year. Having then ascertained the number 
of children entitled to share in the pupil and library money, multiply the pupil 
quota and library quota, respectively, by the number of such children, and 
the products will be the sums to be allowed to the district for pupil and library 



Appoktionment of School Moneys. 59 

money. Then multiply the daily attendance quota by the average daily 
attendance, and the product will be the average attendance money. 

This balance of $15,230 is to be apportioned for teachers' wages ; one- 
half according to the number of children over five and under twenty-one years 
of age, and the other half according to the average daily attendance. 

One-half of $15,230 is $7,615. This sum divided by 22,855, the number 
of children aver five and under twenty-one years of age, residing in those 
districts strictly entitled to share in the apportionment, gives $0.3331875 as the 
quQta of this money for each pupil. 

$0.3331875 multiplied by 6,756 gives for 1st commissioner district, $2,251 01 

8,436 " 2d " " 2,810 77 

7,663 " 3d " " 2,553 22 

Total, $7,615 00 



$7,615 divided by 7,463.546, the average daily attendance for the county, 
gives $1.0202925 as the average daily attendance quota for an average daily 
attendance of one pupil. 

$1.0202925 multiplied by 2,320.196 gives for Ist commissioner district, $2, .367 28 

2,637.030 " 2d " " 2,690 54 

" 2,506.320 " 3d " " 2,557 18 

Total, $7,615 00 

$954.80, library money, divided by 22,855 (number of children as above) 
gives, as the quota of library money for each pupil, $0.0417764. 

$0.0417764 multiplied by 6,756 gives for 1st commissioner district, $282 24 

8,436 " 2d " " 352 43 

" 7,663 " 3d " " 32013 

Total, $954 80 

Each school commissioner will now, in the first place, apportion to each 
town the money belonging to it. 

First Commissioner District. 

Pupil Quota. No. Children. Towns. 

$0.3331875 multiplied by 980 gives for Adams, $326 52 

" " 1244 " Brownville ,. 414 48 

" " 1644 " Ellisburgb, 547 76 

" " 622 " Henderson, 207 24 

" " 944 " Hounsfleld, 314 53 

" " 595 " Lorraine, 198 24 

" " 521 " Rodman, 173 60 

" " 206 " Worth, 68 64 

Total, $2,251 01 



In the same manner apportion tne library money for the first commissioner 
district, using the library quota for multiplicands, and the number of children, 
as above, for multipliers ; and also the moneys to be apportioned according to 



60 Apportionment of School Moneys. 

average daily attendance, using the average daily attendance quota for multi- 
plicands and tlie average daily attendance, for the respective towns, for multi- 
pliers. 

Each commissioner will, in the same manner, apportion the moneys for his 
district to the respective towns therein. The moneys apportioned to each town 
will then be apportioned to the respective school districts and parts of joint dis- 
tricts, in such town, entitled to share in the apportionment, according to the 
number of children over five and under twenty-one years of age, and the aver- 
age daily attendance of such children, residing in such districts and parts of 
districts respectively. 

The pupil quota, the average daily attendance quota, and the library quota, 
will be, for every commissioner district, and every school district in the county, 
the quotas already used. This will be the fact in every county, except in cases 
where there are in the hands of the county treasurer moneys derived from fines 
or penalties, or some other local source, which funds are placed, not to the 
credit of the county, but of particular towns. 

All the library money must be apportioned according to the number of chil- 
dren over five and under twenty-one years of age. 

After placing the moneys for each school district in their appropriate col- 
umns in the apportionment table, add the sums horizontally, and foot them 
vertically, and thus verify the work, and write the footings of the columns for 
each town. 

In cases where there are found in the hands of the coimty treasurer moneys 
paid to him on account of fines or penalties, or accruing from any other source, 
for the benefit of schools, and of the town or towns, district or districts for 
whose benefit the same were received, such of said moneys as belong to a par- 
ticular district the commissioners must set apart and credit to it ; and such as 
belong to the schools of a town they must set apart and credit to the schools of 
that town, and apportion them, together with such as belong to the schools of 
the county, for the payment of teachers' wages. These moneys should be appor- 
tioned, one-half according to the number of children over five and under twenty- 
one years of age, and the other half according to the average daily attendance. 

There should be appended to the apportionment a " Special Statement " 
of such moneys, showing the sources whence they were derived, and the sum 
received from each source specified ; and stating, in case of each sum, whether 
it is placed to the credit of the schools of the county, or those of a particular 
town, or to a particular school district. 

The commissioners will find it convenient to make auxiliary tables, having 
one column showing the amount of library money to be apportioned for any 
number of children from one to one hundred, and another column showing the 
amount to be apportioned for teachers' wages in the same cases. A third col- 
umn should be added, giving the sums to be apportioned for any average daily 
attendance from one to one hundred. 

Since the average daily attendance for school districts is in most cases extended 
to decimals of three figures each, it may not be amiss to make a remark in regard 



Apportionment of School Moneys. 61 

to tlie proper mode of using tlie table in apportioning that part of the money 
which is distributed according to the average daily attendance. 

Suppose, for instance, we wish to apportion to a district whose average daily 
attendance is 357.892. Take from the table the money to be apportioned for 
an average daily attendance of 35 pupils. Move the decimal point one place 
to the right and you will have the amount corresponding to 350 pupils. Now 
take from the table the sum corresponding to an attendance of 78 pupils. 
Move the decimal point one place to the left and you will have the sum cor- 
responding to 7.8 pupils. Take the sum apportionable for an attendance of 92 
pupils. Move the decimal point three places to the left and you Avill have the 
sum for an average daily attendance of .092. The average daily attendances, 
350, 7.8 and .092, when added, give 357.892 pupils. The three sums of money 
found as directed, and added, vnW give the amount of money to be aj)portioned 
for this average daily attendance (357.892 pupils). 

A fbrm is sent to each county, as a part of the blanks for apportionment, in 
which each commissioner should make a " Summary Statement " for his com- 
missioner district, recapitulating the footings by towns, and giving the total 
footings for his district. A final summary statement should also be made, 
recapitulating the footings by commissioner districts, and giving the total 
footings for the county. 

The blanks in the printed forms of statements showing the amount of school 
moneys received and apportioned, and the blanks for special statement in 
regard to local funds, should be properly filled. The " certificate " following 
the forms for statements should be signed by all the commissioners of the 
county. 

After making, for any supervisor, the statement of the apportionment for the 
school districts, the school-houses of which are in his town, and the parts of 
joint districts in his town, write at the right hand of the words " Amount now 
in supervisor's hands," the amount reported by the county treasurer as in his 
hands. Subtract, and write the balance at the right hand of the words " Bal- 
ance to be drawn from county treasurer." 

In making the enumeration of the school districts of each town, in the 
apportionment, arrange them according to their present numbers, in regular 
consecutive order from the lowest to the highest number, inserting in its 
proper order the number of every district, whether any money is apportioned 
to it or not. In some cases there may be difficulty in identifying certain dis- 
tricts, since, in many instances, commissioners may have changed the district 
number, and inserted the new number in the abstracts, and afterward again 
changed the district number ; making, in all, three numbers by which the dis- 
trict has been known. By an examination of the blanks for the apportionment, 
it will appear to be necessary to give the three numbers in each case. By no 
other means can the Superintendent know that the apportionment is correctly 
made, and that the commissioners understand all the changes as they have 
been reported to the department. 

Send to each supervisor, with the apportionment for his town, a blank for 
his use in making a copy to file with the town clerk. 



•62 Apportionment of School Moneys. 

Tlie apportionment should be made at the earliest possible day, and the 
duplicate be forthwith sent to the Department of Public Instruction. 

§ 28. If in their apportionment, through any error of the com- 
missioners, any district shall have apportioned to it a larger or a 
less share of the moneys than it is entitled to, the commissioners 
may in their next annual apportionment, with the approbation of 
the Superintendent, correct the error by an equitable deduction 
from or augmentation of the share of such district. 

The simplest method of correcting the error of an excess of money appor- 
tioned to one or more districts is as follows : If one district had an excess of 
$10 (money apportioned according to the number of children) ; another of 
$6.45 ; a third of $4.50 ; and a fourth of $15 ; add them together, and the sum 
$35.95 add to and apportion with the money to be apportioned among all the 
districts. Then deduct from the sum thus apportioned to each district the 
excess paid to it the last year, and the remainder will be its share of the present 
apportionment. Apply the same rule in case the excess be of library money, 
or average attendance money. If the error be one of deficiency in a former 
apportionment, the correction is made by setting apart from the money to be 
apportioned a sum equal to the sum of the deficiency, or several deficiencies, 
and then, having apportioned the residue among all the districts, out of the 
money so set apart add to the sum thus apportioned to each district an 
amount equal to its former deficiency. 

§ 29. No district or part of a district shall be entitled to any 
portion of such school moneys on such apportionment unless the 
report of the trustees for the preceding school year shall show 
that a common school was supported in the district and taught by 
a qualified teacher for such a term of time as would, under section 
seven of this title, entitle it to a distributive share under the 
apportionment of the Superintendent. 

§ 30. On receiving the certificate of the commissioners, each 
supervisor shall forthwith make a copy thereof for his own use, 
and deposit the original in the office of the clerk of his town ; and 
the moneys so apportioned to his town shall be paid to him imme- 
diately on his compliance with the requirements of the next 
section, and not before. 

§ 31. Immediately on receiving the commissioners' certificate 
of apportionment, the county treasurer shall require of each super- 
visor, and each supervisor shall give to the treasurer in behalf of 
the town, his bond, with two or more sufficient sureties, approved 



Apportionment of School Moneys. 63 

by the treasurer, in the penalty of at least double the amount of 
the school moneys set apart or apportioned to the town, and of any 
such moneys unaccounted for by his predecessor, conditioned for 
the faithful disbursement, safe keeping and accounting for such 
moneys, and of all other school moneys that may come into his 
hands from any other source. If the condition shall be broken, 
the county treasurer shall sue the bond in his own name, in behalf 
of the town, and the money recovered shall be paid over to the 
successor of the supervisor in default, such successor having first 
given security as aforesaid. 

The bond to be given under this section must be renewed every year, as its 
penalty in each case is to be double the amount of the school moneys then to 
be paid. Its form may be as follows : 

Know all men by these presents, That we, John Doe, supervisor of the 
town of , in the county of , and Richard Roe and Samuel Styles, 

of the same town (or as their residence respectively may be), as his sureties, are 
held and firmly bound unto Stephen Holdfast, treasurer of the county of 
, in the penalty of dollars and cents (being- double the 

amount of the public moneys apportioned for the support of schools in the 
town of , aforesaid), to be paid to the said Stephen Holdfast, treas- 

urer, his successors in office, attorney or assigns ; to which payment, well and 
truly to be made, we bind ourselves jointly and severally by these presents. 
Sealed with our seals, and dated this day of , in the year of our 

Lord 

The condition of this obligation is such, that if the above bounden John 
Doe, supervisor, shall faithfully disburse, safely keep and justly account for 
the school moneys apportioned as aforesaid, and all other school moneys that 
may come into his hands from any other source, then this obligation to be 
void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue. 

JOHN DOE. [L. s.] 

RICHARD ROE. [l. s. 

SAMUEL STYLES, [l. s.] 

This bond, as a matter of prudence, should be acknowledged before a com- 
missioner of deeds or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments, and 
the sureties should be required to indorse upon the bond an affidavit that each 
of them is a freeholder, and worth the amount of the penalty over and above 
all debts incurred or liabilities assumed by him. It is only upon such an affi- 
davit that bonds required in legal proceedings are approved ; and it is a matter 
of justice to the county treasurer that he should protect himself from per- 
sonal liability for taking an insufficient bond by following the legal method 
of ascertaining its sufficiency. If, after such affidavits are indorsed on the 



64 Disbursement of School Moneys. 

bond, tlie county treasurer is satisfied with tlie sureties, he should indorse his 
approval in the following form : 

I hereby approve the within bond, as to its form and manner of execution 
and the sufficiency of the sureties therein. Dated 

Stephen Holdfast, 

Treasurer of County. 

§ 32. The refusal of a supervisor to give such security shall be 
a misdemeanor, and any line imposed on his conviction thereof 
shall be for the benefit of the common schools of the town. Upon 
such refusal, the moneys so set apart and apportioned to the town 
shall be paid to and disbursed by some other officer or person to 
be designated by the county judge, under such regulations and 
with such safeguards as he may prescribe, and the reasonable com- 
pensation of such officer or person, to be adjusted by the board of 
supervisors, shall be a town charge [See sec. 22 of t/iis title). 



TITLE ly. 



AND or SOME OF THEIR SPECIAL POWERS, DUTIES AND LIABILITIES 
UNDER THIS ACT. 

Section 1. The several supervisors continue vested with the 
powers and charged with the duties formerly vested in and charged 
upon the trustees of the gospel and school lots, and transferred to 
and imposed upon town superintendents of common schools by 
chapter one hundred and eighty-six, of the Laws of one thousand 
eight hundred and forty-six (See sec. 19 o/* title 3). 

Town School Funds. 

The act passed in 1789 for the sale of lands belonging to the people of this 
State required the Surveyor-General to reserve, in each township, one lot for 
the support of the gospel, and one lot for the use of schools in such township. 

The following is a list of the principal reservations of this nature, viz. : 

One lot, of 550 acres, in each of the twenty-eight townships in the military 
tract. 

Forty lots, of 250 acres each, in each of the twenty townships west of the 
Unadilla river, being ten thousand acres. 

One lot, of 640 acres, in each of the townships of Fayette, Clinton, Greene, 
Warren, Chenango, Sidney and Hampden, then in the counties of Broome and 
Chenango. 

Ten lots, of 640 acres each, in the townships along the St. Lawrence. 



Disbursement of School Moneys. 65 

In tlie township of Plattsburgli 400 acres were reserved for the use of a 
minister of the gospel, and 460 acres for the use of a public school or schools 
in the said township. 

In the township of Benson 640 acres w^ere reserved for gospel and schools. 

By an act passed in 1798, in relation to gospel and school lots, it is provided 
" that the moneys arising from the leasing of the said lots of land as aforesaid, 
and from the trespasses aforesaid, shall be applied to the use of schools or sxi-p- 
port of the gospel in the original tow^nships, as surveyed, in which such lots 
shall be respectively situated, and for no other purpose ; which said application 
shall be made either for schools or gospel, or both, and in such way and man- 
ner as the freeholders and inhabitants of the towns, in which the same lands 
shall lie, shall in legal town meeting from time to time direct, order and 
appoint." 

By an act passed in 1808, the act of 1798 was extended to all the townships 
where lots of land are reserved for the support of gospel and schools, and the 
following provision was added : 

" j$ 1. Bs it enacted, etc., That the moneys arising from the annual rents and 
profits of the gospel lots in each township shall be equally divided, by the 
supervisor and commissioners appointed in each township, between the several 
religious societies legally organized in such township, and that the money 
arising from the annual rents and profits of the several school lots shall bo 
distributed among the schools kept in each respective township by teachers to 
be approved of by the supervisor and comrrdssi oners constituted by the act 
to which this is an amendment, or a majority of them in said township, in pro- 
portion to the aggregate number of days which the scholars in each respective 
school shall have respectively attended such schools in the year immediately 
preceding such division." 

The fourth section of an act concerning the gospel and school lots, passed 
in 1813, is as follows : 

" And he it farther enacted. That the rents, issues and profits of the aforesaid 
lands, and the annual interest of the moneys arising from the sale thereof, 
shall be applied by the said trustees [supervisor] for the time being to the sup- 
port of the gospel and schools in their several tow^ns, in such manner as the 
freeholders and inhabitants of the towns, respectively, at their annual town 
meeting, shall order and direct, or as the Legislature shall prescribe by law." 
(Session Laws of 1813, p. 157.) 

In 1819, an act was passed in relation to the gospel and school lots, which 
contains the following section : 

" § 2. And he it further enacted, That all moneys now due or hereafter to 
become due, and which shall have come into the hands of the aforesaid com- 
missioners of public lots, and have not been applied and paid over to religious 
societies, shall be apportioned among the several school districts in the several 
towns of the aforementioned counties [Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca], any 
thing in the acts heretofore passed to the contrary notwithstanding." 

By section 1 of chapter 186, Laws of 1846, "the office of trustees of the gos- 
pel and school lots in the several towns in this State is hereby abolished ; and 
the powers and duties now by law conferred and imposed upon said trustees 
shall hereafter be exercised by the town superintendent of common schools 
[supervisor]." 

9 



66 DlSBURSEMEl!^ OP ScHOOL MoNEYS. 

By the provisions of cliapter 15, title 4, of part 1 of the Revised Statutes, the 
trustees of the several gospel and school lots [supervisor] were authorized and 
required : 

"1. To take and hold possession of the gospel and school lot of their town ; 

" 2. To lease the same for such time, not exceeding twenty-one years, and 
upon such conditions, as they shall deem expedient ; 

" 3. To sell the same, with the advice and consent of the inhabitants of the 
town, in town meeting assembled, for such prices and upon such terms of 
credit as shall appear to them most advantageous ; 

" 4. To invest the proceeds of such sales in loans secured by bond and mort- 
gage upon unincumbered real property of the value of double the amount 
loaned ; 

" 5. To purchase property so mortgaged upon a foreclosure, and to hold and 
convey the property so purchased, whenever it shall become necessary ; 

"6. To release the amount of such loans repaid to them upon the like 
security ; 

" 7. To apply the rents and profits of such lots, and the interest of the money 
arising from the sale thereof, to the support of the gospel and schools, or 
either, as may be provided by law, in such manner as shall be thus pro\ided ; 

"8. To render a just and true account of the proceeds of the sales, and the 
interest on the loans thereof, and of the rents and profits of such gospel and 
school lots, and of the expenditure and appropriation thereof, on the last Tues 
day next preceding the annual town meeting in each year, to the board of 
auditors of the accounts of other town officers ; 

"9. To deliver over to their successors in office all books, papers and securj 
ties relating to the same, at the expiration of their respective offices ; and 

" 10. To take therefor a receipt, \Vhich shall be filed in the clerk's office of 
the town. 

" § 4. The board of auditors in each town shall annually report the state of 
the accounts of the trustees of the gospel and school lots [supervisor] in that 
town to the inhabitants thereof, at their annual town meeting. 

" § 5. Whenever a town, having lands assigned to it for the support of the 
gospel or of schools, shall be divided into two or more towns, or shall be altered 
in its limits by the annexing of a part of its territory to another town or towns, 
such lands shall be sold by the trustees [supervisor] of the toAvn in which such 
lands were included immediately before such division or alteration ; and the 
proceeds thereof shall be apportioned between the towns interested therein, in 
the same manner as the other public moneys of towns so divided or altered are 
apportioned. 

" § 6. The shares of such moneys to which the towns shall be respectively 
entitled shall be paid to the trustees of the gospel and school lots [supervisor] 
of the respective towns, and shall thereafter be subject to the provisions of 
this title. 

" § 7. If in either of such towns trustees of gospel and school lots shall not 
have been chosen, or there be none in office, the share of such town shall be 
paid to the supervisor." 

§ 2. The several supervisors continue vested with the powers 
and charged with the duties conferred and imposed upon the com- 
missioners of common schools by the act of eighteen hundred and 
twenty-nine, entitled " An act relative to moneys in the hands of 
overseers of the poor." 

The act herein referred to is as follows ; the word " supervisor " being sub- 
stituted in place of " town superintendent " wherever the latter is used : 



Disbursement of ISchool Moneys. 67 

AN ACT 
Relative to moneys in the hands of overseers of the poor. Passed April 21, 1829. 

"§ 1, It shall be lawful for the inhabitants of any town, in such counties as 
have abolished the distinction between county and town paupers, and in such 
counties as may hereafter abolish such distinction, at any annual or special 
town meeting, to appropriate all or any part of the moneys and funds remain- 
ing in the hands of the overseers of the j)oor of such town, after such abolition, 
to such objects and for such purposes as shall be determined at such meeting. 

" § 2. If any such meeting shall appropriate any such money or funds for the 
benefit of common schools in their town, the money so appropriated sliall be 
denominated ' the common school fund of such town,' and shall be under the 
care and superintendence of the [supervisor] of said town. 

" § 3. If any such meeting shall appropriate such money or funds for the 
benefit of common schools, after such appropriation shall have been made, and 
after the [supervisors] shall have taken the oath of office, the overseers of the 
poor of such towns shall then pay over and deliver to the said [supervisor] such 
moneys, bonds, mortgages, notes and other securities remaining in their hands, 
as such overseers of the poor, as \vdll comport with the appropriation made for 
the benefit of common schools of their town. 

" § 4. The said [supervisors] may sue for and collect, in their name of office, 
the money due or to become due on such bonds, mortgages, notes or other 
securities, and also all other securities by them taken under the provisions of 
this act. 

" % 5. The moneys, bonds, mortgages, notes and other securities aforesaid 
shall continue and be a permanent fund, to be denominated the common school 
fund of the town appropriating the same, the annual interest of which shall be 
applied to the support of common schools in such towns, unless the inhabitants 
of such town, in annual town meeting, shall make a different disposition of the 
whole of the principal and interest, or any part thereof, for the benefit of 
the common schools of such town. 

" § 6. The said [supervisors], whenever the whole or any part of the princi- 
pal of said fund shall come to their hands, shall loan the same on bond, 
secured by a mortgage on real estate of double the value of the moneys so 
loaned, exclusive of buildings or artificial erections thereon. 

" § 7. The said [supervisors] may purchase in the estate on which the fund 
shall have been secured, upon the foreclosure of any mortgage, and may hold 
and convey the same for the use of said fund. 

" § 8. The said [supervisors] shall retain the interest of said common school 
fund, which shall be distributed and applied to the support of common schools 
of such town, in like manner as the public money for the support of common 
schools shall be distributed by law. 

" § 9. The said [supervisors] shall account annually, in such manner and at 
such times as town officers are required by law to account, and shall deliver to 
their successors in office, all moneys, books, securities and papers whatsoever 
relating to said fund, and shall take a receipt therefor, and file the same with 
the town clerk." 



§ 3. A supervisor who shall embezzle or apply to his own private 
use any money or security received by hira under any provisions 
of this act, including the two preceding sections of this title, shall 
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and any line imposed upon a convic- 
tion thereof shall be for the benefit of the common schools of the 
town. {See sec. 22, of title S.) 



68 DiSBUESEMENT OF ScHOOL MoN^EYS. 

§ 4. On the first Tuesday of March in each year, each supervi- 
sor shall make a return in writing to the county treasurer for the 
use of the school comaiissioners, showing the amounts of school 
moneys in his hands not paid out on the orders of trustees for 
teachers' wages, nor drawn by them for library purposes, and the 
districts to which they stand accredited (and if no such money 
remain in his hands, he shall report that fact) ; and thereafter he 
shall not pay out any of said moneys until he shall have received 
the certificate of the next apportionment ; and the moneys so 
returned by him shall be re-apportioned as hereinbefore directed. 

§ 5. Any supervisor who neglects to make the said return, or 
shall make a false return, shall forfeit twenty-five dollars, to be 
recovered by his successor in office, or, if he be re-elected, by the 
county treasurer of the county in which the town lies, for the 
benefit of the common schools of the county. [See sec. 22, of title 3.) 

§ 6. It is the duty of every supervisor : 

1. To disburse the school moneys in his hands applicable to 
teachers' wages, including the library moneys apportioned to the 
district, if they do not exceed three dollars, and library moneys 
made so applicable by the approbation of the State Superintend- 
ent, upon, and only upon, the written orders of a sole trustee or of 
a majority of the trustees in favor of qualified teachers, or upon 
the order of the trustee of a separate neighborhood in fivor of any 
teacher of a school in an adjoining State, recognized by him and 
patronized by the inhabitants of such neighborhood ; such teacher 
shall be deemed a qualified teacher ; 

2. To disburse library moneys other than those above-mentioned, 
upon, and only upon, the written orders of a sole trustee, or of a 
majority of the trustees, certifying that they are for books actually 
purchased or contracted for, or for maps, globes, blackboards, or 
other apparatus for the use of the school, duly authorized by a 
vote of the district to be purchased with such moneys, and naming 
the books or the school apparatus, and the prices ; 

3. In the case of a union free school district, to pay over all the 
school money apportioned thereto, whether for the payment of 
teachers' wages, or as library moneys, to the treasurer of such dis- 
trict, upon the order of its board of education ; 

4. To keep a just and true account of all the school moneys 
received and disbursed by him during each year, and to lay the 



Disbursement of School Moneys. 69 

same, with proper vouchers, before the board of town auditors at 
each annual meeting thereof; 

5. To have a bound blank book (the cost of which shall be a 
town charge), and to enter therein all his receipts and disburse- 
ments of school moneys, specifying from Avhom and for what pur- 
poses they were received, and to whom and for what purposes 
they were paid out ; and to deliver the book to his successor in 
office ; 

6. Within fifteen days after the termination of his office, to 
make out a just and true account of all school moneys theretofore 
received by him, and of all disbursements thereof, and to deliver 
the same to the town clerk, to be filed and recorded, and to notify 
his successor in office of such rendition and filing ; 

7. So soon as the bond to the county treasurer, by the third 
article of the third title of this act required, shall have been given 
by him and approved by the treasurer, to deliver to his predeces- 
sor the treasurer's certificate of these facts, to procure from the 
town clerk a copy of his predecessor's account, and to demand 
and receive from him any and all school moneys remaining in his 
hands ; 

8. Upon receiving such a certificate from his successor, and not 
before, to pay to him all school moneys remaining in his hands, 
and to forthwith file the certificate in the town clerk's office ; 

9. By his name of office, when the duty is not elsewhere imposed 
by law, to sue for and recover penalties and forfeitures imposed 
for violations of this act, and for any default or omission of any 
town officer or school district board or officer under this act ; and, 
after deducting his costs and expenses, to report the balances to 
the school commissioner; 

10. To act, when thereto legally required, in the erection or 
alteration of a school district, as in the sixth title of this act pro- 
vided, and to perform any other duty which may be devolved 
upon him by this act, or any other act relating to common schools. 

The law which governed town superintendents, and now governs the super- 
visors, in the disbursement of so much of tha school moneys as is apportioned 
for the payment of teachers' wages, requires them to pay it upon written 
orders drawn upon them by a sole trustee or a majority of the trustees of eacli 
district in favor of qualified teachers. If the order is regular upon its face — 
that is to say, if it bears the signature of a majority of the persons acting in 



VO Disbursement of School Moneys. 

fact as trustees of a district, under color of an election, in favor of a person 
"whom it states to be a duly qualified teacher employed by tliem in the district 
during the year in wliicli it is drawn, and in payment of his wages as such 
teacher — it is a sufficient voucher for the supervisor, and it is not for him to 
inquire whether the trustees have exceeded their authority or acted improperly 
in drawing the order. If presented by any other person than the teacher in 
"whose favor it is drawn, it should bear his written indorsement or order for 
payment to a specified person. 

Library money may be paid to any person upon the written order of a 
majority of the trustees. 

The account to be kept under this section may be a simple cash account, in 
which the supervisor, personally and in his individual name, is charged with 
all school moneys received by him and credited with each payment, specifying 
the date, the person to whom and the account on which it was made. It would 
conduce to accuracy and convenience, in passing his accounts before the board 
of town .auditors, to number each credit consecutively, and to affix the same 
number to the order, receipt or other voucher to be produced in proof of pay- 
ment and in support of such credit. This account should be kept in a bound 
book, to be handed over to his successor in office, and a transcript of such 
account to be drawn ofF, and, with the accompanying vouchers, be presented 
to the board of town auditors for their examination. As that examination 
may take place before the close of his official term, it would be well, upon its 
completion, to have the town auditors enter upon the original account, in the 
blank book, their certificate that they have examined such account up to and 
including the last preceding entry (giving its date) and the vouchers therefor, 
and have audited and allowed the same. 

In addition to the cash account of the individual supervisor, a continuous 
account is to be kept between each district and the supervisor, officially, with- 
out break or change when a new incumbent succeeds to the office. 

The board of town auditors is required by law to meet annually in each 
town, at the place of holding the last town meeting, on the last Thursday 
preceding the annual meeting of the board of supervisors of the county. 
{Chapter 228 of 1844.) It consists, for the purpose of examining the super- 
visor's account, of the town clerk and justices, or any two of the justices, 
of the peace. The supervisor, who is ordinarily a member, cannot, of 
course, act in his own case. The account to be presented to them is to be 
accompanied by an affidavit, attached to, and to be filed with, such account, 
made by the person presenting or claiming the same, that the items of such 
account are correct, and that the disbursements charged therein have been 
in fact made. {Section 2, chapter 490 of 1847.) 

The account to be rendered by the supervisor to his successor in office 
includes as well that portion thereof which has been examined by the town 
auditors as that which relates to his subsequent receipts and disbursements. 
Inasmuch as it is to be filed and recorded in the office of the town clerk, it 
must, independent of and in addition to the original cash account, be entered 
upon the blank book. 



Disbursement of School Moneys. 



71 



The object of an account book to be kept bj the supervisor and to pass to his 
successors in office, is to enable the latter to ascertain at any future time the 
state of the accounts of each district with any of their predecessors at any 
given date. To effect this object it is essential that a separate account should 
be kept with the trustees of each district and separate neighborhood, regard- 
ing them as a perpetual corporation. It is in substance an account between 
the district and the town, which is not broken or affected by any change in the 
officers of either. It may be in the following form : 

Trustees of District No. 2, with the Supet'visor of Town of 



Dk. 

1856 

July 27tli. To paid Miss Anna 
Davis, tea,cher''s wages, on 
order of J. 1). and C. &, 
trustees (voucher No. 12), . . 

Sep, 3d. Paid Noah Parsons on 
teacher's wa»es, on order of 
J. D. and L. M., trustees 
(voucher No. 33>, ... 

Sep. 2oth. Paid L. M. and P. 
S., trustee:?, library money 
(voucher No. 46), 

Oct. 22d. To copy Code of Pub- 
lic Instruction 


$42 

21 

4 
1 


60 

20 

18 
50 


Ck. 

1856 

June 7th. By ca«h received from 
late town superintendent 
for teachers' wages, 


*1 

166 

8 

2 


sa 

18 

60 
36 

10 
16 


Do. for library, 

1857 

April 2d. Cash of county treasu- 
rer for teachers' wages, 

Do lor library . . 


May 12th. Cash of county treas- 
urer ou supplemental ap- 
portionment for teachers' 

wages, 

Do. for library, 







The orders and other vouchers of the account of the supervisor going out of 
office belong to him only in his official character, and should be delivered to 
ills successor, precisely as if he was vacating an official place of business iu 
which such vouchers were by law required to be filed and kept. On turning 
them over to his successor, the latter should give to his predecessor a receipt 
which may be substantially in the following form ; 

Received of John Doe, late supervisor of the town of , dollars 

and cents for balance of school moneys remaining in his hands. 

Also, vouchers from No. to No. , both inclusive, in support of his 

charges for disbursements, bearing the same numbers in his cash account, and 
amounting in the aggregate to the sum of dollars and cents. 

Also, one (or two or more, as the case may be) bound account book, and ouq 
copy Hull's Treatise on Town Officers (or whatever other books, papers or other 
property are in his custody as supervisor). Dated 

R. ROE, Supervisor of 



The account book should contain an inventory of all books or other property 
which may from time to time come into the custody of the supervisor in the 
discharge of his duties as a school officer. 



12 Duties OF Town Clerk. 

TITLE V. 

OF THE DUTIES OF THE TOWN CLERK UNDER THIS ACT. 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of the town clerk of each town: 

1. Carefully to keep all books, maps, papers and records of his 
office touching common schools, and forthwith to report to the 
supervisor any loss of or injury to any of them which may happen ; 

2. To receive from the supervisor the certilicates of apportion- 
ment of scliool moneys to the town, and to record them in a book 
to be kept for that purpose {See sec. 30, of title 3) ; 

3. Forthwith to notify the trustees of the several school 
districts and separate neighborhoods of the filing of each such 
cirtificate ; 

4. To see that the trustees of the school districts and separate 
neighborhoods make and deposit with him their annual reports 
within the time prescribed by law, and to deliver them to the 
school commissioner on demand (See sec. 60, of title 7) ; and to 
furnish the school commissioner of the school commissioner dis- 
trict, in which his town is situated, the names and post-office 
address to the school district officers reported to him by the dis- 
trict clerks (See sub. 5, of sec. 37, of title 1) ; 

5. To distribute to the trustees of the school districts and 
separate neighborhoods all blanks and circulars which shall be 
delivered or forwarded to him by the State Superintendent or 
school commissioner for that purpose ; 

6. To receive from the supervisor, and record in a book kept for 
that purpose, the annual account of the receipts and disbursements 
of school moneys required to be submitted to the town auditors, 
together with the action of the town auditors thereon, and to send 
a copy of the account and of the action thereon, by mail, to the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, whenever required by him, 
and to file and preserve the vouchers accompanying the account 
(See sub. 5, of sec. 6, of title 4) ; 

v. To receive and to record, in the same book, the supervisor's 
final account of the school moneys received and disbursed by him, 
and deliver a copy thereof to such supervisor's successor in office 
(See sub. 6, of sec. 6, of title 4) ; 

8. To receive from the outgoing supervisor, and file and record 
in the same book, the county treasurer's certificate that his sue- 



Duties of Iown Clerk. V3 

cesser's bond has been given and approved {See sicb. 8, of sec. 6, 
of title 4) ; 

9. To receive, file and record the descriptions of the school dis- 
tricts and neighborhoods, and all papers and proceedings delivered 
to him by the school commissioner pursuant to the next title of 
this act ; 

10. To act, when thereto legally required, in the erection or 
alteration of a school district, as in the next title of this act pro- 
vided (/See sub. 4, of sec. 1, of title 6) ; 

11. To receive and preserve the books, papers and records of 
any dissolved school district, which shall be ordered, as herein- 
after provided, to be deposited in his office ; 

12. To perform any other duty which may be devolved upon 
him by this act, or by any other act touching common schools. 

§ 2. The necessary expenses and disbursements of the town 
clerk, in the performance of said duties, are a town charge, and 
shall be audited and paid as such. 

The duties imposed upon town clerks are important, and upon their prompt 
performance depends, in a great degree, the efficiency of the school system. 

The maps, papers, books and records relating to schools and the school dis- 
tricts should be carefully kept and preserved ; and, in order to do tliis, all papers 
should be properly folded and filed, and tied in convenient packages. When 
any paper is received which is by law required to be recorded in a book, the 
recording should not be postponed, but shovild be done immediately, and the 
paper immediately indorsed, filed and laid away safely in its appropriate 
place. 

He is required to report to the supervisor any loss or injury of the papers 
and records in his charge, in order that losses may be replaced and injuries 
repaired. 

It is presumed that the provisions of the first three subdivisions are very 
generally and faithfully observed. 

Section 60 of title 7 requires the trustees to deposit their annual reports 
with the town clerk, between the first and second Tuesdays of October in each 
year. They should be made by the outgoing trustee as soon as September 30, 
and deposited with the town clerk previous to the annual school meeting. If 
this is not done, the town clerk should, by letter, admonish the trustees of 
their duty, and obtain from them the reports without delay. 

The town clerk should examine every report as soon as it comes into his 
hands, and if possible in the presence of the trustee delivering it, in order that 
any mistakes may be detected and corrected at once, or that the trustee may 
retain it for correction. If, however, necessity requires the report to be returned 
to the trustees, all mistakes and errors should be pointed out, and particular 
10 



74 Duties of Town Clerk. 

instructions given as to tlie manner of correcting eacli, and a day should be 
appointed for the return of the report to the town clerk. 

On the blanks for reports will be found a blank certificate of filing, which 
should be filled and signed at the date of filing.' 

The attention of town clerks is particularly called to the importance of 
collecting and correcting the reports of trustees within the time limited by 
the law. It will be remembered that from these reports the school commis- 
sioner must, without delay, make his own report to the Superintendent, 
embracing therein every one of them. From the reports of the conamissioners 
the Superintendent must collate, arrange and digest all the facts, and present 
the results to the Governor at a day so early that he may be able to weigh 
them carefully, and incorporate a statement thereof, Avith such recommenda- 
tions as he may deem proper, in his annual message to the Legislature. The 
Superintendent must also have ample time to prepare his own report to the 
Legislature, with all the accompanying tables, and carefully to prepare the 
items upon which he must make the annual apportionment of school moneys. 

The town clerk should obtain a report from the trustees of every district, 
even though a district school, taught by a duly qualified teacher, may not 
have been maintained during the time required by law, or even for a single 
day. The school commissioner should be made acquainted vrith all the facts. 

It is suggested that the clerk should have a safe place in which to deposit 
the reports, and that each should be filed and deposited therein at the moment 
of its acceptance at his office. 

Subdivision 5 of section 37 of title 7 requires that each district clerk shall 
" report to the town clerk of the town in which the school-house of his district 
is situated, the names and post-ofiice address " of all district officers. By sub- 
division 4 of the first section of title 5, each town clerk is required to furnish 
the school commissioner with a like list of the school officers for every district 
in his town. It is hoped that the importance of this requirement is fully 
appreciated, and that the duties enjoined are faithfully and punctually per- 
formed. 

Subdivision 5 relates to the distribution of blanks, circulars and other school 
documents by town clerks. Section 2 provides that " the necessary expenses 
and disbursements of the town clerk, in the performance of said duties, are a 
town charge, and shall be audited and paid as such." In view of this last pro- 
vision, it is earnestly requested that, on the receipt of any blanks, circulars or 
other school documents, forwarded to town clerks, they will immediately 
deliver them, or cause them to be delivered, to the trustees of the respective 
districts. 

In every case where any order annulling or dissolving any school district, or 
altering its boundaries or changing its number, is received, such order should 
be promptly recorded in full among the permanent records of the town. 

It is believed that town clerks are, in some instances, negligent in the per- 
formance of the duties enjoined by subdivisions 6, 7, 8 and 9 of section 1 of 
title 5, so far as relates to the record which they are required to make. These 
duties are important ; and no matter of record should be delayed Jor a single 



Formation, etc., of School Districts. 15 

day. This neglect gives rise to numerous appeals to tlie department, and 
mucli vexatious litigation in the courts, causing great expense to the people, 
and seriously disturbing the peace, and in many cases ruining for years the 
schools of the districts affected thereby. In view of these consequences the 
necessity of attending with promptness to all matters of permanent record 
cannot be too strongly urged upon town clerks. 



TITLE VI. 

of the formation, dissolution and alteration of school 
districts and separate neighborhoods. 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of each school commissioner, in 
respect to the territory within his district : 

1. To divide it, so far as practicable, into a convenient number 
of school districts, and alter the same as herein provided; 

2. In conjunction with the commissioner or commissioners of 
an adjoining school commissioner district or districts, to set off 
joint districts composed of adjoining parts of their respective 
districts ; 

3. To set off by itself any neighborhood adjoining any other 
State of the Union, where it shall be found most convenient for 
the inhabitants to send their children to a school in such adjoining 
State ; 

4. To describe and number the school districts, and joint dis- 
tricts, and to deliver, in writing, to the town clerk, the description 
and number of each district lying in whole or in part in his town, 
together with all notices, consents and proceedings relating to the 
formation or alteration thereof, immediately after such formation 
or alteration. Every joint district shall bear the same number in 
every school commissioner district of whose territory it is in part 
composed ; 

5. To deliver to the town clerk of the town in which it lies, in 
whole or in part, a description of each such separate neighbor- 
hood. 

This section, so far as it concerns the formation and alteration of districts, 
relates only to such districts as are formed of territory lying wholly within the 
jurisdiction of the school commissioner acting under it, and the formation or 
alteration of which, moreover, does not affect any other district whicli is wholly 
or partly in the commissioner district or section of another school commissioner. 



76 Formation, etc., of School Districts. 

If the district to be formed, altered or regulated includes a part of a town under 
tlie jurisdiction of another commissioner, or involves the division of a joint 
district, any part of which lies within such other jurisdiction, it is necessary 
that all the school commissioners should unite as a board in making the order 
for such alteration. 

The case is now exceedingly rare in which a new district can be formed, or 
any district be altered, without its necessarily involving an alteration of some 
other district, and thus rendering it necessary to procure the assent of trus- 
tees, or to suspend the operation of the order, as provided in section 3 of this 
title. 

Where, in pursuance of the provisions of subdivision 1, of section 13, title 2 
of this act, it l^ecomes the duty of the commissioner to cause an amended record 
of the boundaries of a school district to be made, he should establish the dis- 
trict lines as they were before, according to the best evidence he can obtain, 
and his order in the matter will not be considered as an alteration of the dis- 
trict boundaries. His order should recite the fact that no alteration of district 
boundaries is intended to be made, but that a defective record is to be amended, 
under the provisions of the section and title above quoted. This order should 
be filed in the town clerk's office, and notice thereof should be given by the 
commissioner to the trustees of the aflPected district. The previous consent of 
trustees is not necessary. 

It is of extreme importance that the description of a district should be ao 
complete and definite that a surveyor, at any future day, may be able to run its 
boundaries without reference to any other document than the order forming, 
altering or describing it. For this purpose the exterior lines should be defined 
by reference to natural monuments, marked trees, creeks, etc., or to township 
lines of historical notoriety, such as the linres of the great original subdivisions 
into lots, or the course of highways. Where these fail, the courses and dis- 
tances as ascertained by the compass and chain should be given. The practice 
of stating the boundary aS that of " the faym now in the occupation of C. D.," 
or by means of similar designations, frequently renders it very difficult to 
ascertain them, as the occupation of land is continually shifting. In Grey v. 
Sheldon, 8th Verm. R., 402, a resolution " to set off Isaac Grey, Jr., to school 
district No, 3," was held void on the ground that school districts should be 
defined by geographical limits, and be made to consist of territory and not of 
persons. 

The form of an order forming or altering a district may be as follows ; 

In the matter of the formation of Di^irict No. , in the 

town of , county of , and the consequent alteration 

of Districts No. in said town, and No. in the 

town of 
It is hereby ordered, by the undersigned school commissioner for Commis- 
sioner District No. 3, of the county of , that a new school district be formed, 
to consist of part of District No. , in the town of M., and part of District 
No. , in the town of P., which new district is hereby numbered [33], and is 



I i^'i cii r- 

1 L.^.^. ] ' 



I t ^ 1 1 ' 

i V ir* a ^ I 

: 1 l(^ » 

; f . Tu t 

. : D ts> ; rj , 



1 ....j bd 



""^ '^^^"^ j "^ 



I D ^ ': 



u ^ 

1 ^^rP 



^1- 



i \^..y...Q.J 



(JO-> 



'^l— 



J t 

I H I 

1 Q ; 

1 N ^ 
\ n \ \ ^ 



Du, : J D <>, 



Id N 

I On :'"rT ': 

■"■^■t-« ^ 



--I , — JA < 



c« 



O 



"■■" I "' QC 

I rf °^ 

: Dto ; ^^ l"^- I 

; » ; 

:^ °te : 

'■'i i fD I 

Lf^ L 



1 
I 
I 

I 
I 
I 
I 

T 

I 
I 

t ° 

I 

I 

■i 

I 
+ a 



V 






J ^. 



O L. 



:^ 



*^ I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

L 



n 
-o — 



N 



-^ 



>-Z| 



m 



n 

o 



D^ 



°'» :.?^ I 

; 4„, ; 

IP ! 



c1 



bi 



Formation, etc., of School Districts. 77 

bounded as follows : Beginning on the east bank of Allen's creek, at the point 
where the same is intersected by the north line of the highway leading from 
Brighton to Pittsford ; thence northeasterly along said creek to its junction 
with Irondequoit creek ; thence southeasterly along Irondequoit creek to the 
west line of the town of Brighton ; thence south along the boundary line 
between the towns of Brighton and Penfield to the north line of Pittsford ; 
thence west on said north line to the State road ; thence north along the State 
road to its intersection with the highway first above mentioned ; thence north- 
westerly along said highway to the place of beginning. 

During the year 1837 the school commissioners, by direction of the depart- 
ment, examined into the numbering of all the school districts in the State. 
Mistakes were corrected, and every district in each town numbered in consecu- 
tive order from number one to the highest number in the town. Care was taken 
that a district lying partly in two or more towns should have but one and the 
same number in the several towns. Previously some districts had two or more 
numbers ; a district lying in two or more towns had o different number in each 
town ; and in some cases two districts had the same number. The result was 
confusion and error in the reports, and in the apportionment of money. The 
records in the department show the number and the geographical position of 
every district in the State. Hereafter the commissioners will promptly com- 
municate to the department every alteration of districts, whereby a new district 
is formed, or two or more are consolidated, or one is dissolved and its territory 
annexed to other districts ; and also what nevi' number is given to any new, or 
consolidated district, and what changes have been made in the numbers in any 
town — and thus one principal and fruitful source of error and confusion will be 
closed. 

The manner in which the joint districts were ascertained and renumbered will 
be seen in the following extract from a circular to school commissioners, issued 
in 1866. This extract is inserted here in order to preserve in a permanent form 
the " instructions " then given, and as an example and guide for the future, 
should it ever be necessary to review the whole, or any part of the work. 

The various kinds of joint districts which may exist are shown in the accom- 
panying diagram. 

In the diagram the lieavy continuous lines represent boundary lines betvreen 
different counties ; the light continuous lines, boundary lines between commia» 
eioner districts in the same county ; the coarsely broken lines, boundary lines 
between towns lying in the same commissioner district ; the dotted lines, boundar- 
ries of school districts. Portions of school district boundaries are also, ia some 
cases, represented by the other kinds of lines. In all cases where a school 
district extends across the boundary line between two towns, that fact is shown 
by a short, straiglit line placed on such town boundary line at right angles 
with it. In case of a joint district, two such lines are so placed on every 
town boundary line which separates different portions of the district. 

We Avill, for convenience, assume, arbitrarily, names for the different portion? 
of territory represented by the diagram. 



D G L K 


D P T S 


E S T U 


C E U V 


D K W S 


E N W S 


and C E N 



is , FOKMATION, ETC., OF ScHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Let A B C D represent a portion of Lincoln county, 
A D G H " " Grant 

D G L K " " Slierman " 

and C D K O " " Sheridan " 

Let A D E F represent a portion of Lincoln county, lying in tlie first com- 
missioner district, and B C E F a portion lying in the second commissioner 
district. Let D E N K represent a portion of Sheridan county lying in the 
first commissioner district, and C E N O a portion lying in the second com- 
missioner district. 

Let D G R P represent the town of Homer, 

Virgil, 
" Shakespeare, 

" Milton, 

Byron, 
Bryant, 
" Longfellow, 

Whittier 

The small square, placed within the bounds of each district, represents the 
location of the school-house ; and the number placed near it is the number 
by which the district is now known in that town. In some cases, where the 
district lies partly in two or more towns, there is a number standing in the 
part in each town, showing by what number the district is known in each 
town. These numbers are not, in all the instances, the same for all the parts of 
the same district. 

Definition. — A joint scliool district is a school district which lies paiHy in two 
or more counties. 

Remaek 1. Though a school district lie partly in two or more towns, or two 
or more commissioner districts, still it is not a joint district unless it lie partly 
in two or more counties. 

Remark 2. Every district which is not joint is to be reported as a ivhole. For 
each such district only one annual report is to be made each year by the trus 
tees. Such report must always be made to the school commissioner in whose 
commissioner district the school-house is situated, and must be deposited with 
the town clerk of the town in which the school-house is situated. 

Remark 3. Joint scliool districts are numbered in two or more towns, in order 
that those school commissioners who make the annual apportionment of school 
moneys may receive, from the trustees, reports embracing the facts which form 
the bases on which such apportionment is made. 

The trustees of every joint district must make an annual report to the com- 
missioner in whose commissioner district the school-house stands, embracing the 
finances of the entire dvitrict and also the statistics for all that part of the district 
lying in the county in which the school-house is situated. Tliis report must be depos- 
ited by the trustees with the town clerk of the town in which the school- 
house is located. They must also make out a statistical report for every part of 
the distrx: which lies in any town in any county other than the one in which the school- 



Formation, etc., of School Districts. 79 

house stands, and deposit it with the town clerk of the town in which such part 
of the district lies, for the commissioner in whose commissioner district such 
town is situated. 

Now, what district numbers, in the diagram, shall be dropped as useless? 
What numbers shall be changed ? And how shall they be changed ? 

You should strictly observe the following simple 

PRINCIPLES. 

1. Every school district which is not a joint district must be numbered 07ily 
in the town in which the school-house is located. 

2. Every joi7it school district must be numbered, in the county in which the 
school-house is located, in that town only in which the school-house is located. 
It must be numbered, also, in every town, in any other county, in which any jpart of 
it lies. 

3. Every yoMi^ school district must have the same number in every town where it 
is numbered. 

Inference. — The highest number to be given to any district in any town, 
will be equal to the number of districts and (parts of) joint districts which are 
to be numbered in that town. 

Special Remark. — Joint districts should not be designated by the largest 
district numbers for the town, but, on the contrary, with the smaller numbers 
in cases where this can be done without unnecessary inconvenience, for the 
evident reason that, in case any commissioner should subsequently annul a 
district, or consolidate two or more districts, thus leaving a break in the district 
numbers, he could not take the district having the highest number in that 
town, and change its number so as to fill the break or vacancy, if it were a joint 
district, without the consent of the other commissioners. Should the other 
commissioner consent, he would thus place himself under the necessity of 
changing the number of still another district in his town. This difficulty can- 
not arise if the higher numbers are not assigned to joint districts. 

homer, in grant county. 

We will first examine the town of Homer, in connection with the towns of 
Shakespeare in Lincoln county, Bryant in Sheridan county, and Virgil in Sher- 
man county, with which it stands associated. 

In the south-east corner of Homer is a part of a joint district. The district 
lies partly in four towns which are in four counties. Hence the district must 
be numbered in each town. The number must be the same for all the towns. 
There are not less than 12 districts and parts of joint districts, which are to 
have numbers, in any one of the four towns. Hence the number to be assigned 
to this district may be any number not exceeding 12. The district is now numbered 
4 in the town of Virgil, in which the school-house stands ; and since neither 
Virgil nor Homer has any other number 4, we will assign 4 as its number in 
all of the towns, and drop the numbers 5 in Shakespeare, 6 in Homer and 7 in 
Bryant. (See third principle.) 



8.0 FOKMATIOX, ETC., OF ScHOOL DiSTEICTS. 

In tlie nortli-west corner of Shakespeare is a joint district lying partly in 
Homer. It is numbered 9 in Shakespeare, and 6 in Homer. • The district must 
have the same number in both towns, since the towns lie in different counties. 
(See third principle.) 

There is no other number 9 in Shakespeare, and there are more than 9 
districts and parts of joint districts, to be numbered, in either town, therefore 
we will call this district number 9 in both towns. 

In the south-w^est corner of Homer is a joint district numbered 15 in Homer 
and 17 in Virgil, There are not as many as 15 districts and parts of joint 
districts to be numbered in Homer. Hence, in accordance with the inference 
under the third principle, we will drop both these numbers, 15 and 17, and 
give the district a new number. 

There are only 13 districts and parts of joint districts, which are to be num- 
bered, in the town of Homer, and the same number in Virgil ; hence, the 
number to be assigned to tliis district must not exceed 1 2, according to said 
"inference." Since we have already changed joint district number 5, in the 
south-east corner of Homer, to number 4, there is no number 5 remaining in 
Homer. V^q will therefore call this joint district, now numbered 15 in Homer 
and 17 in Virgil, number 5 in both towns. (Principle 3.) 

Number 10 in Homer is joint, and bears the same number in Virgil. There 
is no other number 10 in Homer, hence we will retain this as its number in 
both towns. 

Number 7 in Homer is joint, and bears the same number in both Homer 
and Shakespeare. There is no other number 7 in either town, and there are 
more than 7 districts and parts of joint districts to be numbered in either town. 
Hence we will retain 7 as the number of this district in both towns. 

We will now arrange, according to magnitude, the old district numbers in 
the town of Homer, placing them on a horizontal line. Remembering that the 
numbers are, after change, to be consecutive, commencing with 1 and continu- 
ing without break or duplication, and that we are to have only 12 numbers, we 
will proceed to change these old numbers and write the new numbers, for 
which they are changed, under them, respectively, on a second horizontal line. 
On a third line we will write the new numbers, which we place on the second 
line, arranged according to magnitude, designating the joint districts by "jt." 

Old Nos., 1, 2, 3, 5 jt, 6 jt., 7 jt., 9, 10 jt., 11, 12, 13, 15 jt. 

New Nos.,. ... 1, 2, 3, 4 jt., 9 jt., 7 jt., 8, 10 jt., 11, 12, 6, 5 jt. 

Re-arranged, . 1, 2, 3, 4 jt., 5 jt., 6, 7 jt , 8, 9 jt., 10 jt., 11, 12. 

VIRGIL, IN SHERMAN COUNTY. 

The parts of joint districts in this town have all been considered, except No. 3, 
which lies partly in the town of Bryant, Sheridan county. There being no 
other No. 3 in Virgil, we will assign 3 as the number of this district, in both 
said towns. 

We will arrange the old numbers on a horizontal line, and the new num- 
bers, for which they are changed, under them, respeciivdy, on a second line ; 



FORMATIOX, ETC., OF ScHOOL DISTRICTS. 81 

and, on a third line, tlie new numbers, re-arranged according to magnitude, as 
in case of Homer : 

Old Nos., 1, 2, 3 jt., 4 jt., 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 10 jt., 12, 17 jt 

New Nos 1, 2, 3 jt., 4 jt., 9, 6, 7, 8, 11, 10 jt., 12, 5 jt. 

Ee-arranged, 1, 2, 3 jt., 4 jt., 5 jt., 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 jt., 11, 12. 

No. 17 joint Avas clianged to 5 joint since we had already assigned 5 as 
the district number to this district in Homer, and, by the third principle, the 
district must have the same number in both towns. 

SHAKESPEARE, IN LINCOLN COrNTY. 

There are two districts lying partly in the northern part of Shakespeare, 
and partly in another town north of it ; also a district in the north-east corner, 
lying partly in Shakespeare and Milton, and partly in the two towns north of 
them ; also in the eastern part, a district numbered 5, lying partly in Shake- 
speare and partly in Milton. All these towns lie in the same county ; hence 
no one of these districts is joint, and, consequently, according to the fiirst prin- 
ciple, each must be numbered only in the town where its school-house ia 
located. None of them will be numbered in Shakespeare. No. 4, in the 
eastern part of the town, is not a joint district, and hence will be numbered in 
Shakespeare onhj, since the school-house stands in that town. 

No. 5, in the south-east corner, is joint The financial report of the entire 
district will be filed in the office of the town clerk of Shakespeare, for the 
school commissioner of the first commissioner district of Lincoln county. All 
that part of the district wliich lies in Lincoln county, though situated partly 
in two towns, must be reported statistically in one report, and the report must be 
deposited with'the town clerk of Shakespeare, since the school-house stands in 
that town. Hence it will be re-numbered in Shakespeare, but not in Milton. 
It must be numbered also in Bryant, and in the town of Longfellow, in Sheri- 
dan county, since a statistical report for the part lying in each of said two 
towns must be deposited with the clerk of the town in which such part lies, for 
the commissioner of the first commissioner district of Sheridan county. There 
being now no other No. 5 in Shakespeare, and the school-house standing in 
that town, we will call the district No. 5 in each of the three towns named. 

No. 2, in the southern part of the town, is a joint district. 

We will now arrange, change, and then re-arrange the district numbers, as 
in case of Homer and Virgil. 

Old Nos., ... 1, 2 jt., 3, 4, 5, 5 jt., 6 jt., 7 jt., 8, 9 jt., 10, 12, 14, 15, 18. 
New Nos., ..1,2 jt., 3, 6, 0, 5 jt., 4 jt., 7 jt., 8, 9 jt., 10, 12, 14, 13, 11. 
Re-arranged, 1, 2 jt., 3, 4 jt., 5 jt., 6, 7 jt., 8, 9 jt., 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. 

BRYANT, IN SHERIDAN COUNTY. 

No. 14, in the eastern part of this town, lies partly in the town of Longfellow, 
and is not joint. The 14 should be dropped (according to the first principle), 
and the district numbered only in the town of Longfellow, in which the school- 
house stands. 

11 



!0 



FOKMATIOX, ETC., OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 



Old Nos., 1,2 jt., 3, 3 jt, 4, 4 jt., 5, 7, 7 jt., 8, 9, 11, 12, 14. 

New Nos, 1, 2 jt, 6, 3 jt, 7, 5 jt, 10, 13, 4 jt, 8, 9, 11, 12, 0. 

Re-arrang-ed, 1, 2 jt, 3 jt, 4 jt, 5 jt, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. 

MILTON, IN LINCOLN COUNTY. 

No. 9, in the eastern part of this town, lies partlj in Milton and pailly in 
B\Ton. Both towns being in Lincoln county, the district is not joint. It shovild 
he numbered in Milton 07ily. The 9 applied to it in Byron should be dropped. 
No. 6, in the southern part of this town, is joint, and should have the same 
number in both Milton and Lon^ellow. 

No. 3, in the south-east part of the town, is joint, lying partly in each of the 
towns of Milton and Byron, in Lincoln county, and partly in each of the towns 
of Longfellow and Whittiei, in Sheridan county.. According to the second prin- 
ciple, this district should not be numbered in Byron, but the 3 in that ttnun 
should be dropped. 

The financial report for the entire district, and the statistical report for that 
.part of the district lying in Lincoln county, must be made to the commissioner 
of the first commissioner district of Lincoln county, and deposited with the 
town clerk of Milton, since the school-house is in Lincoln county, in the town 
of INIilton, in the first commissioner district. The district must be numbered 
also, according to the second principle, in Sheridan county, in each of the towns 
of Longfellow and Whittier. A statistical report of that part of the district lying 
in Longfellow must be made to the commissioner of the first commissionei 
district of Sheridan county, and deposited with the town clerk of Longfellow, 
and a statistical report of that part lying in \Yhittier must be made to the 
commissioner of the second commissioner district of Sheridan county, and 
deposited with the town clerk of \^Tiittier. There is no other No. 3 in Milton, 
and the school-house being in that town, we will assign 3 as the number of 
this district in each of the three towns. 

Old Nos., 1, 2, 3 jt., 4, 5 in S. part, 5 in W. part, 6 jt., 8, 9, 10, 12, 14. 

New Nos, 1, 2, 3jt,4, 5, 7, 6 jt, 8, 9, 10, 12, 11. 

Re-arranged, 1, 2, 3 jt., 4, 5, 6 jt., 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. 

LONGFELLOW, IN SHEEIDAN COUNTY. 

District No. 6, in the town of Whittier, lies partly in Longfellow, but, not 
being a joint district, must not benumbered in Longfellow. (See first principle.) 
Old Nos., 1, 2, 3, 4 jt., 5, 5 jt., 6, 6 jt., 7, 8, 9 in W. pt., 9 in S.W. pt. 12. 
New Nos, 1,2,4, 5jt,10, 3 jt, 11, 6jt, 7, 8, 9, 12, 0. 

Re-arr'd,. . 1, 2,3, jt.,.4. 5 jt., 6 jt., 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. 

BYRON, IN LINCOLN COUNTY. 

District No. 14, lying partly in this town, and partly in "Whittier, in Sheridan 
county, is joint, according to the second principle, and should be numbered in 
both towns. 

Old Nos.,. ... 1, 2, 3 jt, 4, 6, 8, 9 in S. part, 9 in W. part, 11, 12, 14 jt., 16. 
-New Nos,... 1,2, 0, 4,6, 8,9, 10, 7, 5 jt, 3 

Re-arranged, 1,. 2, 3, 4, 5 jt., 0, 7, 8, 9, 10. 



FOEMATIOX, ETC., OF SciIOOL DISTRICTS. 83 



WHITTIEK, IN SHERIDAN COUNTY. 

OldNos., 1,3,3, 4, 5, 5 jt., 6, 7, 9, 11, 14 jt. 

NewNos., 1,2,8, 4,10, 3 jt., 6, 7, 9, 11, 5 jt. 

Ke-arranged, 1, 2, 3 jt., 4, 5 jt., 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. 

The orders changing the district numbers may be in the following forms : 

FOR DISTRICTS NOT JOINT. 

It is hereby ordered by , school commissioner of the first 

commissioner district of Lincoln county, that the school district in the town 
of Shakespeare heretofore known as District No. 4, of said town (also com- 
monly known as the " Hill District "), shall be hereafter known and designated 
as District No. 6 of said town of Shakespeare. 

Dated xlugust 13, 1866. 

School Commissioner, First District, Lincoln County. 

FOR JOINT DISTRICTS. 

It is hereby ordered by , school commissioner of the second 

commissioner district of Lincoln county, and , school commis- 

sioner of the second commissioner district of Sheridan county, that the joint 
school district lying partly in each of the towns, Byron, in Lincoln county, 
and WTiittier, in Sheridan county (the school-house of which is situated in said 
town of Byron), and heretofore known as School District No. 14, in each of 
said towns (also commonly knowm as the " Valley District "), shall hereafter 
be known and designated as Joint School District No. 5, in each of said town 
of Byron and Whittier. 

Dated August 13, 1866. 

School Commissioner^ Second District, Lincoln County. 
School Commissioner^ Second District^ Sheridan County. 

Do not fail in any instance to serve a copy of the order on the district clerk, 
with a written request that he record the same in the district book, and also 
give public notice thereof to the inhabitants at the first annual or special 
district meeting held thereafter. Deposit the original order with the town 
clerk of the town in which the school-house is situated, and also a copy with 
the town clerk of every other tow^n in which any part of the district lies, 
with the written request, in each case, that the order be copied into the town 
records. 

§ 2. With the written consent of the trustees of all the districts 
to be affected thereby, he may, by order, alter any school district 
within his jurisdiction, and fix, by said order, a day when the alter- 
ation shall take effect. 



84 Formation, etc., of School Districts. 

In case tlie order is made ^\dth tlie consent of the trustees of the districts 
affected thereby, or of any such districts, the evidence of such consent should, 
be annexed to the order in substantially the following form : 

At a meeting of the trustees of district No. , in the town of , 

county of , called for the purpose of considering certain proposed 

alterations thereof, held on the day of , at which were present 

J. D. and R. S., and in the absence of P. T., a trustee, who, having been duly 
notified of such meeting, failed to attend, it was 

Resolved, That the consent of the trustees of district No. , in the town 

of , be and hereby is given to the alteration of said district by an 

order bearing date , made by , school commissioner for 

the Commissioner district (or section) of county (or that said 

district be so altered as to be hereafter bounded as follows, describing the 
new boundaries fully). 

In witness wliereof the undersigned, a majority of the said trustees, have 
hereunto subscribed our hands this day of 



J. D., ) 
R. S. [ 



Trustees. 

The consent of the trustees must be absolute, not conditional. 

§ 3. If the trustees of any such district refuse to consent, lie may 
make and file with the town clerk his order making the alteration, 
but reciting the refusal, and directing that the order shall not take 
effect, as to the dissenting district or districts, until a day therein 
to be named, and not less than three months after the notice in 
the next section mentioned. 

In case a majority of the trustees of any district affected by the order refuse 
their consent, the order should recite that fact, and that it will not take effect 
until after three months' notice, in %vriting, to some one or more of such 
trustees, as follows : 

" The trustees of district No. not having consented to this order., the 

same will not take effect, in respect to such last mentioned district, until after three 
months' notice, in writing, shall be given to some one or more of such 

trustees." 

§ 4. Within ten days after making and filing such order, he 
shall give at least a week's notice, in writing, to one or more of 
the assenting and dissenting trustees of any district or districts to 
be affected by the proposed alterations, that at a specified time and 
at a named place within the town in which either of the districts 
to be affected lies, he will hear the objections to the alteration. 
The trustees of any district to be affected by such order may 



FORMATIOX, ETC., OF SciIOOL DiSTEICTS. 85 

request the supervisor and town clerk of the town or towns within 
wliich such district or districts shall wholly or partly lie, to be 
associated with the commissioner. At the time and place men- 
tioned in the notice, the commissioner or the commissioners, witli 
the supervisors and town clerks, if they shall attend and act, shall 
hear and decide the matter ; and the decision shall be final, unless 
duly appealed from. Such decision must either confirm or vacate 
the order of the commissioner, and must be filed with and recorded 
by the town clerk of the town or towns in which the district or 
districts affected shall lie. 



A written admission of the ser^dce of such notice, signed by tke trustee or 
trustees on wliom it is made, or an atfida^-it of the service by tlie person serving 
the notice, should be annexed to the original order, and filed vnih it in the 
town clerk's office, so that the entire history of the transaction and the date at 
which the order took effect may be ascertained at any subsequent time without 
inquiry elsewhere or the examination of other documents. 

All orders making alterations in joint districts must be put on record in all 
the towns of which such districts constitute a part, even though such alterations 
do not directly affect persons residing in all the towns in which they are 
recorded: "Thus, although no inhabitant of Tyrone was taken from (joint) 
District No, 6 to form No. 8, the order, signed by the commissioners of both 
towns, should have been recorded in Tyrone, because No. 6 lies partly in that 
town. It is clear that unless such records are made, the commissioners of one 
town can never know the boundaries of a joint district without resorting to 
records in another town, over which they have no control." {Per Dix, Supt. 
Com. Schools, Deep. 175.) 

This section was originally section 3, chapter 133 of 1843, and was then first 
enacted upon the substitution of a town superintendent in the place of the 
former town board of commissioners of common schools. In so important a 
matter as the alteration of a school district, the Legislature deemed it right 
that the districts to be affected should have the benefit of the consiiltation and 
judgment of a board composed of three persons, whenever, for any reason, 
they elected to associate them, in preference to trusting their interests to the 
sole jurisdiction of the town superintendent. 

The statute has not prescribed the steps to be taken for convening the super- 
visor, town clerk and school commissioner to deliberate upon the alteration of 
a district. The school commissioner cannot call upon the supervisor and clerk 
to act with him, for the jurisdiction of the latter depends upon an application 
to them by the trustees of some district to be affected. In order to give them 
the opportunity to make such application, and that it may be done or the option 
waived within a reasonable time, the school commissioner, before making any 
alteration, should serve upon one or more trustees of each district to be affected 



86 Formation, etc., of School Districts. 

thereby a written notice, specifically describing such, alteration, in substantially 
the following form : 

To the trustees of District No, , in the town of : 

Take notice, that I intend on the day of next, at (specify- 

ing a convenient place, and a time sufficiently remote to enable the trustees to 
make application to the supervisor and clerk, and for the latter to be prepared 
for the meeting), to make an order for the alteration of District No. , in the 
town of , so that its boundaries shall thereafter be as follows, viz. : 

(Here specify the proposed boundaries of the district, as altered, in the manner 
recommended under sub. 4, sec. 1, title 6). 

You are therefore requested to meet without delay and to adopt a resolution 
consenting to the above proposed alteration, in which case you will please 
furnish me, at the time and place above mentioned, with a copy thereof, certi- 
fied under the hands of a majority of you, or to adopt a resolution applying to 
the supervisor and town clerk of the town (or toiuns if the district is a joint one) 
of to be associated \Adth me at the time and place above mentioned in 

determining upon the propriety of such proposed alteration. In the latter case 
you will please transmit copies of such resolution, certified under the hands of 
a majority of you, to the super\'isor and town clerk without delay, together 
wath notice of the time and place above stated at wliich such alteration will be 
made by me in case of their non-attendance. 

The determination of the trustees to associate the supervisor and clerk, like 
every other official act, should result from the resolution of a majority, adopted 
at a meeting at which all are present or which the absent one has been duly 
notified to attend. No jurisdiction is obtained by the supervisor and clerk 
upon the application of less than a majority. Their want of jurisdiction vitiates 
the action of a board in which they may assume to take part. Upon this point 
the language of Vice-Chancellor Sandford (2 Sand. Ch. B., 229), is very 
instructive. Discussing the effect of certain proceedings of a church council at 
which a majority of the trustees were present and in Avhich they unanimously 
concurred, but in which the minister, elders and deacons also participated, he 
says : " The trustees in this case are by the charter the select class or body 
which is to exercise the corporate functions. In order to exercise them, they 
must meet as a. hoard, so that they may hear each other's views, deliberate and 
then decide. Their separate action, individually, without consultation, although 
a majority in number should agree upon a certain act, would not be the act of 
the constitvited body of men clothed with the corporate powers. Nor would 
their action in a meeting of the whole body of corporators, or of another and 
larger class in which they are but a component part, be a valid corporate act. 
In thus acting they are not distinguishable from their associates, and their 
action is united with that of others who have no proper or legal right to join 
with them in its exercise. All proper responsibility is lost. The result may 
be thfe same that it would have been if they had met separately, and it may be 
different. In the general assemblage, influences may be brought to bear upon 



Formation, etc., of School Districts. 87 

tlie trustees which in their proper board would be unheeded ; and no one can. 
say with certainty that their vote in the latter event would have been the 
same." 

If the trustees have given the proper notice to the supervisor and clerk, the 
school commissioner can at the time and place appointed proceed to act in con- 
junction with either of them, in case the other omits to attend. It is true that 
the general rule is, when persons are appointed by the law to act as special 
tribunals of a quasi-judicial character, then both parties are entitled to the. 
presence of all the judges, and to have the benefits of the consultation of each 
with every other ; all must therefore meet together and consult, but then a^ 
majority may decide. In this case, however, though the law authorizes the 
trustees to apply to the supervisor and clerk, it furnishes no means of compel- 
ling their attendance, nor does it even in express terms declare it their duty to 
attend. It is only tliat one of them who accepts and acts under the applica- 
tion of the trustees who can be said to be appointed or vested with any power 
in the premises. Indeed, the doubt is rather whether the soZe jurisdiction of 
the school commissioner is divested unless both the supervisor and clerk asso- 
ciate themselves with him. It is clear tliat they cannot act except in association 
with him. 

If neither attend, the commissioner may proceed to act alone ; for he has the 
general power, and cannot be deprived of it by a fruitless application to the 
supervisor and clerk, where the latter decline or omit to be associated with 
iiim. 

In the case of joint districts, the supervisors and town clerks of all the towns, 
parts of which are included in the district affected, have, under the practice 
recognized by the department, been associated with the town superintendents. 
In this case, the reasoning in favor of proceeding, notwithstanding the absence 
of some of the supervisors or clerks, or even of both the supervisor and clerk 
of some of the towns, is stronger tlian in the case of a whole district. 

Under the adjudications of the department, it has been held that each town 
in such case had but one vote, so tliat the vote of a superintendent from one 
town counterbalanced the concurrent vote of the superintendent, supervisoi; 
and clerk from another town. As the school commissioner stands in the place 
of a town superintendent for each town within his jurisdiction, no town can be 
deemed to be unrepresented in consequence of the absence of its clerk and 
supervisor. The reasoning, however, which regarded the town officers as repre- 
sentatives of their respective towns is inapplicable since the substitution of the 
school commissioner for town superintendents, and each member of the board 
must be regarded under the existing law as having equal weight in the deci- 
sion. In other words, it depends upon the majority of voices. 

If, at the time appointed, the commissioner fails to attend, he may give notice 
specifying another day and place of meeting. But the commissioner cannot 
postiwne the time of meeting to any day later than three months after the 
first notice. The first order will be void, unless it is confirmed by a second 
order made by the board thus duly convened and formed, or by the commis- 
sioner in the absence of the other officers. 



83 Formation, etc., of School Districts. 

In tlie case of Williams v. LarJcin (3 Denio, 114), it was held by the supreme 
court, where an alteration of school districts made by the proper officers 
affected three districts, and the trustees of two of the districts consented to 
the alteration, but the trustees of the other district did not consent, that the 
alteration took effect immediately as to those districts whose trustees con- 
sented. In that case a part of District No. 14 was annexed to No. 3 with the 
consent of the trustees of both districts ; the residue of No. 14 was annexed 
to No. 13 without the consent of the trustees of the latter. Judge Bronson, 
delivering the opinion of the court, says : " Although both alterations were 
made at the same time, they were not in their nature inseparable acts, and I 
see no reason why they might not take effect at different periods." It is 
obvious that alterations may be so connected and dependent upon each other 
as to render the principle of this case inapplicable. For example, so much 
of the order as annulled District No. 14 could not take effect until the expira- 
tion of three months, notwithstanding its trustees consented, because it was 
dependent upon the annexation of so much of said district as remained to 
No. 13. No. 14 was a district lying wholly within one town. According 
to the opinion of Superintendent Spencer an order for the dissolution of a joint' 
district might be valid, although the annexation of its parts to other districts 
might be void ; and consequently its dissolution might take effect immediately* 
though the annexation of its parts to other districts might be suspended for 
three months. 

While the alteration is inchoate it is wholly inoperative upon the rights 
of any person. Thus, where an order was made to annex territory to an 
existing district without the consent of the trustees of the latter, it was held 
that, before the expiration of the three months after notice, the same territory 
might be annexed to a third district without the consent of the trustees who 
had refused the annexation first proposed ; but that the assent of the district 
from which it was taken by the first order was requisite. So, residents upon 
the territory to be transferred continue to be legal voters, and are entitled to 
notice of all district meetings held between the making of the order and the 
time it takes effect, and must be assessed on any tax list made out in the mean 
time. 

§ 5. The supervisor and town clerk shall be entitled each to 
one dollar and fifty cents a day, for each day's service in any 
such matter, to be levied and paid as a charge upon their 
town. 

§ 6. Whenever it may become necessary or convenient to form 
a school district out of parcels of two or more school commissioner 
districts, the commissioners of such districts, or a majority of them, 
may form such district ; and the commissioners within whose dis- 
tricts any such school district lies, or a majority of them, may 
alter or dissolve it. 



Formation, etc., of School Disteicts. 89 

The proceedings under tliis section would be similar to those under the i^re- 
ceding sections of this title, except that the concurrent action of the school 
commissioners is required. 

§ 7. If a school commissioner, by notice in writing, shall require 
the attendance of the other commissioner or commissioners, at a 
joint meeting for the purpose of altering or dissolving such a joint 
district, and a majority of all the commissioners shall refuse or 
neglect to attend, the commissioner or commissioners attending, 
or any one of them, may call a special meeting of such school dis- 
trict, for the purpose of deciding whether or no such district shall 
be dissolved ; and its decision of that question shall be as valid as 
though made by the commissioners. 

This section can become operative only in the rare case where three or more 
commissioners are requisite for the alteration, as it is only in such case that 
the majority can neglect to attend. If a majority attend, they can act under 
the preceding section. 

If the district meeting elects to dissolve the district (which is the extent of 
its power), the several parts revert to the towns in which they are respect- 
ively included, and become subject to regulation by the school commissioner 
having jurisdiction therein. 

§ 8. When two or more districts shall be consolidated into one, 
the new district shall succeed to all the rights of property pos- 
sessed by the annulled districts. 

Where two or more districts are consolidated, the united territory forms a 
new district. It is necessary to elect new trustees and other district officers, 
and the commissioner should give the notice provided by section 1 of title 7 
of this act. 

The public money which either district may have in the hands of the super- 
visor, unexpended, becomes applicable to the payment of teachers' wages and 
to the library of the consolidated district, without any distinction between the 
inhabitants or pupils of the former districts. If there is any money due to a 
teacher of either district, it should be drawn before the consolidation takes 
effect, or so much of it as is applicable to the payment of wages during the 
term in which they were earned. 

§ 9. When a district is parted into portions, which are annexed 
to other districts, its property shall be sold by the supervisor of 
the town within which its school-house is situated, at public auc- 
tion, after at least five days' notice, by notices posted in three or; 
12 



00 FORilATION, ETC., OF SCHOOL DiSTKICTS. 

more public places of the town in which the school-house is, one 
of which shall be posted in the district so dissolved. The super- 
visor, after deducting the expenses of the sale, shall apply its 
proceeds to the payment of the debts of the district, and appor- 
tion the residue, if any, among the taxable inhabitants of the 
district, in the ratio of their several assessments on the last cor- 
rected assessment roll or rolls of the town or towns, and pay it 
over accordingly. 

A district is annulled only when all its parts are annexed to other dis- 
tricts, so that nothing of the original district remains. If any of it remains as 
a distinct district, although designated by a new name and number, it is not a 
case of annulling. 

In respect to the property to be sold : Property is defined in the Code of Pro- 
cedure as including lands, tenements and hereditaments, money, goods, chat- 
tels, things in action and evidences of debt. The only point upon which much 
question is likely to arise regards the library of the annulled district. A por- 
tion of the books may have been purchased with money voted by the district 
and raised by tax upon the district. So far as these are concerned, they 
undoubtedly belong to the district and may be sold when it is annulled. In 
respect to those which have been purchased by the library money apportioned 
from the income of the United States deposit fund, the case is different. The 
money of the State was appropriated to the support of common schools by furnish- 
ing a library, and there is nothing to imply an intention that it should ever be 
diverted from its public purpose by becoming private property. The trustees 
of the district are made trustees of the library, but the property in it, it is 
declared, " shall be deemed to be vested in such trustees, so as to enable them to 
maintain any action relative to the same.-' The Legislature seem to have designed 
hereby to confer only a qualified property, for a specific purpose, retaining the 
general property in the people of the State of New York, precisely as the 
property of the library of the court of appeals, the Attorney- General, etc., is 
held. 

It is believed, therefore, that the books, so far as they have been purchased 
from the funds of the State, should be distributed precisely as the money 
itself would be if it came to the hands of the commissioner for distribution on 
the day of the annulling of the district ; that is, should be assigned to the 
respective districts to which parts are annexed, in proportion to the nimiber 
of children between four and twenty-one resident in such parts, according to 
the last report of the trustees. 

The debts must be ascertained from the trustees, and the supervisor should 
only pay them upon the written order of a majority of the trustees. If debts 
are claimed which are not admitted by the trustees, the money should be 
retained until any legal proceeding instituted for their collection is determined. 

The last corrected assessment roll is that which was delivered by the asses- 
Bors to the supervisor to be laid before the board of supervisors. If in the 



Formation, etc., of School Distkicts. 01 

equalization by the board of supervisors the valuation of real estate has been 
changed, the roll as thus varied by them is to be followed in distributing the 
money. But the completion of a new roll by the assessors, and its delivery 
to the supervisor, supersedes the roll of the preceding year, although the 
latter has been and the former has not been passed upon by the board of 
supervisors. (7 Wend., 89.) 

In a district, embracing parts of more than one town, where the proportion 
of taxes to be assessed upon the parts of such districts lying in different towns 
has been established by the supervisors of such towns, under section 69 
of title 7, the proceeds of the sale are to be divided between the parts of the 
districts in the proportion thus established, and the shares of such parts then 
apportioned to their respective inhabitants on the last corrected assessment 
roll of the town in which each part lies. 

§ 10. The supervisor of the town within which the school-house 
of the dissolved district was situate, may demand, sue for, and col- 
lect, in his name of office, any money of the district outstanding 
in the hands of any of its former officers, or any other person ; 
and, after deducting his costs and expenses, shall report the bal- 
ance to the school commissioner, who shall apportion the same 
equitably among the districts to which the parts of the dissolved 
district were annexed, to be by them applied as their district 
meetings shall determine. 

The collector and trustees are the only officers of a district in whose hands 
there can be legitimately any money ; such money may be the proceeds of a tax 
collected but not expended. In such case, the equitable mode of distribution 
would be to apportion it to the districts according to the amount which the 
taxable inhabitants and property set off to each have contributed thereto ; the 
same rule would hold in regard to the proceeds of the sale of school-houses or 
other property acquired by taxation. 

In case, however, the money is applicable to the payment of the current 
expenses of schools, such as the share of a town fund, the income of a school 
lot or the districts' proportion of fines for gambling, under chapter 504 of 1851, 
the equitable rule of apportionment is to assign it to the districts in proportion 
to the number of pupils resident in the parts annexed to them respectively. 

In case it becomes necessary to bring an action against the officers of a joint 
district, the supervisors of all the towns of which it forms a part must join as 
plaintiffs in the suit. 

It may be doubted whether the supervisor is authorized to maintain an 
action against any other person than an officer of a district for moneys belong- 
ing to it ; the statute giving him the power to sue confining it to penalties 
and forfeitures, and to defaults and omissions by town and district officers ; the 
trustees should in such case bring the action before the order annulling their 
district takes effect. 



92 School Disteict Meetings and Officeks. 

§ 11. Though a district be dissolved, it shall continue to exist in 
law, for the purpose of providing for and paying all its just debts ; 
and to that end the trustees and other officers shall continue in 
office, and the inhabitants may hold special meetings, elect officers 
to supply vacancies, and vote taxes ; and all other acts necessary 
to raise money and pay such debts shall be done by the inhabit- 
ants and officers of the district. 

Tliougli the statute contains no limitation of the time within which the 
trustees of a dissolved or consolidated district are required to discharge their 
duties under this section, there can he no valid reason for any longer delay 
than may be essential to ascertain its outstanding liabilities. The pendency 
of litigation, in respect to some of them, may put it out of the power of the 
trustees to act immediately, and their powers doubtless continue so long as 
any legal liability subsists ; the existence of the district is maintained for this 
special purpose, with power to elect officers to fill vacancies, and to vote taxes, 
or any other legal act necessary for the single purpose of paying its just debts. 

§ 12. The commissioner, or a majority of the commissioners in 
whose district or districts a dissolved school district was, shall, by 
his or their order in writing, delivered to the clerk of the district, or 
to any person in whose possession the books, papers and records 
of the district, or any of them, may be, direct such clerk or other 
person to deposit the same in the clerk's office in a town in the 
order named. Such clerk or other person, by a neglect or refusal 
to obey the order, shall forfeit fifty dollars, to be applied to the 
benefit of common schools of said town. The commissioner or 
commissioners shall file a duplicate of the order with such clerk. 
{Sec. 22, of title 3.) 

TITLE VII. 

OF SCHOOL DISTRICT AND NEIGHBOEHOOD MEETINGS, AND OF THE 
CHOICE, DUTIES AND POWEES OF SCHOOL DISTEICT AND NEIGH- 
BOEHOOD OFFICEES. 

FIRST ARTICLE. 
Of school district and neighborhood meetings, the voters and their 
poicers generally. 
Section 1. Whenever any school district or separate neighbor- 
hood shall be formed, the commissioner, or any one or more of the 
commissioners, within whose district or districts it may be, shall 
prepare a notice, describing such district or neighborhood, and 



School District Meetings and Officers. 93 

appointing a time and place for the first district or neighborhood 
meeting, and deliver such notice to a taxable inhabitant of the 
district or neighborhood. 

The meeting for organization cannot be held until the district " shall be 
formed," that is, not until the order for its formation shall have taken effect by 
the consent of trustees of the districts from Avhich it was formed, the expira- 
tion of three months' notice or the decision of an appeal, if one has been 
brought. 

The notice is to describe the district by metes and bounds, so that the inhab- 
itant to whom it is delivered may know, without recourse to any other 
document, over what territory he is to search for inhabitants. It may be in the 
following form : 

To , a taxable inhabitant of District No. in the town 

of : 

Whereas, By an order of the school commissioner for the commis- 

sioner district of the county of , which order is dated the day 

of , and took effect on that day (or will take effect on the day of 

next, specifying the day, which must precede the day of meeting), 
a school district is formed, numbered No, , and bounded and described as 
follows viz. : Beginning (pursuing the description as in the notes to title 
6, sujva). 

You are hereby required to notify every male person of full age, residing in 
the territory above described and entitled to hold lands within this State, who 
owns or hires real property subject to taxation for school purposes, and every 
resident of such territory authorized to vote at town meetings of the town 
of (in the case of a joint district, say, either of the towns of or 

) who owns any personal property, liable to be taxed for school pur- 
poses in such territory, exceeding fifty dollars in value exclusive of such as is 
exempt from execution, or who has permanently residing with him a child or 
children of school age, some one or more of whom shall have attended the 
common school for a period of at least eight weeks during the year preceding, 
that the first district meeting of said district is hereby appointed to be held at 
the house of , at o'clock in the afternoon of the day of 

next, for the purpose of electing oflScers, voting taxes, and perform- 
ing such other business as is permitted by section 16, of title 7, of the general 
school act. 

You are required by law to read this notice in the hearing of each inhabit- 
ant qualified as above described, or, in case of his absence from home, to leave 
a copy of so much thereof as relates to the time and place of such meeting at the 
place of his abode, at least six days before the time of the meeting. Dated 
this day of 

A. B., 

ScJiojl Commissioner. 



94 School District Meetings and Officers. 

It is not claimed to be absolutely essential that the notice sliould be in the 
form above recommended. It is essential that the time of day and the place 
of meeting should be accurately specified. (16 Verm., 444.) It is eminently 
desirable that the notice should be so broad that no person hearing it should 
have the slightest ground for professing to be surprised at any business which 
can by possibility be presented at the meeting. This is a rule that is applica- 
ble to all notices for all meetings. At the same time, it is expedient that the 
earliest occasion should be taken to apprise the inhabitants of the extent of 
the powers of a district meeting, and how little they are limited by the terms 
of the notice. A meeting lawfully assembled for one object is competent to 
act upon others which were not in the contemplation of those who procured it 
to be called, and may do almost any thing except change the site of the school- 
house, or any act not otherwise ordered or forbidden by statute. It is true 
that, though the proceedings of a meeting may be entirely regular and legal, 
it is within the equitable powers of the State Superintendent, upon an appeal, 
to set them aside where it can be shown that there was a fraudulent design to 
frame the notice in such a manner as to conceal the real pvirpose for which the 
meeting was convened. But it is not to be forgotten that the object of the 
notice is merely to assemble the inhabitants as the local legislature, and that 
when so assembled their powers are defined, not by the notice but by the 
statute. Indeed it would follow, from the general principles Avhich have been 
applied by the courts to elections and other corporate acts, that " if all were 
present, though by accident and ivithoui notice, their acts would be good." {King v. 
TJieoderic, 8 East, 543 ; see also 11 Wend., 604.) In reference to an annual meet- 
ing, the supreme court (6 Bill, 647) say : " For greater caution, and to give 
greater publicity to the meeting, the statute directs the clerk to post notice of 
it ; but that is not essential to its validity. The time and place for holding it 
may always be ascertained by examining the clerk's records, and an objection 
that notice was not duly posted should never be allowed to prevail. The foun 
dation of the meeting is the order of a previous annual meeting, not the post- 
ing of a notice by the clerk. The former is indispensable, but not the latter." 

§ 2. It shall be the duty of such inhabitant to notify every other 
inhabitant of the district or neighborhood, qualified to vote at the 
meeting, by reading the notice in his hearing, or, in case of his 
absence from home, by leaving a copy thereof, or so much thereof 
as relates to the time, place and object of the meeting, at the place 
of his abode, at least six days before the time of the meeting. 

In computing statute time, the first day, or the day on which the time begins 
to run, is to be excluded. (10 Ba7-b., 117.) The notice under this section must 
be six full days, exclusive of the day of service, and must therefore be given 
as early as the seventh day before the meeting. 

It is always important that the persons on whom and the manner in which 
the notice has been served should be verified by proper evidence, which can be 



School DrsxEiCT Meetings and Officers. 95 

preserved. In reference to a similar notice under tlie school law of Massacliu- 
setts, the supreme court of that State says : " When the selectmen direct a 
warrant for calling a school district meeting to a proper person, he is made a 
returning officer for that occasion. All returning officers are ministerial, and 
are bound to set forth in their returns all the acts done by them, that the 
proper tribunal may judge of their sufficiency. They are not competent to 
judge of the legality of a notice or service ; and a return that a precept had 
been legally served, or that the duty enjoined by a warrant had been duly per- 
formed, would most clearly be insufficient." To obviate this objection it would 
be well for the inhabitant who gives notice of the meeting to frame his return 
in substantially the following manner : 

" Pursuant to the within notice, I have notified the inhabitants qualified and 
residing as therein described, at least six days before the time of the meeting, 
in the following manner, viz. : by reading the notice in their hearing — John 
Doe, Charles Davis, etc. (naming them in full) ; by leaving a copy of so much 
of the within as relates to the time and place of meeting at their respective 
places of abode, they being absent from home — Robert Kidd, Henry Hunter, 
etc., etc. " 

This return, when indorsed upon the notice and signed by the inhabitant 
making it, should be produced at the meeting and filed with the records of 
the district. It constitutes the appropriate evidence of the service of notice ; 
but it is not to be inferred that in its absence secondary evidence may not 
be received to support the proceedings of the meeting, whose jurisdiction 
depends upon facts and not upon mere evidence. 

It is proper to remark that the notice should be given to every inhabitant 
having any pretension to a right to vote, although the person giving it may 
deem his qualifications insufficient. Giving him notice determines nothing aa 
to the right ; and it is better to err by giving the notice to persons not entitled 
to vote than to fail to notify any person who may be so legally entitled. 

§ 3. In case such meeting shall not be held, and, in the opinion 
of the commissioner, it shall be necessary to hold such meeting 
before the time herein fixed for the first annual meeting, he shall 
deliver another such notice to a taxable inhabitant of the district 
or neighborhood, who shall serve it as hereinbefore provided. 

§ 4. When the clerk and all the trustees of a school district 
shall have removed from the district, or their office shall be vacant, 
so that a special meeting cannot be called, as hereinafter provided, 
the commissioner may in like manner give notice of and call a 
special district meeting. 

§ 5. Every taxable inhabitant to whom a notice of any district 
meeting shall be delivered for service, pursuant to any provision 
of this article, who shall refuse or neglect to serve the same, as 



96 School District Meeti^^gs and Officees. 

hereinbefore prescribed, shall forfeit five dollars for the benefit of 
the district. 

It will be observed that this section imposes a penalty for every refusal to 
serve a notice for any district meeting properly delivered to an inhabitant. It 
is coextensive with the preceding section. A doubt whether the commissioner 
Is legally entitled to liis oflBce will not excuse a refusal, if he be an officer 
de facto, holding under color of election and exercising the duties of the office. 
It is not for a ministerial officer to judge of the validity of the election of an 
officer de facto ; for example, a district clerk should serve a notice signed by 
persons recognized and acting as trustees, though he deems them to have no 
title to the office and regards the notice as invahd. {See 7 Johns., 552.) 

§ 6. A special district meeting shall be held Avhenever called by 
the trustees. The notice thereof shall state the purpose for which 
it is called ; and the district clerk, or, if the office be A'acant, or he 
be sick or absent or shall refuse to act, a trustee or some taxable 
inhabitant, by order of the ti'ustees, shall serve the notice upon 
each inhabitant of the district qualified to vote at district meet- 
ings, at least five days before the day of the meeting, in the 
manner prescribed in the second section of this title. But 
the inhabitants of any district may, at any annual meeting, adopt 
a resolution prescribing some other mode of giving notice of 
special meetings, which resolution and the mode thereby pre- 
scribed shall continue in force until rescinded or modified at some 
subsequent annual meeting. 

See sections two and thirty-seven for comments upon the time and manner 
of serving notices. 

Under this section it is held that a special meeting, duly called and assem- 
bled, can transact any business, whether specified in the notice or not ; but if 
the inhabitants proceed to do acts which are not mentioned in the notice, and 
which amount to a fraud or surprise on the district, the department on appeal 
will set aside the proceedings. 

§ 7. The proceedings of no neighborhood or district meeting, 
annual or special, shall be held illegal for want of a due notice 
to all the persons qualified to vote thereat, unless it shall appear 
that tlie omission to give such notice was willful and fraudulent. 

The provision to cure the defect of notice relates to the mode and extent 
of service, and not to the insufficiency of the matter contained in the notice 
itself. 



School Disteict Meetings and Officeks. 97 

It was intended for cases where tlirougli accident or mistake the proper 
legal notice has not been given to all who are entitled to it ; but it cannot be 
construed to extend to cases in which no nttempl is made to give the notice 
required by law to any of the inhabitants. Where the clerk of a district 
undertakes to give a notice in the manner provided by the statute, and has 
failed, unintentionally, to serve such notice on all the persons entitled to 
receive it, or where such notice is imperfectly served, the proceedings of the 
meeting >vill not be void on that account. They may, however, be set aside 
on appeal, on showing sufficient cause. {Com. School Dec, 186, 223.) 

§ 8. The annual meeting of each neighborhood shall be held on 
the second Tuesday of October in each year, at the hour and place 
fixed by the last previous neighborhood meeting; or, if such hour 
and place has not been so fixed, then at the hour and place of such 
last meeting; or, if such place be no longer accessible, then at such 
other place as the trustees, or, if there be no trustees, the clerk, 
shall in the notices designate. 

§ 9. An annual meeting of each school district shall be held on 
the second Tuesday of October in each year, and, unless the hour 
and the place therefor shall have been fixed by the vote of a pre- 
vious district meeting, the same shall be held in the school-house 
at seven o'clock in thie evening. If a district possess more than 
one school-house, it shall be held in the one usually employed for 
that purpose, unless the trustees designate another. 

It may happen that while the trustees are building a new school-house, and 
before it has been accepted, the previous annual meeting may have been held 
in a room hired for temporary use of the school. This room would be for the 
time being the school-house, and the place for holding the annual meeting. A 
vote of the inhabitants may require an annual meeting to be held in some 
place other than the district school-house. 

§ 10. Whenever the time for holding the annual meeting in 
school districts shall pass without such meeting being held in any 
district, a special meeting shall thereafter be called by the trus- 
tees or by the clerk of such district, for the purpose of transact- 
ing the business of the annual meeting ; and if no such meeting 
be called by the trustees or the clerk within twenty days after 
such time shall have passed, the supervisor or the Superintendent 
of Public Instruction may order any inhabitant of such district to 
give notice of such meeting in the mannei^ provided in the second 
section of this title, and the ofiicers of the district shall make to 
13 



98 School District Meetings ats^d Ofeiceks. 

such meeting the reports required to be made at the annual meet- 
ing, subject to the same penalty in case of neglect ; and the offi- 
cers elected at such meeting shall hold their respective offices only 
until the next annual meeting and until their successors are elected 
and shall have qualified as in this act provided. 

§ 11. Whenever any district or neighborhood meeting shall be 
duly called, it shall be the duty of the inhabitants qualified to 
vote thereat to assemble at the time and place fixed for the meeting. 

§ 12. Every male person of full age residing in any neighbor- 
hood or school district, and entitled to hold lands in this State, 
who owns or hires real property in such neighborhood or school 
district liable to taxation for school purposes, and every resident 
of such neighborhood or district authorized to vote at town meet- 
ings of the town in which he resides, who has permanently residing 
with him a child or children of school age, some one or more of 
whom shall have attended the district school for a period of at 
least eight weeks within one year preceding, or who owns any 
personal property liable to be taxed for school purposes in any such 
district, exceeding fifty dollars in value, exclusive of such as is 
exempt from execution, and no other, shall be entitled to vote at 
any school meeting held in such neighborhood or district. 

The question of residence is one frequently agitated, not only with respect 
to the right of voting and of holding district oflBces, but in regard to the enu- 
meration of pupils. The principles which govern its determination have been 
largely discussed by the courts in construing the words residence^ domicile and 
irJw.hitancy, which, though not in all respects and for all purposes convertible 
terms, mean generally the same thing. 

Inhabitancy and residence, says Chancellor Walworth (8 Wend., 140), " mean 
a fixed and permanent abode or dwelling place for the time being, as distin- 
guished from a mere temporary locality of existence." To acquire a domicile two 
things are necessary — the fact of residence in a place, and the intent to make it 
a home. To retain a domicile once acquired, actual residence, however, is not 
indispensable, but it is retained by the mere intention not to change it or adopt 
another, or rather by the absence of any present intention of removing there- 
from. Nor is the domicile affected by the forming of an intention to remove, 
unless such intention is carried into effect. This results from the rule that a 
domicile once acquired remains until a new one is acquired. In legal contem- 
plation, every person must liave a domicile somewhere, and he can only have 
one domicile at one and the same time. 

In determining the locality of a man's existence, where he divides his hours 
between different buildings, the place of his dwelling-house is first regarded 



School District Meetings an^d Officers. 09 

in contradistinction to any place of business, trade or occupation. If he has 
more than one dwelling-house, that in "vvhich he sleeps or passes his nights, if 
it can be distinguished, will govern. If the dwelling-house is partly in one 
town and partly in another, the occupant must be deemed to dwell in that 
town in which he habitually sleeps, if it can be ascertained. (23 Pick., 178.) 

The Constitution establishes the rule, by section 3, article 2, that " for the 
purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence 
by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the service of the 
United States ; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this State, 
or of the United States, or of the liigli seas ; nor while a student of any semi- 
nary of learning ; nor while kept at any almshouse or other asylum at public 
expense ; nor Avhile confined in any public prison." 

The intention of remaining, requisite to constitute a resident, must be inde- 
pendent of any temporary purpose of business, health or pleasure, though it 
does not necessarily exclude the idea of removing after an indefinite time, or a 
change of circumstances. Once established in any place, the presumption of 
residence continues unless rebutted, and the burden of proof is upon a party 
alleging a change. 

The following is a condensed statement of the rules given by Judge Story 
{Conflict of Laivs., chap. 3) ; most of them are stated and illustrated by our supreme 
court (4 Barb., 518) : 

1. The place of birth of a person is considered as his domicile, if it be at the 
time the domicile of his parents. This is called the domicile of nativity. But if 
his parents are on a visit or on a journey, the home of the parents will be 
deemed his domicile. An illegitimate child follows the domicile of his mother; 

2. The domicile of birth continues until he has acquired a new domicile ; 

3. A minor is generally deemed incapable of changing his domicile ; but if 
the parent changes his domicile, that of the minor follows it. If the father dies, 
his last domicile continues that of his minor children. This rule is subject to 
qualification if the minor has been emancipated from parental control or adopted 
into a new family ; 

4. A married woman follows the domicile of her husband ; 

5. A Avidow retains the domicile of her deceased husband until she acquires 
another ; 

6. Prima facie, the place where a person lives is deemed his domicile ; 

7. Every person of full age having a right to change his domicile, if he 
removes to another place with an intention of makvig it his permanent residence, 
that immediately becomes his domicile. 

8. If a person removes to another place with an intention of remaining there 
for an indefinite time, and as a place of present domicile, it becomes his domicile 
notwithstanding he may entertain a floating intention to return at some future 
period ; 

9. The place where a married man's family resides is generally deemed his 
domicile, but not if it be a merely temporary establishment ; 

10. If a married man has his family in one place and his business in another, 
the former is deemed his domicile ; 



100 School Disteict Meetings axd Officeks. 

11. If a married man has two places of residence at different times of tlie 
year, that will be esteemed his domicile which he himself sfelects or deems his 
home, or which appears to be the center of his affairs, or where he votes or 
exercises the rights and duties of a citizen ; 

13. If a man is unmarried, that is generally deemed his domicile where he 
transacts his business, exercises his profession or assumes the privileges or 
duties of a citizen. But this rule is subject to qualification ; 

13. Residence, to produce a change of domicile, must be roluntarr, not by 
imprisonment, etc. ; 

14. Mere intention to remove, without the fact of removal, will not change 
the domicile ; nor will the fact of removal without intention. They must go 
together ; 

15. A domicile, once acquired, remains until a new one is acquired. 
Voters must, in the first place, possess three qualifications ; they must in all 

cases be males, twenty-one years of age, and residents of the district. Possess- 
ing these, a man to be entitled to vote must possess also one of the following 
qualifications, and any one is sufficient : 

I. He must be entitled to hold lands, and must also own or hire real property 
in the district subject to taxation ; it matters not how small is the real 
property or how brief the term for which it is hired ; tenancy from week to 
week of a shanty or a room is sufficient. But an alien, though he has taken 
the incipient measures to obtain naturalization, cannot hold real property or 
be a qualified voter at a school district meeting in the district where he 
resides, until he has made and filed the affidavit hereinafter mentioned. 

He is required to make a deposition or affiLrmation in writing, before an 
officer authorized to take the proofs of deeds to be recorded, that he is a 
resident of and intend.s always to reside in the United States and to become 
a citizen thereof as soon as he can be naturalized, and that he has taken such 
incipient measures as the laws of the United States require to enable him to 
obtain naturalization ; which shall be certified by such officer, and be filed and 
recorded by the Secretary of State in a book to be kept by him for that 
purpose, and such certificate, or a certified copy of it, shall be evidence of the 
facts therein contained. 

The real property must be subject to taxation, and it matters not that the 
person claiming to vote as the owner or hirer of it is not actually taxed for it 
himself, or that the property is not taxed to the owner or any other person. 
A man of color may, therefore, be a voter at a district meeting, who hires real 
property of less than $250 in value, because it is subject to taxation as 
the property of the owner ; although the man of color cannot vote as the 
owner of real property of less than $250 in value, because the Constitution 
(§ 1, art. 2) exempts him from taxation unless he possesses a freehold estate 
of that value. Query, however, whether a man of color who owns real property, 
worth say $200, which he rents to a white man, so that the latter is taxable as 
occupant, is not entitled to vote at a district meeting. 

II. Or he must be authorized to vote at town meetings of the tovm in which he 
resides, and have permanently residing with him a child or children of school 



School District Meetings axd Officees. 101 

age, some one or more of wliom shall liave attended the district school for a 
jieriod of at least eight weeks within one year preceding, 

III. Or he must own personal property liable to taxation exceeding $50 in 
value, exclusive of such as is exempt from execution. 

In Craivford v. Wilsoii, 4 Hill, 504, the supreme court held in effect that, in 
estimating the amount of a voter's personal property, a debt due to him from a 
school district for teachers' wages, and from his father for ser\nces, might be 
taken into account. No unnaturalized alien, no Indian and no man of color, can 
entitle himself to vote in virtue of his possession of taxable personal property, 
nor by having children of school age, as above set forth. His claim must be tested 
by the possession of the right to vote at town meeting, which requires citizen- 
ship (which excludes aliens and Indians) for ten days, residence of the State 
for one year next preceding, and of the county for the last four months, and, 
in regard to the man of color who is a citizen, the real property qualification 
also. 

The personal property exempt from execution is defined by law as follows : 

" When owned by any person being a householder ; and such articles thereof 
as are movable shall continue so exempt while the family of such person or 
any of them may be removing from one place of residence to another. 

" 1. All spinning wheels, weaving looms, and stoves put up or kept for use 
in any dwelling-house ; 

" 2. The family Bible, family pictures, and school books used by or in the 
family of such person ; and books not exceeding in value $50, which are kept 
and used as part of the family library ; 

" 3. A seat or pew occupied by such person or his family in any house or 
place of public worship ; 

" 4. All sheep to the niimber of ten, with their fleeces, and the yarn or cloth 
manufactured from the same (though not the owner of the sheep on which 
grew the fleeces from which they are made, 21 Wend., 69), one cow, two swine, 
the necessary food for them (but not for a team, 5 Denio, 119), all necessary 
pork, beef, fish, flour and vegetables actually provided for family use (although 
such vegetables may be in the ground, undug or not fully grown, 25 Wend., 
370), and necessary fuel for the use of the family for sixty days ; 

" 5. All necessary wearing apparel, beds, bedsteads and bedding for such 
person and his family, arms and accoutrements required by law to be kept by 
such person, necessary cooking utensils, one table, six chairs, six knives and 
forks, six plates, six teacups and saucers, one sugar dish, one milk pot, one tea 
pot and six spoons, one crane and its appendages, one pair of andirons and a 
shovel and tongs ; 

" 6. The tools and implements of any mechanic necessary to the carrying on 
of his trade, not exceeding $25 in value." {Sec 22, chap. 6, art. 2, title 5, part 3, 
of the Revised Statutes.) 

By section 1, chapter 107, Laws of 1858, page 206, the foregoing provision 
"does not apply to any judgment rendered for any claim accruing for work 
and labor performed in a family as a domestic." 



102 School Distkict Meetings axd Officers. 

Chapter 782, Laws of 1866, in addition to tlie articles above named, extended 
the list of exemptions as follows ; "In addition to the articles now exempted 
by law from levj and sale under execution, there shall be exeinpted from such 
gale necessary household furniture, and working tools and team, professional 
instruments, furniture and library owned by any person being a householder 
or having a family for whom he provides to the value of not exceeding two 
hundred and fifty dollars, and in addition thereto there shall be exempt from 
such levy and sale the necessary food for said team for a period not exceeding 
ninety days, and a sewing machine ; provided that such exemption shall not 
extend to any execution issued on a demand for the purchase-money of such 
furniture, tools, or team, or the food for said team, or professional instruments, 
furniture, or library, sewing machine, or the articles now enumerated by law." 

" Xo replevin shall lie for any property taken by virtue of any warrant for 
the collection of any tax, assessment or fine in pursuance of any statute of this 
State." (2 Revised Statutes, p. 522. sec. 4.) 

This provision must, however, be subject to the action of Congress on a sub 
ject which by the Constitution is within its jurisdiction. The Constitution in 
express terms gives to Congress the power " to provide for organizing, arming 
and disciplining the militia." 

By the act of Congress of May 8, 1792 {vol 2, Laws of the United States, 293), 
every citizen enrolled in the militia is required to provide himself with the fol- 
lovdng accoutrements, viz. : " A good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet 
and belt, two spare flints and a knapsack, a pouch with a box therein, to con- 
tain not less than twenty-four cartridges suited to the bore of his musket or 
firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball ; or 
vdth a good rifle, knapsack, shot pouch and powder horn, twenty balls suited 
to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a pound of powder ; " and the commis- 
sioned officers are required to be armed with a sword, or hanger, or espontoon ; 
and it is declared that every citizen so enrolled and providing himself with 
arms, ammunition and accoutrements, required as aforesaid, shall hold the 
same exempted from all suits, distresses, executions or sales for debts, or for 
the payment of taxes. 

By the laws of this State {chap. 6, part 3, title 5, sec. 22, vol, 2, Revised Stat- 
utes), the " arms and accoutrements required by law to be kept by any person," 
as well as a variety of other articles therein specified, are exempt from execu- 
tion, but not from distress for taxes. The only exemption, therefore, from the 
operation of a collector's warrant on a tax list, arises under the act of Congress 
before quoted, and this can only be extended to the arms, ammunition and 
accoutrements therein speciiied. 

§ 13. If any person offering to vote at any neighborhood oi 
school district meeting shall be challenged as unqualified, by any 
le^al voter in such neighborhood or district, the chairman presid 
ing at such meeting shall require the person so offei-ing to make 
the followino' declaration: "I do declare and affirm that I am an 



School District Meetings and Officers. 103 

actual resident of this school district (or separate neighborhood), 
and that I am qualified to vote at this meeting." And every per- 
son making such declaration shall be permitted to vote on all 
questions proposed at such meeting; but if any person shall 
refuse to make such declaration his vote shall be rejected. 

A party knowing a person to be unqualified and permitting him to vote with- 
out challenge Avill not be allowed to object to the proceedings of the meeting 
because such unqualified person participated in them. It has been the practice 
of some of the State Superintendents upon appeal to disregard the objection 
that unqualified persons voted, unless they were challenged, although it did 
not appear that the fact of their disqualification was known at the time of the 
meeting. The rule is well settled, that proceedings will not be vitiated by ille- 
gal votes imless a different result would have been produced by excluding such 
votes. It lies upon the party objecting to show that fact, even, according to 
the judgment of the supreme court, in 7 Gowen, 153, if the nature of the pro- 
ceeding is such as to deprive him of the power, as in the case of a vote by bal- 
lot. In the case cited, the court say : " For aught that appears, the spurious 
ballots were for the ticket which was in the minority. To warrant setting 
aside the election, it must appear affirmatively that the successful ticket 
received a number of improper votes, which, if rejected, would have brought it 
down to a minority." It is also incumbent upon the appellant to state the facts 
showing the lack of qualification in such terms as necessarily to exclude every 
presumption that the voter could be qualified under either of the heads stated 
in the note to the previous section. 

A challenge should be interposed at the very first instance in which an 
unqualified person may offer to vote ; for it would be very unjust to permit a 
party to avail himself of a vote so long as it should be cast in accordance with 
Ms views, and then to object when a difference manifested itself between him- 
self and the voter. 

If a challenge is interposed upon the vote for chairman, the person who 
made the nomination ordinarily takes the question upon it, and should regard 
himself as temporary chairman, and require the declaration prescribed by the 
statute from the challenged party, which should be given in the very words of 
the law. 

§ 14. Any person who, upon being so challenged, shall Avillfully 
make a false declaration of his right to vote at any such meeting, 
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by impris- 
onment in the county jail for not less than six months nor more 
than one year. And any person not qualified to A'ote at any such 
meeting, who shall vote thereat, shall thereby forfeit five dollars, 
to be sued for by the supervisors for the benefit of the common 
schools of the town. {^Sec. 22 of title 3.) 



104 School Disteict Meetings and Officees. 

§ 15. The inhabitants of any neighborhood entitled to vote, 
when assembled in any annual meeting or any other neighborhood 
meeting duly called by the commissioner, pursuant to the first or 
third sections of this title, shall have poAver, by a majority of the 
votes of those present : 

1. To appoint a chairman for the time bemg ; 

2. To choose a neighborhood clerk and one trustee, and to fill 
vacancies in office. 

There have been no more than five neighborhoods in tlie State for many 
years past, and only three have reported during the last two years. The com- 
missioners may find it best to annex them to adjacent districts in this State. 

§ 16. The inhabitants so entitled to vote, when duly assembled 
in any district meeting, shall have power, by a majority of the 
votes of those present : 

1. To appoint a chairman for the time being ; 

2. If the district clerk be absent, to appoint a clerk for the time ; 

3. To adjourn from time to time as the occasion may require; 

4. To choose one or three trustees as hereinafter provided, a 
district clerk, a district collector, a librarian, at their first meeting, 
and so often as such offices or any of them become vacated, except 
as hereinafter provided ; 

5. To fix the amount in which the collector shall give bail for 
the due and faithful performance of the duties of his office ; 

6. To designate a site for a school-house, or, with the consent 
of the commissioner or commissioners within Avhose district or 
districts the school district lies, to designate sites for two or more 
school-houses for the district ; 

7. To vote a tax upon the taxable property of the district to 
purchase or lease such site or sites, and to hire, build or pur- 
chase such school-houses, and to keep in repair and furnish the 
same with necessary fuel and appendages ; 

8. To vote a tax, not exceeding twenty-five dollars in any one 
year, for the purchase of maps, globes, blackboards, and other 
school apparatus, and for the purchase of text-books and other 
school necessaries for the use of poor scholars of the district; 

9. To vote a tax, not exceeding ten dollars in any one year, for 
the purchase of such books as they shall direct for the district 
library, and such further sum as tliey may deem necessary for the 
purchase of a book-case ; 



School District Meetings and Officers. 105 

10. To vote a tax to supply a deficiency in any former tax, 
arising from such tax being, in whole or in part, uncollectible ; 

11. To authorize the trustees to cause the school-house or school- 
houses, and their furniture, appendages and school apparatus, to 
be insured by any insurance company created by or under the 
laws of this State ; 

12. To alter, repeal and modify their proceedings, from time to 
time, as occasion may require ; 

13. To vote a tax for the purchase of a book for the purpose of 
I'ecording their proceedings ; 

14. To vote a tax to replace moneys of the district lost or 
embezzled by district officers ; and to pay the reasonable expenses 
incurred by district officers in defending suits or appeals brought 
against them for their official acts, or in prosecuting suits or 
appeals by direction of the district against other parties. 

15. To vote a tax, not exceeding twenty-five dollars in each 
year, for anticipated deficiencies or contingencies, or to pay the 
wages of teachers in anticipation of the ordinary collections for 
that purpose, to be replaced by such collections when made ; 

16. To vote a tax to pay whatever deficiency there may be in 
teachers' wages after the public money apportioned to the district 
shall have been applied thereto ; but if the inhabitants shall neg- 
lect or refuse to vote a tax for this purpose, or if they shall vote a 
tax which shall prove insufficient to cover such deficiency, then 
the trustees are authorized, and it is hereby made their duty, to 
raise, by district tax, any reasonable sum that may be necessary to 
pay the balance of teachers' wages remaining unpaid, the same as 
if such tax had been authorized by a vote of the inhabitants. 

The several powers conferred by this section may be arranged under the 
following heads : 

1. The organization of the meeting by the appointment of its officers; 

2. The power of adjournment ; 

3. The election of district officers ; 

4. Fixing the amount of the collector's bail ; 

5. The selection and designation of school-house sites ; 

6. The power of taxation ; 

7. The power to alter, repeal and modify their proceedings. 

Before discussing the particular powers under their several heads, we will 
consider the general powers conferred. They are granted to the inhabitants 
entitled to vote when duly assembled in any district meeting. The exercise 
14 



106 School Disteict Meetings and Officees. 

of tliem cannot therefore be confined to the annual meetmg ; nor does this con- 
flict with the doctrine that it is the duty of trustees, when giving notice of 
every meeting, to state the purpose for which it is called. They are bound 
to inform the inhabitants what business the7j, or those at whose instance they 
give the notice, propose to lay before the meeting. But their neglect in this 
particular cannot deprive the inhabitants of any power which the statute con- 
fers upon them. The inhabitants are the legislative power, and, when law- 
fully assembled, are entitled to consider and act upon propositions affecting the 
interests of the district, by whomsoever offered and with however little pre- 
meditation, unless where specially restrained or limited by statute, as they are 
in respect to a change of site. 

The. resolutions of the meeting are determined by a majority of the votes 
of those present and voting, and do not require the votes of a majority of all 
present and not voting. Even if the words of the statute were less explicit this 
would be the rule at common law, which, as stated by Lord Mansfield (2 Burr,, 
1021), is : " Whenever electors are present and do not vote at all, they virtually 
acquiesce in the election made by those who do." In that case twenty-one electors 
were present, nine of whom voted for S. as town clerk, eleven protested against 
"him without voting for any one else, and one other said " he suspended doing 
any thing." The action of the twelve was held to be the same as if they had 
been silent ; and being present, but silent, exactly as if they had been absent. 
They must be taken to assent to what the others agres to in carrying out the 
purpose of the meeting. 

The same doctrine is applied in a recent case (7 AdoJph. & Ellis, 454) to other 
resolutions than those for an election. The court say : " The principle, indeed, 
may be best illustrated by the analogy drawn from electoral meetings ; but It 
is, in truth, of a very general nature, and inseparable from the proceedings 
of any assembly convened for doing some act necessary to be done at that 
meeting. The majority must do it; otherwise, however necessary, it will be 
left undone. But what majority? The majority of those who choose to take 
a part in the proceedings of the assembly. At almost every meeting of com- 
missioners for executing public works and imposing rates for that purpose, it 
is probable that the resolution is formed by a small number of those who 
attend, on whom the larger number are content to rely. If it were found as a 
fact that five had passed the resolution in a room containing twenty, of whose 
proceedings the other fifteen were ignorant, this would be the undoubted act 
of the whole meeting, if the proceedings had been conducted regularly and 
no fraud were practiced to occasion the ignorance of the fifteen. But suppose 
the twenty were convened to do an act which the law required them to do at 
that time, and the only open question was as to the mode of doing it ; a mode 
lawful in itself is regularly submitted, whereupon fifteen declare that though 
the law has imposed the duty on them they entertain so strong an objection, 
on grounds of conscience, to the law, that they refuse entirely to concur in 
obeying it. What must be the consequence ? Must the law be set at naught 
and its requirements be disregarded, or must not those who stand aloof 
be considered as refusing to assist in the execution of their duty and leav- 



School District Meetings and Officers. 107 

ing it to be done by the minority, wliicli is desirous of doing what is 
right?" 

The powers of a district meeting, in the order of the statute, %^dll now be 
considered. 

1. The organization of the meeting hy the appointment of its officers. 

a. To appoint a chairman for the time being: As the statute directs the 
appointment of a chairman, he should be so entitled, and not moderator or 
president. The acceptance of the position does not deprive the chairman of 
the right to vote upon any question submitted to the meeting. He may either 
give a casting vote upon a tie, or, when there is a majority of one in favor of 
any resolution, may vote with the minority, and thus make a tie vote, which 
defeats the resolution ; or without waiting for this result may, upon the call of 
yeas and nays by the clerk, vote when his name is reached. He can, however, 
cast but one vote upon the question. 

It is the chairman's duty to put every question to vote which is made and 
seconded. If he deems the motion out of order, he should so declare ; if the 
party making the motion deems his decision upon the point of order erroneous, 
it is his right to appeal to the meeting from such decision, and, if the appeal is 
seconded, it is the duty of the chairman to put the question : " Shall the decis- 
ion of the Chair be sustained ? " If upon such appeal the meeting vote against 
the decision of the Chair, it is the chairman's duty to put the original question ; 
a refusal to do so is disorderly, and it is in such case in the power of the 
meeting to select a new chairman who will conform to its decision. Tho 
motion for this purpose may, from the necessity of the case, be put by 
the clerk. There being no code of rules to regulate the proceedings of district 
meetings, that must be held to be in order to which a majority consents. The 
office of the chairman is to facilitate the ascertaining of the wishes of 
the majority. If their determination be illegal, the remedy is by appeal. 

b. The district clerk (see section 37, of this title) must record all the proceed- 
ings of the district, and it is therefore his duty to be present at all meetings. 
In his absence the inhabitants can appoint a clerk for the time, whose minute 
of the proceedings the clerk must subsequently record. The best course is to 
keep a full minute of all motions, resolutions and votes, and afterward copy 
them in detail into the record book. 

2. To adjourn from time to time, as occasion matj require. — A motion for 
adjournment takes precedence of all others, for otherwise the meeting might 
be kept in session against its will, and for an indefinite period. • A majority 
who were desirous of adjourning could not withdraw without leaving all the 
powers of the meeting in the possession of the minority. And if any other 
motion were permitted to take precedence, it might be in the power of a fac- 
tious minority, by renewing such motions, to wear out the physical endurance 
of the majority. This motion, however, cannot be received after another 
question is actually put, and while the meeting is engaged in voting upon it ; 
but in such case the vote must be concluded and the result announced by the 
chairman. If a question be put for adjournment, it is not an adjournment until 
the chairman pronounces it. 



108 School District Meetings and Officees. 

An adjournment is either "witliout day or to a specified time. In tlie former 
case all propositions upon wluch the question has not been taken are discontin- 
ued, and are not taken up at another meeting except upon a fresh proposition. 
In the latter case it is but a continuance of the session ; all matters pending 
remain in the same situation in which they were left, and when the meeting 
again convenes are resumed at the precise point at which they were left. The 
statute, however, regards an adjournment for more than one month as consti- 
tuting a new meeting, so far as to require the posting of written notices of the 
time and place thereof in four at least of the most public places of the district, 
at least five days before the time appointed. (»S^ee sec. 37, svh. 3, of this title) If 
a special meeting be properly called, or the annual meeting occur in the mean 
time, its powers in reference to any subject are not impaired by the fact that a 
previous meeting, having such subject under consideration, stands adjourned to 
a subsequent day. (<S'ee 6 Metcalf [Mass. -Sep.], 509.) 

3. The election of district officeis. — The officers to be chosen at an annual 
meeting are, one or three trustees, a district clerk, a district collector, and a 
librarian. The choice is subject to the limitations contained in sections 
twenty-three and twenty-four of this title, by which a school commissioner or 
supervisor are ineligible to the office of trustee ; and no trustee can hold the 
office of district clerk, collector or librarian ; and by which the officer chosen 
must be a resident of the district and qualified to vote at its meetings. All 
the officers named are to be elected at the first meeting of the district, and as 
often as vacancies occur for any cause. In reference to votes cast for disquali- 
fied candidates, the law is thus stated in 7 Adolph. & Ellis, 437 : " The result of 
the decisions appears to be this : Where the majority of electors vote for a dis- 
qualified person in ignorance of the fact of disqualification, the election may 
be void, or voidable, or in the latter case may be capable of being made good, 
according to the nature of the disqualification. The objection may require 
ulterior proceedings to be taken before some competent tribunal in order to be 
made available, or it may be such as to place the elected candidate on the same 
footing as if he had never existed and the votes for him w^ere a nullity ; but in 
no case are the electors who vote for him deprived of their votes. If the fact 
becomes known and is declared while the election is still incomplete, they may 
instantly proceed to another nomination and vote for another candidate. If it 
be disclosed afterward, the party elected may be ousted, and the election 
declared void (by a competent tribunal) ; but the candidate in the minority 
will not be deemed ipso facto elected. But where an elector before voting 
receives due notice that a particular candidate is disqualified, and yet will do 
nothing but tender his vote for him, he must be taken voluntarily to abstain 
from exercising his franchise ; and therefore, however strongly he may in fact 
dissent, and in however strong terms he may disclose his dissent, he must be 
taken in law to assent to the election of the opposing and qualified candidate, 
for he will not take the only course by which it can be resisted, that is, help to 
elect some other person. * * * If he dissents from the choice of A., who is 
qualified, he must say so by voting for some other, also qualified ; he has no 
right to employ his franchise merely in preventing an election, and so defeat- 



School District Meetings and Officers. 109 

ing tlie object for wMcli lie is empowered and bound to attend. * * * WTiere 
the disqualification depends upon a fact wliicli may be unknown to tbe elector, 
he is entitled to notice, for without that the inference of assent could not fairly 
be drawn, nor could the consequences as to the vote be just ; but if the disquali- 
fication be of a sort whereof notice is to be presumed, none need expressly be 
given. Xo one can doubt that if an elector would nominate and vote only for 
a Avomau, his vote would be thrown away. The fact would then be notorious, 
and every man would be presumed to know the law upon that fact." 

A person who is present at the meeting, when elected to any office, will be 
deemed to accept the same unless he declares his refusal, so that if the meet- 
ing chooses to excuse him a new election may be had. (See section 28 of this 
title.) If votes are given for him for an incompatible office, subsequent to such 
acceptance, it is in his power to elect which of the offices he will hold, and, if 
present, he should declare which he vacates, that the meeting may at once 
proceed to fill it. 

If the meeting in his absence elect him to two offices, he can take the legal steps 
to qualify himself for the one he chooses to accept, and the other ^vill be vacant. 

When a meeting has elected its officers, and the vote, whether by ballot or 
viva voce, has been declared, by the presiding officer, the power of the meeting 
is exhausted. It Will not be permitted to rescind its vote and annul an elec- 
tion. The ordinary proceedings of a meeting, such as the voting of a tax, the 
designation of a site, and the acceptance or disapproval of a trustee's account, 
may be reviewed, altered or rescinded, but, an election once made, the person 
elected has a right to enter upon the duties of the office, and a second election 
would be an attempt to put another officer in a place already filled. 

The inhabitants have the power and it is their duty to fill every vacancy 
existing in a district office, notwithstanding it has existed more than one 
month. If the vacancy has been created by any other cause than the expira- 
tion of the incumbent's term, it is ad^-lsable that a resolution should be passed 
declaring such vacancy to exist, and expressly stating the ground on which 
the meeting adjudges the office vacant. Cases are reported where removal 
from a district, though not such as to forfeit the rights of the party as an 
inhabitant, and where an actual incapacity to serve, though not declared by 
law, have been held sufficient to justify treating them as creating a vacancy. 
In such cases, the officer removing, or becoming incapable, for any reason, of 
discharging his duties, ought to furnish written evidence thereof by a tender 
of his resignation. If he omits to do so, it is for the appointing power to judge 
in the first instance whether a vacancy exists ; and although it may err in so 
declaring, the officer appointed will be deemed an officer de facto, and liis acts 
in relation to the public and third persons deemed valid, until his election, is 
pronounced void. 

4. Fixing the amount of the collector's bond, — By section 83 of this title, the 
collector, within ten days after having received notice, and before any war- 
rant is placed in his hands for the collection of money, must execute a bond in 
the amount fixed by the meeting, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his 
official duties. 



110 School District Meetings and Officers. 

If the meeting omit to pass any resolution fixing tlie amoimt of bail, tlie 
trustees must fix it at sucli sum as they deem reasonable. 

5. The selection and designation of school-house sites. — The designation of a 
site should be made by a ^vritten resolution, in which the description should 
be given by metes and boundaries. The selection may be made in advance by 
the trustees or any other person, the title investigated, the price agreed on, 
and all the preliminary terms of the purchase settled. A survey should be 
actually made, and the dimensions precisely known. The passage of a resolu- 
tion designating a site will then be the formal act of the meeting. But the 
site will not be so determined by such a vote as to require a special meeting 
to change it, until a legal title has been acquired by the execution and delivery 
of a deed, or by the making of a valid contract for the purchase, which, to be 
binding under the statute of frauds, must be in writing, under seal, and sub- 
scribed by the parties to be bound thereby. 

The question frequently arises whether the district has a title to a site, so 
as to render a new designation equivalent to an additional site requiring the 
consent of the school commissioner, or a change of site requiring a meeting 
called by special notice for that purpose. It is ordinarily started in conse- 
quence of doubts as to the title of a site actually occupied or claimed by the 
district, growing out of the want of a deed, or the loss of a deed -without its 
having been recorded, where one was originally executed. 

A right in real estate may be acquired either by grant, by deed duly executed 
and delivered, or by an adverse possession of twenty years under claim of title, 
in which case the law presumes a grant, or by a valid contract for the convey, 
ance, where a court of equity will enforce a specific performance, or in the 
case of the public by dedication. 

In reference to the first mode : In the case of occupation under a grant, it 
is not material that the deed has been lost, for the paper itself is but e^ddenco 
of the fact, and, upon showing its loss, the existence and contents of the deed 
may be proved by other testimony ; nor is the fact of its not having been 
recorded material, for the recording act is only for the benefit of purchasers in 
good faith and without notice, and the possession of real estate is held by the 
courts to be sufficient notice to put a purchaser upon inquiry as to the rights 
of the party in possession, and to charge him with notice of all facts to which 
such inquiry might have led. 

As to the second mode of acquiring title, by adverse possession, it may be 
first remarked, that a mere naked possession, withoiit any claim of right or 
title, will not constitute a defense against one who can prove a better right of 
possession. The possession of a person who has no title, no right of posses- 
sion, and sets up no claim of right, will be deemed the possession of the real 
owner, and will inure to his benefit. 

Many school-house sites in the State are held by adverse possession. The 
school trustees sometimes failed to procure deeds of conveyance, and some- 
times failed to have them recorded ; and so, in process of time, they have been 
mislaid and lost, and all evidence of their existence is gone. In all such cases, 
when the district has claimed title and kept possession for twenty years and 



School Disteict Meetixgs and Officeks. Ill 

upward, the title is lield adversely. But tliere must be a claim of title, 
and this claim mast be of the entire title, and one which necessarily excludes 
the idea of title in any other. An adverse possession must be an actual and 
hostile possession. It involves an assumption of the right to the land in 
question, from the time it is alleged to have commenced, and a continued 
holding with the assertion of right. It must be visible and* notorious, and 
exclude the exercise of ownership by the other party, and must be hostile in 
such sense as to indicate intent to occupy exclusively. (9 Wmd., 511 ; 9 Johns., 
180; 5 Cow., 74; 17 Barb., 663; 19 Barb., 644; 2 Smith's S. C, 39; 9 Cow., 
530 ; 5 Cow., 346 ; 5 Cow., 539 ; 5 Wend., 532 ; 9 Johns., 174.) 

The district can hold only what land has been actually occupied. If tliere 
is no written title, and reliance is placed upon possession \vith an assertion 
of title, only so much land can be retained as is under actual improvement. 
If there has been possession of the house only, and the land on which it 
stands, then only so much land can be retained. If there has been a yard 
inclosed by a fence, then all the land that has been so inclosed can be retained. 
(1 Johns., 158 ; 2 Johns., 234 ; 2 Johns., 230 ; 7 Wend., 62.) 

Where there has been an actual occupation of premises in any of the modes 
above described, an oral claim of exclusive right is suflScient, without the 
pretension that su«h claim is founded upon a written instrument, and a claim 
of title even under a paper altogether void and inoperative as a deed will yet 
characterize a possession as adverse. (24 Wend., 604.) The possession is 
evidence only of such title as the party has asserted. If, therefore, the claim 
has been only to hold at suflFerance, or conditionally, or for a term of years, it 
can never ripen into a better title. 

If land has been conveyed to a district to be held so long as it shall be used 
for a school-house site or for school purposes, then, upon the abandonment 
of the site, and the removal of the house to some other location (and the house 
should be removed before the site is abandoned), the land will revert to the 
original grantor, or to liis heirs and assigns. If adjoining land be purchased, 
and the house removed to the new purchase, but the former premises be still 
retained and used as a yard or play ground, the district will still hold it. 

If a house has been built upon land held under a lease, and the title has 
come from the lessee, then the district can hold only during the term of the 
lease. 

It behooves a district to see that land is not bought of persons who have 
only a life estate, or a leasehold, or any title less than a fee simple, for it is a 
general rule that a man cannot grant any higher title or greater estate than 
he o\%Tis.* 

* Adverse Possession. — The provisions of the Code on this subject are as follows: 
§ 81. Possession presvmed. Occi/pafion, when deemed vnder legal title. — In every action for 
the recovery of real property, or the possesS'ion thereof, the person estahlishine'a legal title 
to the premises shall be presumed to have been possessed thereof within the time required 
by law ; and the occupation of such premise? by any other person shall be deemed to have 
been under and in subordination to the legal title, unless it appear that such premises 
have been held and possessed adversely to such legal title for twenty years before the com- 
mencement of such action. 

§ 82. Occupation under icritten instrument.— Whenever it shall appear that the occupant, 
or those under whom he claims, entered into possession of premises under claim of title, 



112 School District Meetings and Officees. 

A district may, in tlie fourth place, acquire title to a site by dedication, which 
means the setting apart for public use, in some solemn manner, a lot of land, 
for a street, or a park, or a square, or a market, or a church, or a school-house, 
or other public purpose. This may be done by deed, or by a map on which 
lots are marked off for public use. In the case of Potter, v. Chapin (6 Paige, 639), 
the inhabitants of a village and others contributed money, labor and materials, 
and built a school-house for the general benefit of the inhabitants, and the 
court held that this was a dedication to the village public for the purposes of 
education, which would be upheld in equity. 

This dedication may be with or without writing, if it be for public, pious, or 
charitable purposes, provided the person making it devotes it by some open 

exclusive of any other right, founding such claim upon a written instrument, a? being a 
conveyance of the premises in question, or upon a decree or judgment of a competent court, 
and that there has been a continued occupation and possession of the premises included iu 
such instrument, decree, or judgment, or of some part of such premises, under such claim, 
for twenty years, the premises so included shall be deemed to have been held adversely ; 
except that when the premises so included consist of a tract divided into lots, the posses- 
sion of one lot shall not be deemed a possession of any other lot of the same tract. 

§ 83. Adverse possession.— For the purpose of constituting an adverse possession by any 
person claiming a title founded upon a written instrument, or a judgment or decree, land 
shall be deemed to have been possessed and occupied in the following cases : 

1. When it has been usually cultivated and improved ; 

2. When it has been protected by a substantial inclosure ; 

3. Where, although not inclosed, it has been used for the supply of fuel or of fencing 
timber, for the purposes of husbandry, or the ordinary use of the occupant : 

4. Where a known farm or a single'lot has been partly improved, the portion of such farm 
or lot that may have been left not cleared, or not inclosed, according to the lisual course 
and custom of the adjoining country, shall be deemed to have been occupied for the same 
length of time as the part improved and cultivated. 

a. An adverse possession not founded on any written instrument extends only to the land 
fenced, cultivated and improved. {Overing^ v. Russell, 33 Barb., 263.) 

b. An adverse possession commenced in the life-time of the ancestor continues to run 
against his heir, although the heir may be under disability. (Becker y. Van Yalkenburgh, 29 
Barb., 319.) 

c. A general assertion of ownership irrespective of any particular title will constitute an 
adverse possession. {Crary v. Goodman, 22 N. Y., Vt^~; MiUer v. Garlock, 8 Barb., 153; 
Becker v. Van Valkenburgh, 29 Barb., 319 : Fish v. Fish, 39 Barb., 513.) 

§ 84 Premises actually occupied held adversely. — When it shall appear that there has been 
an actual continued occupation of premises, under a claim of title, exclusive of any other 
right, but not founded upon any written instrument, or a judgment or decree, the premises 
so actually occupied, and no other, shall be deemed to be held adversely. 

§85. Adverse possession under claim not written.— For the purpose of constituting an 
adverse possession by a person claiming title not founded on a written instrument, or a 
judi;ment or decree, land shall be deemed to have been possessed and occnpied in the fol- 
lowinnf cases only : 

1. When it has been protected by a substantial inclosure ; 

2. When it has been usually cultivated or improved. {31Uler v. Garlock, 8 Barb., 153.) 

§ 86. Relation of landlord and i^enani^.— Whenever the relation of landlord and tenant shall 
have existed between any persons, the possession of the tenant shall be deemed the pos- 
session of the landlord, until the expiration of twenty years from the termination of the 
tenancy ; or, when there has been no written lease, until the expiration of the twenty years 
from the time of the last payment of rent : notwithstanding that such tenant may have 
acquired another title, or may have claimed to hold adversely to his landlord. But such 
presumption shall not be made after the periods herein limited. 

§ 87. Descent cast.— The right of a person to the possession of any real property shall not 
be impaired or affected by a descent being cast in consequence of the death of a person in 
possession of such property. 

§ 88. Persons under disabilities.— U a person entitled to commence an action for the 
recovery of real property, or to make an entry or defense founded on the title to real prop- 
erty, or to rents or services out of the same, be, at the time such title shall first descend 
or accrue, either — 

1. Within the age of twenty-one years ; or, 

2. Insane : or 

3. Imprisoned on a criminal charge, or in execution upon conviction of a criminal offense 
for a term less than for life ; or 

4. A married woman— The time during which such disability shall continue, shall not be 
deemed any portion of the time iu this chapter limited for the commencement of such 
action, or the making of such entry or defense ; but such action may be commenced, or 
entry or defense made, after the period of twenty years, and within ten years after the 
disai-)illty shall cease, or after the death of the person entitled who shall die under such dis- 
ability ; but such action shall not be commenced, or entry or defense made after that period, 



School District Meetings and Officers. 113 

and public declaration, or refers to it in deeds, or maps, as a plot, or piece of 
land set apart for such use ; as if a man should lay out a tract of land into 
city or village lots, and mark some of them, " school lot," " market lot," 
"church lot." {See Pa. State R.,p. 444.) All that is required is the assent of 
the owner of the land, clearly manifesting his purpose to make a permanent 
appropriation, and the fact of its being used for the public purpose intended by 
the appropriation. (See 6 Mil, 412.) 

If the district has need of more than one site, the power to designate is 
qualified, and must be preceded by the consent of the school commissioner, or 
commissioners, witliin which the district, or districts, are situated. The pro- 
vision for more than one site and school-house is intended to obviate the 
inducements to a division of districts. There are great advantages in large 
and populous districts ; and it has always been the policy of the department 
to discourage their division, unless it becomes necessary on account of the 
great distance which children are compelled to travel in going to school. It 
may often be convenient to have a school-house for very young children 
separate from that attended by those more advanced. In cases of dissatis- 
faction with a teacher, there is the opportunity for parents to exercise a choice, 
without the serious injury to the course of instruction which results from 
withdrawing their children entirely from the public schools. It may frequently 
be profitable to hire temporarily a building or rooms for an additional school- 
house, where there is not such an absolute necessity for it as would prompt 
the trustees to exercise that power under section 50 of this title. 

In answer, therefore, to the question, what title to a site a district must 
have, in order to require the consent of the commissioner to the purchase 
of an additional site, or a change of site requiring a meeting called by special 
notice for that purpose, it may be said : A title in fee simple, or a right to 
occupy as long as the site is used for school purposes, or as long as a stipulated 
rent is paid ; or a title by adverse possession, or dedication. In these cases a 
district may be said to own the site, which is not true when a site is leased 
for a year or a term of years. 

6. The poioer of taxation. — Under this head come nine of the sixteen sub- 
divisions of this section. 

Sttb. 7. A tax to purchase or lease a site and to hire, build, or purchase 
Bchool-houses. 

It is not necessary to designate a site before laying a tax to build a school- 
house. (17 Wend., 437 ; 3 Denio, 116.) The same rule will apply to a tax for 
the purchase of a site. The inhabitants may vote such tax as they " deem 
sufficient," and if, upon the selection of a site and the negotiation for its 
purchase, the tax is found to be, in fact, insufficient, may vote a further tax. 
If it be found unnecessarily large, they may vote to refund the excess to the 
tax payers or appropriate it to any purpose for which they have power to lay 
a tax. {Com. School Bee, 315.) There is no limitation to the amount which 
may be voted for the purchase of a site, and the expense of investigating the 
title and recording the deed may legitimately be included. The purchase 
of additional ground to enlarge the site is not a change of site, and does not 
15 



114 School District Meetings and Officeks. 

require the vote of a meeting called by special notice, nor the consent of the 
school commissioner. It is not uncommon for districts to hold land under 
lease, granting it for a consideration, paid in advance, so long as the same 
shall be used for the site of a school-house or the purpose of a district school. 
It is greatly to be preferred that the district should obtain an indefeasible 
estate in fee simple, and, whenever possible, it should be procured, and since 
the statute {chap. 800, Laws of 1866) has authorized the compulsory taking 
of land for sites, by right of eminent domain, there is no longer any necessity 
for leasing a site, and it is recommended to districts, whenever they cannot 
purchase an indefeasible estate in fee simple, that they resort to the law 
which now gives them power to select in every district the most eligible 
situation for their schoOi-house. 

In cases where heretofore land has been leased, the question will frequently 
arise as to the right of the district to the school-house at the expiration of the 
term for which the land is held. The law is thus stated by Judge Harris (7 
Bar!)., 266) : " Any one who has a temporary interest in land, and who makes 
additions to it or improvements upon it for the purpose of the better use or 
enjoyment of it, while such temporary interest continues, may, at any time 
before his right of enjoyment ceases, rightfully remove such additions and 
improvements. If he omit to sever the addition or improvement until his 
right of enjoyment ceases, such omission is to be deemed an abandonment of 
his right, and thereafter the addition or improvement he has made becomes, 
to all intents, a part of the inheritance, and the tenant, as well as any other 
person who severs it, becomes a trespasser. I think this may now be stated to 
be the general r\ile in respect to fixtures which a tenant attaches to the free- 
hold. To this extent has the original rule of the common law yielded to the 
changed condition of society. There may be exceptions to the general rule I 
have stated, but I think they will be found limited to cases where the removal 
of the additions or improvements made by the tenant would operate to the 
prejudice of the inheritance, by leaving it in a worse condition than when the 
tenant took possession." 

A tax voted for the purchase of a site cannot be voted by installments. 

While it is no objection to a tax that a title has not been acquired, it is the 
duty of the trustees not to part with the money without receiving a convey- 
ance, and, in respect to this duty, a question frequently arises about incum- 
brances by way of mortgage. The vote appropriating money for the purchase 
of a site is to be construed as limiting the amount the district can at any time 
be called upon to pay for it, and therefore implies (unless the contrary expressly 
appears) a title free from any incumbrance. Where a portion of a tract subject 
to mortgage is purchased, the rule of law is that upon a foreclosure the land 
remaining the property of the mortgagor shall be first sold, and if that prove 
insufficient to satisfy the mortgage, then that which he has conveyed is to be 
sold in the inverse order of alienation ; that is to say, that which he conveyed 
latest is be sold first. It may frequently happen that the district will have 
ample security, in the land retained by the person from whom it derives title 
to a site, for its indemnity against a mortgage, and that the existence of a 



School District Meetings and Officers. 115 

mortgage, covering land greatly exceeding in value the amount secured 
thereby, will be but a nominal incumbrance and no serious objection to the 
title. If this be clear, however, there will ordinarily be little difficulty in 
procuring from the holder of the mortgage a release of the site from 
its lien. If the trustees fail in obtaining it, they will be justified in requiring 
an express vote of the district, after laying the facts before a meeting, before 
paying for the site or making any expenditure or contract for building 
upon it. 

In regard to the power to vote a tax for a school-house, the question sometimes 
arises how far it is permissible that the house should be connected with other 
erections made for different purposes, and subject to other control than that of 
the district. It is held that there can be no partnership in the erection of a 
school-house which will prevent the district from controlling it entirely for the 
purpose of a district school, and that a . tax cannot be voted for a building for 
joint use, as a church and school house or an academy and school-house. {Com. 
School Bec.^ 201, 290.) It is not essential, however, to constitute a house, that 
it should include the whole of the building in which it is contained. Apart- 
ments, with an outer door to each, and having no communication with each 
other, are considered as distinct houses, though they originally made but one. 
(6 Mod. R., 214.) In 6 Mete, 510, the supreme court of Massachusetts held that 
" if, under color of this corporate power of a district, the district should vote to 
erect an expensive and ornamental building, with a -vdew to improve the neigh- 
borhood, to enhance the value of real estate, to accommodate societies, lectur- 
ers, dramatic exhibitions, or even to have a convenient place for religious 
meetings or public worship, or for any other use than that of a district school, 
it would not be within the legitimate authority of a school district, and any 
vote to levy a tax on the inhabitants for such purpose would be void." In that 
very case, however, the court sustained a tax of $1,700, voted with liberty to 
certain persons " to build a hall over the school-house, with the privilege of an 
entrance and stair- way in the front entry of said house, in consideration that 
the district may have the use of said hall, free of charge, for all school district 
meetings, for all examinations of its schools, and for the delivery of lectures 
on the subject of education, no public meeting being held in said hall during 
the usual school hours unless by consent of the prudential committee of the 
district, and the proprietors of said hall insuring the whole building." In 1 
Mete, 541, it was held that tenements are as essentially distinct when one is 
under the other, as where one is by the side of the other ; and in 4 Mass. B., 
576, the court say that " in legal contemplation, each of the parties has a dis- 
tinct dwelling-house, adjoining together, the one being situated over the other. 
The lower room and the cellar are the dwelling-house of the defendant ; the 
chamber, roof and other parts of the edifice are the plaintiff" 's dwelling-house." 
(See also 10 Conn, i?., 318.) 

While it is very desirable that every district should own an ample and com- 
modious school-house, entirely separate from every other building, it sometimes 
happens in feeble districts that the scantiness of their means renders it necessary 
to consult economy by uniting with a religious society or other association in 



116 School Disteict Meetings and Officees. 

erecting two houses under tlie same roof ; tlie upper story, for example, being 
a church or town hall, while the lower is a school-house. 

No legal objection is conceived to exist to such an arrangement, provided 
the district secures, by proper covenants : First, The undi\ided control at all 
times of the school-rooms and of the doors and passages aflFording access thereto. 
Second, That the other rooms shall not be used at any time during school 
hours for an assemblage or purpose which can distract the attention of pupils, 
or interfere, by noise or otherwise, with their instruction. Third, That the 
parties using the other rooms shall pay the whole, or a definite proportion, of 
the expense of such repairs upon those rooms, or the roof or other parts of the 
building, as the district shall, from time to time, deem necessary for maintaining 
the school-house in good condition and protecting it from injury by leakage or 
otherwise. Fourth, That those parties shall pay the expense of any insurance 
necessary to j)rotect the district from the increased risk of fire, caused by any 
use to which the other parts of the building may be put. The best mode to 
secure the performance of these covenants is for the district to insert them as a 
condition, in a lease of the rooms, to be executed by the trustees — the district 
retaining the general title to the site and every thing upon it — and the lease 
to terminate upon a breach of any of the conditions, besides authorizing, in 
express terms, the trustees to recover any damages the district may sustain by 
a failure to perform any of the conditions. It should also contain an express 
provision that whenever a district meeting shall determine that the residue of 
the building is needed for school purposes, the same shall become its property 
upon payment of the then appraised value of the labor and materials used in 
its construction. 

A fence, separate privies for the two sexes, wood-house, stoves, stovepipe and 
bell have been held to be necessary appendages to a school-house, or rather 
that it is within the discretion of a district meeting to adjudge them such and 
vote a tax therefor. 

Sub. 8. A tax for maps, globes, blackboards and other school apparatus, and 
for the purchase of text-books and other school necessaries for the use of poor 
scholars of the district, not exceeding $25. 

The principal facts in geography are learned better by the eye than in any 
other manner, and there ought to be in every school-room a map of the world, 
of the United States, of this State and of the county. Globes, also, are desira- 
ble. Large blackboards, in frames or plaster, are indispensable to a well con 
ducted school. The operations in arithmetic performed on them enable the 
teacher to ascertain the degree of the pupils' acquirements better than any 
result exhibited on slates. He sees the various steps taken by the scholar, and 
can require him to give the reason for each. It is in fact an exercise for the 
entire class ; and the whole school, by this public process, insensibly acquires 
a knowledge of the rules and operations in this branch of study. 

Cards, containing the letters of the alphabet or words, may be usefully h;mg 
up in the room. Indeed, the whole school apparatus now proA-ided by respect- 
able dealers is eminently calculated to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge 
and to render it affreeable. 



School Disteict Meetings and Officers. in 

There is some difficulty in limiting definitively tlie meaning of the words, 
school apparatus. Few would hesitate to admit that a copy of any good dic- 
tionary, or an atlas for reference by teacher and pupils, came fairly within the 
intent of the statute. If the inhabitants should deem it proper to furnish, by 
tax, text -books to be used by the pupils in school, the statute gives them a 
reasonable discretion. A change in text-books is a heavy charge upon the poor, 
and the district would act in the spirit of this laAv by voting at every annual 
meeting a sum of money to be used by the trustees in the purchase of text- 
books for poor scholars. 

Sub. 9. It is believed that the loss and decay of the district libraries have 
been greatly owing to the neglect of the district to purchase suitable book- 
cases. Ten dollars a year would be a small sum for any district to expend for 
good books. If this sum had been added to the library money annually dis- 
tributed since 1838, every district in the State would have had a good collection 
of books. It may be safely asserted that the family, the neighborhood, the 
village, or the city that has access, daily, and constantly, to a good library, will 
exceed those denied such privilege, in education, intelligence, and morals. 

Subs. 10 and 15. If the power granted in subdivision 15 to raise twenty-five 
dollars, for anticipated deficiencies and contingencies, be annually used, it ^vill 
be hardly ever necessary to exercise that given in subdivision 10. 

Sub. 11. School-houses should always be insured to an amount equal to two- 
thirds of their value. The insurance must be in companies incorporated by or 
under the laws of this State. 

Sub. 13. To vote a tax for the purchase of a book for the purpose of recording 
the proceedings of their respective districts. The importance of full and exact 
records of district proceedings cannot well be exaggerated. They ought to be 
so kept as to show upon their face every fact of which it might be necessary 
to give evidence in a suit at law, in order to establish the validity of every 
resolution adopted. For example, the order of the trustees for calling a meet- 
ing, the return of the clerk showing upon whom and in what manner he had 
served notice, the consent of the school commissioner or supervisor when 
required to authorize a proceeding, might much better be engrossed in the 
book of records, in the first instance, than left to rest upon the uncertain 
custody of loose pieces of paper. It may be necessary to prove the facts at a 
remote period of time ; and the way to avoid controversy in respect to them is 
always to act upon the presumption that controversy will arise, and to prepare 
the e\adence, in advance, to meet it. The habit of doing this will of itself do 
much to preclude all opportunity for cavil. 

It is always desirable that the records should show who were present and 
took part in the proceedings of each meeting. For this purpose the orderly 
method of proceeding would be for the clerk (or person officiating as such), 
immediately after the organization of the meeting, to read the order imder 
Avhich it was called, and the list from his return of the persons on whom he 
served notice, requesting each one present to answer as his name is read ; 
noting, upon the minutes : " On reading the clerk's return of the inhabitants 
on whom he had served notice, the following were found to be present, viz. : 



118 School District Meetings and Officers. 

Abraham Jackson, Abraham Jackson, Jr., etc." At an annual meeting, for 
wbicli no personal service of notice is necessary, the clerk could call the roll 
from a list of the inhabitants alphabetically arranged. In either case he 
should note on the minutes the presence of every voter, although no notice had 
been served upon him. 

If any person offering to vote is challenged, the fact should be noted in the 
minutes, and also whether he made or declined making the declaration 
required by law. This is important, because no person will be permitted to 
question the proceedings of a meeting on the ground of the illegality of a 
vote, if he stood by and saw it offered without objection, unless he shows him- 
self to have been ignorant of the facts which would have required him to 
object. Nor will the illegality of the vote be regarded unless it affected the 
result, and, therefore, it is highly desirable that the minutes should show how 
each person voted on each proposition submitted to the meeting. The Chris- 
tian names of the voters should be given, and not merely their initials. 

It is proper, but not legally necessary, that the minutes should be read over 
to the meeting, for its approval or correction, if need be, before the adjourn- 
ment. In order to enable the clerk to do this, all resolutions should be reduced 
to writing before the question upon them is taken. 

As the cost of a little paper is of the most trifling consequence in compari- 
son with the advantages of having a neat and accurate history of district 
proceedings in a shape for convenient consultation, it would be well for each 
district to provide a book of records, of at least foolscap size, firmly bound, 
and with a sufficient number of pages to contain ample records for a series of 
years. 

Sub. 14. Moneys lost and embezzled by district officers are recoverable, ir 
the first place from such officers, and secondly from their bail. But before it 
would be possible in a suit at law to regain the money so embezzled, or lost, 
the district may be required to pay debts, and liabilities that cannot be post- 
poned — hence the propriety of this provision. 

What are reasonable expenses must be left to the judgment of the trustees 
and the discretion of the inhabitants. A bill of expenses should always be 
kept and presented by district officers, or the district might reasonably refuse 
to pay. 

Sub. 16. The deficiency heretofore made up by a rate bill must hereafter be 
supplied by a tax. The increase of the State tax will enable many districts, 
and it is hoped a majority of them, to keep a school twenty-eight weeks, 
without a resort to district taxation. The law does not specify the time when 
this deficiency shall be provided for. The better course in all the districts in the 
State will be to vote a tax for the several purposes named in the eighth, ninth, 
tenth, eleventh, thirteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth subdivisions, at the annual 
meeting. A single resolution reciting the amount to be raised for each purpose 
would be sufficient. The whole could then be collected in one tax list, and by 
one warrant. 

There is another reason why the meeting should provide beforehand for this 
deficiency. It will be small in most districts but the amount will be necessary 



School District Meetings and Officeks: 119 

to enable the trustees to pay tlie teachers in full at the close of their school. 
The delay and expense to which teachers have been subjected in getting their 
wages have been the crying evil of our school system. So long as the wages 
of a teacher were to be assessed upon the patrons of the school in proportion to 
the attendance of their children, it was impossible to determine how much each 
patron would be required to pay, until the close of the school, for the rate bill 
could not be made out until the teacher's daily register was complete for the 
whole terra. But now the trustees can tell within a few dollars how much 
their school will cost, and the money may better be voted at the annual meet- 
ing than to wait until the close of each term. 

The law makes it the duty of the trustees to hire a teacher, and keep a school 
for twenty-eight weeks, and if the inhabitants neglect, or refuse to vote a tax, 
the trustees are empowered by this subdivision to raise "any reasonable 
tax necessary to pay the balance of teachers' wages remaining unpaid." The 
'iviser course, therefore, will be for the district at the annual meeting to provide 
for aU the reasonable expenses for the year. 

Where a tax is voted by the inhabitants for any purpose, the specific amoun'; 
of the tax and the particular purpose for which it is designed should be fully 
and clearly stated. And where several objects of expenditure are to be provided 
for, the amount to be raised for each should be expressed in the resolution 
in order that the district and the trustees may know the precise extent ot 
their liability and the mode of its application. There may be cases, however, 
where the necessary amount to be raised cannot be ascertained with any 
approach to accuracy, and in such cases the district may direct the performance 
of specific acts by the trustees, or authorize them to incur such expenses as may 
be necessary to the accomplishment of a particular object to be specified, and 
the trustees are then authorized by section 51, of this title, to raise such amount 
by tax upon the district, in the same manner as if the definite sum to be raised 
had been voted. This provision was held in 4 Denio, 248, to cover a case where 
the trustees were directed to build a house of specified dimensions and to let 
the job of building to the lowest bidder, which had the effect of restricting the 
expense to a less sum than four hundred dollars ; and the court say that " if 
the district had left the whole to the discretion of the trustees, and they had 
kept within the four hundred dollars, the act would have authorized the raising 
of the money." {See also 5 Hill^ 44.) It was held by Superintendent Young 
that the inhabitants of a district may legally vote a tax to enlarge their school- 
house, notwithstanding it may already have cost $400, without a certificate 
from the town superintendent. This general delegation of authority should, 
however, be resorted to only in cases of necessity. 

It was held (24 Wend., 266) that the direction in the vote of a tax for repairs, 
that the collection was to be postponed until the repairs were done, did not 
invalidate the resolution or the tax, the tax list being made out thirty days after 
the vote. 

Sub. 12. Thepoiver to alter, repeal and modify their proceedings from time to time, 
as occasion maij require. — The power to repeal procedings must be exerted 
before they have been carried into effect, so that other parties have acquired 



120 School District Meetings and Officers 

riglits or incurred responsibilities under tliem. Thus, where a tax list and 
warrant had been made out but not delivered to the collector, the inhabitants 
were held to have the power to rescind the vote imposing the tax (4 Hill, 109), 
but not where the greater part had been collected (4 Barh., 25). Where trus- 
tees have made a contract under the authority of the district, it is in effect the 
contract of the district, and it is beyond its power to rescind the contract by 
repealing the resolution in pursuance of which it was made. A full release of 
damages from all persons having acquired any right of action, or the restora- 
tion of things to the same condition as they were in when a resolution was 
passed, might give the district the right to repeal or modify it. 

Any resolution directly or necessarily repugnant to a previous one repeals it ; 
and the rule in relation to statutes is laid down (3 How., U. 8. R., 636), that if a 
subsequent statute be not repugnant in all its provisions to a prior one, yet if 
the latter statute was clearly intended to prescribe the only rule that should 
govern in the case pro\'ided for, it repeals the prior one. As repeals by impli- 
cation are not favored by the courts, it is advisable that a resolution should be 
repealed in express terms, where such is the intention. When this is proposed 
at the same meeting (including adjourned sessions thereof) at which the reso- 
lution was passed, it is usually by a motion for reconsideration. The general 
parliamentary rule is, that the motion to reconsider can only be made by a per- 
son who voted with the successful side upon the question to be reconsidered. 
The reason of the rule is, that but for it the members in the minority might 
exhaust the time of the meeting fruitlessly ; for it is to be presumed that the 
vote will be the same, unless the contrary is shown by some person who voted 
with the majority indicating a change of mind. It has been held that this rule 
does not prevail in a district meeting unless the meeting adopts it. In that 
case the majority of the meeting chose to disregard it. Nevertheless it is a very 
proper rule of order to be applied by the chairman, subject to a reversal on an 
appeal to the meeting from his decision ; when, if a majority wish to recon- 
sider, they can indicate it by overruling him. If a motion to reconsider is car- 
ried, the resolution to wliich it relates is open to amendment, and, if not again 
jiassed in its original or an amended form, is rejected. If, Avithout taking the 
question on the original resolution a second time, the meeting separates for an 
adjourned session, it may then be called up and adopted or rejected. 

The unqualified repeal of a repealing statute revives the original enactment. 
This rule was applied, in 2 Denio, 233, to a vote on the 5th December, repeal- 
ing a vote of November 25th, which latter repealed the vote for a tax, passed 
October 7th, and it was held that the vote for a tax was renewed on the 5th 
December, though a tax list made out under the original vote fell to the 
ground, and a new one was required to be made after December 5th. 

It is obvious that the meeting cannot do, imder the form of reconsidering or 
modifying a former proceeding, what it could not do directly ; and therefore, 
though it may rescind a resolution designating or changing a site, it cannot 
adopt a new one, unless it was called, or be an adjourned meeting which was 
called, by a special notice for that purpose. 



School District Meetings and Officers. 121 

SECOND ARTICLE. 
Of district school-houses and sites. 

§ ] 7. No school-house shall be built so as to stand, in whole or 
in part, upon the division line of any two towns. 

§ 18. No tax voted by a district meeting for building, hiring 
or purchasing a school-house, exceeding the sum of one thousand 
dollars, shall be levied by the trustees, unless the commissioner, 
in whose district the school-house of said district is situated, shall 
certify, in writing, his approval of such larger sara. 

It is the tax that is limited to $1,000, not the e ;p^nse of building 1lie house, 
which may include, in addition, the avails of the sale of the former house and 
site. If, after the expenditure of $1,000 in building the house, the tax is 
found insufficient to finish it, the commissioner may certify that the further 
sum necessary, specifjang it, ought to be raised, and the inhabitants may vote 
a tax for the amount so certified. {Com. School Dec, 258.) If this additional 
amount prove insufficient, the cornmissioner may again certify and the inhab- 
itants vote a further tax. {Id., 340.) 

The commissioner whose certificate is to be obtained is the one having 
jurisdiction of the town in which the school-house is to he erected. The law 
forbids the di\'ision of a town in forming an Assembly district or in dividing 
a county into school commissioners' sections. Section 17 of this title also 
provides that " no school-house shall be erected so as to stand on the division 
line of any two towns." 

The limitation of this section applies only to the school-liouse. The amount 
of tax which may be voted for purchase or lease of site, and for repairs, 
furniture, fuel and appendages, is left wholly to the discretion of the district. 

§ 19. Whenever the majority of all the inhabitants of any school 
district entitled to vote, to be ascertained by taking and recording 
the ayes and noes of such inhabitants attending at any annual, 
special or adjourned school district meeting, legally called or held, 
shall determine that the sum proposed and provided for in the 
next preceding section shall be raised by installments, it shall be 
the duty of the trustees of such district, and they are hereby 
authorized, to cause the same to be raised, levied and collected in 
equal installments, in the same manner and with the like authority 
that other school district taxes are raised, levied and collected, and 
to make out their tax list and warrant for the collection of such 
installments, with interest thereon as they become payable, accord- 
ing to the vote of the said inhabitants ; but the payment or col- 
16 



122 School Distkict Meetings and Officees. 

lection of the last installment shall not be extended beyond five 
years from the time such vote was taken ; and no vote to levy any 
such tax shall be reconsidered except at an adjourned, general or 
special meeting, to be held within thirty days thereafter, and the 
same majority shall be required for reconsideration that was had 
to impose such tax. 

No other tax can be raised by installments iinder this section than one for 
building, hiring or purchasing a school-house, and in that case only when it 
exceeds $1,000. The installments must be equal, and cannot be distributed in 
unequal amounts. A majority of the voters present may (with the certificate of 
the commissioner) lay the tax to be collected immediately, but it is required 
that they should also constitute a majority of the inhabitants entitled to vote 
attending for the purpose of directing the manner of its collection by install- 
ments. 

The general practice has been, and it is believed to accord best with the 
intent of the statute, for the trustees to make out their tax list for the first 
installment upon the taxable property as it then exists, and for their successors 
to make separate tax lists thereafter upon the taxable property as it exists at 
the time the installments respectively become payable. Persons may thus 
become subject to the tax who had no means of resisting its imposition ; but 
the erection of a school-house is to be regarded as a permanent benefit to the 
district, and they voluntarily assume the burden of paying for it by becoming 
inhabitants. It would seem necessary that the warrant for the collection of 
the last installment should be returnable within five years from the time 
of taking the vote, and therefore that the tax list for it should be made out at 
least thirty days before that time. 

The installments may be semi-annual, annual, or biennial, or at whatever 
intervals the meeting may determine. In levying the tax for the payment of 
each installment, as it falls due, the trustees are authorized to add the interest 
due on it. 

§ 20. So long as a district shall remain unaltered, the site of a 
school-house owned by it, upon which there is a school-house 
erected or in process of erection, shall not be changed, nor such 
school-house be removed, unless by the consent, in writing, of the 
supervisor or supervisors of the town or towns within which such 
district shall be situated, stating that, in his or their opinion, 
such removal is necessary; nor with such consent, unless a 
majority of all the legal voters of said district, present and 
voting, to be ascertained by taking and recording the ayes and 
noes, at a special meeting called for that purpose, shall be in 
favor of such new site. 



School District Meetings and Officers. 123 

Any alteration of the territory of the district, however trifling, made sub- 
sequent to the building or purchase of a school-house, dispenses with the 
necessity of the consent of the supervisor to authorize a district meeting to 
change the site of that school-house, but no change of the inhabitants consti- 
tutes an alteration unless accompanied by a change of boundaries. 

The site may be changed, so far as the prohibition of this section affects 
the question, at any time before a school-house standing thereon shall have 
been built or purchased. But after the site has been purchased, or the trustees 
have made themselves legally responsible by a valid contract to purchase it, 
in pursuance of a resolution of the district, it becomes an established site, so 
that the resolution cannot be rescinded, under the general principle that a 
resolution which has been executed cannot be revoked to the prejudice of those 
who have acquired rights under it. {Coin. School Dec, 182.) 

If the title to a site fails, the designation of a new one is not to be regarded 
as a change of site. The resolution in such case should recite the fact that 
the district is destitute of a site, in consequence of its title to one formerly 
occupied having failed by the termination of a lease, judgment in an action 
of ejectment, or whatever other circumstance may have brought it to an end. 

The majority requisite to a change of site is a majority of those present and 
voting, as ascertained by taking and recording the ayes and noes at a special 
meeting called for that purpose. A district meeting may pass a resolution to 
change the site without having obtained the supervisor's consent; but such 
resolution cannot be carried into effect until his consent has been given. 

It is not enough for him to consent to a removal. He must certify to the 
necessity of the change. 

In a district composed of parts of two towns, both the supervisors must 
unite in the certificate ; if composed of three or more, the case comes under the 
provision of section 27, title 17, chapter 8, part 3, of the Revised Statutes : 
" Whenever any power, authority or duty is confided by law to three or more 
persons, and whenever three or more persons are authorized or required by 
law to perform any act, such act may be done, and such power, authority or 
duty may be exercised and performed by a majority of such persons or officers, 
upon a meeting of all the persons or officers so intrusted or empowered, unless 
special provision is otherwise made." 

The act in this case being of a judicial character, all must meet and confer, 
but a majority may decide. The certificate should state that all met. 

§ 21. Whenever the site of a school-house shall have been 
changed, as herein provided, the inhabitants of a district entitled 
to vote, lawfully assembled at any district meeting, shall have 
power, by a majority of the votes of those present, to direct the 
sale of the former site or lot, and the buildings thereon and 
appurtenances, or any part thereof, at such price and upon such 
terms as they shall deem proper; and any deed duly executed by 
the trustees of such district, or a majority of them, in pursuance 



124 School District Meetings and Officers. 

of such direction, shall be valid and effectual to pass all the estate 
or interest of such school district in the premises, and when a 
credit shall be directed to be given upon such sale for the con- 
sideration money, or any part thereof, the trustees aTe hereby 
authorized to take in their corporate name such security, by bond 
and mortgage or otherwise, for the payment thereof, as they shall 
deem best, and shall hold the same as a corporation, and account 
therefor, to their successors in office and to the district, in the 
manner they are now required by law to account for moneys 
received by them ; and the trustees of any such district for the 
time being may, in their name of office, sue for and recover 
the moneys due and unpaid upon any security so taken by them 
or their ^predecessors. 

Neither the trustees nor the inhabitants have any power to sell land belong- 
ing to the district, unless it be the site of a school-house, for which a new one 
has been substituted 

If any credit is to be given upon the sale, the inhabitants in district meetings 
should, by resolution, specify the exact terms thereof, and should also fix the 
lowest price to be accepted. When a bond and mortgage are executed, they 
should rim, to "A. B., C. D. and E. F., trustees of school district No. , 

in the town of , and their successors in ofiice or assigns." 

The trustees become personally resj)onsible to the district for the amount 
bid at the sale as for so much cash received, unless they take a bond and 
mortgage or some other security. This implies some pledge or obligation 
collateral and in addition to the personal responsibility of the purchaser, such 
as the signature of a solvent indorser or surety to a promissory note, in accept- 
ing which they are responsible for the same care which a prudent person 
would exercise in taking security for a debt due to himself. 

§ 22. All moneys arising from any sale made in pursuance of the 
last preceding section, shall be applied to the expenses incurred in 
procuring a new site, and in removing or erecting thereon a 
school-house, and improving and furnishing such site and house, 
and their appendages, so far as such application shall be necessary ; 
and the surplus, if any, shall be devoted to the purchase of school 
apparatus and the support of the school, as the inhabitants at any 
annual meeting shall direct. 

If the money is not necessary to pay for a new site or removing or erecting 
a school-house, it may be appropriated by the district to any purpose for which 
it would be authorized to levy a tax ; and in the absence of any vote by the 
district the trustees may appropriate it to any purpose, such as the purchase of 



School District Meetings and Officers. 125 

fuel, or the rent of temporary school rooms, for which they are authorized to 
levy a tax without a vote of the district. 



THIRD ARTICLE. 

Of the qualification^ election^ choice and terms of office of district 
and neighborhood officers^ and of vacancies in such offices. 

§ 23. No school commissioner or supervisor is eligible to the 
office of trustee, nor can either be a member of any board of edu- 
cation within his district or town ; and no trustee can hold the 
office of district clerk, collector or librarian. 

The reason of these prohibitions may he found in the incongruity of a man's 
holding two offices by one of which he is subject and responsible to himself in 
his other capacity. If a supervisor were also trustee, he would as super\dsor 
hold money that he is forbidden to hold as trustee, and could as trustee draw 
orders on himself as supervisor. There is the same incompatibility between 
the offices of trustee and collector, or district clerk, or librarian. 

§ 24. Every district and neighborhood officer must be a resident 
of his district and neighborhood, and qualified to vote at its 
meetings. 

See section 11, of this title, for what constitutes residence ; and section 12 for 
the qualification of voters. 

Removal from the district will vacate any district office. 

As to votes cast for disqualified persons, see comments on the election of 
district officers under section 16 of this title. 

§ 25. From one annual meeting to the next is a year, w^ithin the 
meaning of the following provisions: The term of office of a 
trustee of a neighborhood and a sole trustee of a district is one 
year. The full term of a joint trustee is three years, but a joint 
trustee may be elected for one or for two years, as herein provided. 
The term of office of all other district and neighborhood officers 
is one year. Every district and neighborhood officer shall hold 
his office unless removed, during his term of office, and until his 
successor shall be elected or ajDpointed. 

Persons appointed by the supervisor to fill vacancies in the office of trustee 
are entitled to hold over Tintil their successors shall be elected, the same as 
those elected to that office. 



126 School District Meetings and Officers. 

§ 2Q. The terms of all officers elected at the first meeting of a 
newly erected neighborhood or district, except of a union free 
school district, shall expire on the second Tuesday of October, 
next thereafter. 

§ 27. On the second Tuesday of October next after the erection 
of a district, at its first annual meeting, the electors shall deter- 
mine, by resolution, whether the district shall have one or three 
trustees, and if they resolve to have three trustees shall elect the 
three for one, two and three years respectively, and shall desig- 
nate, by their votes, for which term each is elected. Thereafter 
in such district, one trustee shall be elected at each annual me-et- 
ing to fill the office of the outgoing trustee. The electors of any 
district having three trustees shall have power to decide, by reso- 
lution, at any annual meeting, whether the district shall have a sole 
trustee, or three trustees, and, if they resolve to have a sole trustee, 
the trustee or trustees in office shall continue in office until their 
term or terms of office shall expire, and no election of a trustee 
shall be had in the district until the offices of such trustee or trus- 
tees shall become vacant by the expiration of their terms of office 
or otherwise, and thereafter but one trustee shall be elective for 
said district. 

Any district having three trustees may by resolution passed at any annual 
meeting vote to have but a single trustee. But, having so determined, the dis- 
trict has no power to resolve again to have three trustees, and any subsequent 
election of more than one trustee will be illegal. If any districts, in disregard 
of this section, have elected three trustees, after having resolved to have but 
one, the question may arise which one of the persons voted for would be the 
legal trustee. Unquestionably the one first elected in the order of time. Having 
elected one trustee, and thus having exhausted its power, votes subsequently 
cast for others are illegal and void. If the three trustees are elected on the 
same ballot, then the one designated to serve for one year will be the legal and 
sole trustee. 

' § 28. It shall be the duty of the district clerk, and of the neigh- 
borhood clerk, or of any person who shall act as clerk at any dis- 
trict or neighborhood meeting, when any officer shall be elected, 
forthwith to give the person elected notice thereof in writing ; and 
such person shall be deemed to have accepted the office, unless, 
within five days after the service of such notice, he shall file his 
written refusal of it with the clerk. The presence of any such 



School District Meetings and Officers. 127 

person at the meeting which elects him to office shall be deemed 
a sufficient notice to him of his election. 

When legal notices are required to be given " forthwith," the word has been 
held to mean " within twenty-four hours." 

§ 29. The collector vacates his office by not executing a bond to 
the trustees, as hereinafter required, and the trustees may supply 
the vacancy. {See sec. 83 of this title.) 

§ 30. In case the office of a trustee shall be vacated by his death, 
refusal to serve, incapacity, removal from the district or neighbor- 
hood, or by his being removed from the office, or in any other 
manner, and the vacancy be not supplied by a district or neigh- 
borhood meeting within one month thereafter, the supervisor of 
the town within which the school-house or principal school-house 
of the district is, or within which the neighborhood or any part 
thereof is, may, by a writing under his hand, appoint a competent 
person to fill it. 

The power of the supervisor under this section, and of trustees under section 
82, to fill vacancies, is confined strictly to vacancies resulting from the causes 
above specified. They are not to assume to set aside an election on the ground 
of a legal incapacity existing at the time, and which the voters disregarded. 
They must, from the necessity of the case, adjudicate upon the question of 
fact whether a vacancy exists, and, in the written order making an appoint- 
ment, should expressly state the facts which have caused a vacancy. 

A refusal to serve is not the defective performance or omission of a particu- 
lar act, but a general non-performance of the duties of the oflace. (6 Coioen, 479.) 

§ 31, A trustee who publicly declares that he will not accept 
or serve in the office of trustee, or Avho refuses or neglects to 
attend three successive meetings of the board, of which he is duly 
notified, without rendering a good and valid excuse therefor to 
the other trustees, or trustee, where there are but two, vacates 
nis office by refusal to serve. 

§ 32. Any vacancy in the office of district clerk, collector, or 
librarian, may be supplied by appointment under the hands of the 
trustees of the district, or a majority of them, and the appointees 
shall hold their respective offices until the next annual meeting of 
the district, and until others are elected and take their places. 

Under this section, and by the last sentence of section 25, if the annual meet 
ing passes by without an election, all the officers of the district, whether holding 



128 School District Meetings and Officers. 

by election or appointment, will legally retain office until their successors are 
elected, or appointed and take their places. At any annual meeting, or at 
any special meeting duly assembled, persons may be elected in place of tliosa 
tlius holding over. If, however, a vacancy has been filled by appointment, as 
provided in section 30, there will be none for a meeting to fill. 

g 33. Every appointment to fill a vacancy shall be forthwith 
filed by the supervisor or trustees making it in the office of the 
district clerk, who shall immediately give notice of the appoint-, 
ment to the person appointed. 

§ 34. Every person chosen or appointed to a school district 
office, Avho, being duly qualified to fill the same, shall refuse to 
serve therein, shall forfeit five dollars ; and every person so chosen 
or appointed, who, not having refused to accept the office, shall 
willfully neglect or refuse to perform any duty thereof, shall by 
such neglect or refusal vacate his office, and shall forfeit the sum 
of ten dollars. These penalties are for the benefit of the common 
schools of the town. [See sec. 22, of title 3.) 

The law regards every person as under an obligation to bear his part in the 
burden of personal service to the public, or to indemnify it by a fine. Mere 
unwillingness to abstract the necessary time from the labors of his ordinary 
calling is not a sufficient cause ; it is for him to determine whether the pay- 
ment of the fine, or the injury to his business, or love of ease, will be the greater 
damage, and to meet the one or the other according to his election. The pre- 
sumption is that, if sufficient cause existed, the supervisor would have accepted 
the resignation of the officer who is sued ; and it lies upon him to show the 
cause, not upon the plaintiflF to disprove the existence of any. 

It is for the tribunal before which any delinquent officer is tried to deter- 
mine whether the refusal or neglect to serve was T^allful. 

§ 35. But the supervisor of the town wherein any such person 
resides may accept his written resignation of the office, and the 
filing of such resignation and acceptance in the office of the district 
clerk shall be a bar to the recovery of either penalty in the last 
preceding section mentioned ; or such resignation may be made to 
and accepted by a district meeting. 

Where a district meeting accepts the resignation of any school officer, it is 
not necessary to file a written resignation with the district clerks The records 
of the meeting will be sufficient evidence of the fact. 



School District Meetings and Officers. 129 

FOURTH ARTICLE. 

Of the duties of the neighborhood clerk^ and of the district clerk 
and librarian. 

§ 36. The neighborhood clerk shall keep a record of the pro- 
ceedings of his neighborhood, and of the reports of the trustees, 
and deliver the same to his successor. In case such neighborhood 
shall be annexed to a district within the State, its records shall be 
filed in the office of the clerk of such district. 

§ 37. It shall be the duty of the clerk of each school dis- 
trict : 

1. To record the proceedings of his district in a book to be 
provided for that purpose by the district, and to enter therein 
true copies of all reports made by the trustees to the school com- 
missioner ; 

2. To give notice, in the manner prescribed by the sixth section 
of this title, or by the inhabitants, pursuant to such section, of the 
time and place of holding special district meetings called by the 
trustees ; 

3. To affix a notice in writing of the time and place of any 
adjourned meeting, when the meeting shall have been adjourned 
for a longer time than one month, in at least four of the most 
public places of such district, at least five days before the time 
appointed for such adjourned meeting ; 

4. To give the like notice of every annual district meeting ; 

5. To give notice immediately to every person elected or 
appointed to office of his election or appointment ; and also to 
report, to the town clerk of the town in which the school-house of 
his district is situated, the names and post-office address of such 
officers, under a penalty of five dollars for neglect in each instance ; 

6. To notify the trustees of every resignation duly accepted by 
the supervisor ; 

7. To keep and preserve all records, books and papers belong- 
ing to his office, and to deliver the same to his successor. For a 
refusal or neglect so to do, he shall forfeit fifty dollars for the 
benefit of the district, to be recovered by the trustees; 

8. In case his district shall be dissolved, to obey the order of 
the commissioner or commissioners as to depositing the books, 
papers and records of his office in the town clerk's office ; 

17 



130 ScnooL District Meetings and Officees. 

9. To attend all meetings of the board of trustees when noti- 
fied, and keep a record of their proceedings in a book provided 
for that purpose ; 

10. To call special meetings of the inhabitants whenever all the 
trustees of the district shall have vacated their office. 

Tlie importance of full and accurate records lias been sufficiently discussed 
in the comment upon subdivision 9, of section 16, under tlie heading of tlie 
power of taxation. A clerk who discharg-es his duty in this respect with neat- 
ness and fidelity will have an honorable memorial of himself to endure as long 
as the district exists. The entering of copies of the reports, annually made 
by the trustees to the school commissioner, is of consequence to preserve the 
history of the district affairs, and to afford the means of comparison with the 
annual accounts presented by the trustees to the district meeting. 

Too great care cannot be exercised in giving ample notice of every special 
meeting. The clerk is authorized to give such notices upon a verbal direction 
of the trustees ; but there can be no excuse for the omission to put those direc- 
tions in writing, upon the records, either in the form of an order or of minutes 
of the proceedings of a meeting of the trustees. In the personal service of 
notice, the clerk cannot act by deputy ; but no objection is perceived to his 
employing an agent to leave written notices at the houses of those whom he 
may find absent from home. The proper course, however, would be for the 
clerk to provide himself Avith a sufficient number of written notices before 
starting upon his rounds. In this way he would secure the gi"\dng of notice 
at the earliest practicable time, and would avoid the trouble of obtaining any 
other evidence of service than his own official return. The clerk is not at liberty 
to post notices of annual or adjourned meetings at any less number of public 
places than four. It would be well for him to have at least four places designated 
by a resolution of the inhabitants as the most public and proper for posting 
notices. In case of an adjourned meeting, it would be prudent to repeat in the 
notices posted the enumeration of the objects for which it was originally called. 

Section 6 of this title declares by whom notices may be given, and upon 
whom they shall be served ; and the manner of service is prescribed in the 
second section. The people, by resolution adopted at an annual meeting, may 
decide how such notices shall be given, and such resolution will be binding 
upon the clerk until rescinded or modified. 

It is believed that the clerk, who, by subdivisions 1 and 7, is directed to 
record the proceedings of district meetings, and of meetings of the trustees 
in a book, may purchase such books, even if the people neglect or refuse to 
vote a tax for that purpose, and that the expense will be a charge upon the 
district. Duties are imposed upon him which he cannot discharge without 
the necessary books. 

§ 38. The librarian, subject to the provisions of this act, shall 
have the charge and supervision of the district library. 



School District Meetings and Officers. 131 

FIFTH ARTICLE. 
Of the pupils and teachers. 
§ 39. Common schools in the several school districts of this 
State shall be free to all persons OA^er five and under twenty-one 
years of age residing in the district, as hereinafter provided ; 
but non-residents of a district, if otherwise competent, may be 
admitted into the school of a district, with the written consent 
of the trustees, or of a majority of them, upon such terms as the 
trustees shall prescribe. 

The language of this section is suhstantially that of the free school law 
of 1849, with the exception of the words "as hereinafter provided," which 
qualifying phrase was inserted in section 1, chapter 151, Laws of 1851, and it 
was thereinafter provided that the schools should not be any more free than 
they had been prior to 1849. 

The abolition of the rate bill, and the increase of the State tax, by chapter 
406, Laws of 1867, has made true for the first time the Avords of the statute, 
and given them a living spirit. Henceforth the highway of knowledge will 
be free and open to all travelers, yielding obedience only to the rules of the 
load. 

The power to admit non-resident children to the schools of a district is 
vested exclusively in its trustees. Pupils are not to be encouraged to with- 
draw from the schools of their own districts. By doing so, they enfeeble its 
pecuniary resources, and diminish the inducements of their parents and friends 
to exert their influence to maintain a good school in their own district. A 
teacher, moreover, ought not to have the additional labor thrown upon him 
of instructing non-residents, without his compensation being increased, unless 
he entered into his contract with full knowledge of the number he was to 
instruct. 

The right to enjoy the benefit of common schools, established for all the 
inhabitants, is, as is well put in 8 Gush. {Mass. R), 164, "a common, not an 
exclusive personal right ; then, like other common rights, that of way for 
instance, it must be exercised under such limitations and restrictions that it 
shall not interfere with the equal and co-extensive rights of others. Take the 
case of contagious disease: Can it be doubted that the presence of a pupil 
infected could be lawfully prohibited, not for any fault or crime or wrong 
conduct, but simply because his attempt to insist on his right to attend, under 
such circumstances, would be dangerous and noxious, and so an interruption 
of the equal and common right?" In that case, the court held that the trus- 
tees have the right to exclude a child for open, gross immorality, manifested 
by licentious propensities, language, manners and habits, though not mani- 
fested by acts of licentiousness or immorality within the school, deeming it 
" as necessary, in the unreserved intercourse of pupils of the same school, as 
well without as within its precincts, to preserve the pure minded, ingenuous 



132 School District Meetings axd Officees. 

and unsuspecting children of botli sexes from the contaminating influence 
of those of depraved sentiments and vicious propensities and habits, as from 
those infected ^^ith contagious diseases." 

The analogy suggests the rule. Children may be excluded, not for punish- 
ment merely, but for the protection of others from such injurious example and 
influence as would entirely defeat the purposes for which schools are instituted. 
It is to be remembered that among the objects of instruction is not only to 
deter from vice, but to reclaim those who are capable of reformation, and 
to correct bad habits which may result from parental neglect, or, what is more 
deplorable, from parental example. To deal gently with the erring, and 
especially with erring childhood, is the dictate of humanity, policy and duty. 
To abandon them to their evil courses is a step involving the most serious 
responsibility, never to be taken until remonstrance and persuasion have been 
exhausted. 

Such violent insubordination against reasonable and proper regulations of 
the school as to render it impossible to maintain necessary discipline and order 
"will justify the trustees in the expulsion of a pupil ; but it is their duty to see, 
before resorting to the final extremity, w^hether there may not be fault on the 
side of the teacher as well as the pupil, and to endeavor, in such case, to recon- 
cile the difference, without impairing the self-respect of either party. Children 
have rights as well as their elders ; they are as keenly sensible of oppression, and 
naturally revolt against power, wantonly exercised for the sake of exhibiting 
itself. Being the weaker party, they suffer in their school days a great deal of 
injustice and often of outrage. The best of teachers have human infirmities, 
and it is an incident of their trj-ing calling to aggravate them. It is for the 
trustees to temper power with benignity, and administer justice in the spirit 
of tolerance and mercy. 

§ 40. If a school district include a portion of an Indian reserva- 
tion, whereon a school for Indian children has been established by 
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and is taught, the school 
of the district is not free to Indian children resident in the district 
or on the reservation, nor shall they be admitted to such school 
except by permission of the Superintendent. 

The Indian race has never been recognized by law as entitled to the rights 
and privileges of citizenship. They have asserted their nationality, and the 
State and United States have treated with them as with independent tribes or 
nations. They are aliens on their native soil. They are permitted to reside on 
what are called reservations of land which has been sold, subject to their occu- 
pancy, to purchasers who are tempted to use various arts to turn their right of 
reversion into possession. They are the wards of the State, which has made 
ample provision for their education. 

§ 41. Xo teacher is a qualified one, within the meaning of this 
act, unless he possesses an unannulled diploma granted to him by 



School District Meeti^sQs and Officers: 133 

the State normal school, or an unrevoked and unannulled certifi- 
cate of qualification given to him by the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, or an unexpired certificate of qualification given to 
him by the school commissioner within whose district he is 
employed, or by the school officer of the city or village in Avhich 
he is employed, authorized by special act to grant such certificate. 

Before employing' a teacher, the trustees should insist upon the exhibition to 
them of a certificate from one of the authorities named in this section. They 
must also be careful to inquire whether the certificate exhibited is in force. 
School commissioners and local officers can grant certificates only for limited 
terms. A diploma from the State normal school, or a certificate from the 
State Superintendent is good until revoked, or annulled. By reference, to the 
law of 1863, establishing the Oswego normal and training school, and to 
the laws of 1866 and 1867, establishing other normal schools, it will be seen 
that a diploma from any State normal school makes the holder a qualified 
teacher. 

§ 42. No part of the school moneys apportioned to a district can 
be applied or permitted to be aj^plied to the payment of the wages 
of an unqualified teacher ; nor can his wages, or any part of them, 
be collected by a district tax. 

If an unqualified teacher be employed, the school kept will be a private, and 
not a public school, and the teacher's claim for compensation will depend 
upon his contract with his employers. If the trustees agree to pay him, they 
will be responsible as private persons, and not as officers of the district. If the 
trustees draw any order upon the supervisor, or on the collector of the district, 
for such money, in favor of an imqualified teacher, they incur the penalty pro- 
vided in the next section. 

§ 43. Any trustee w^ho applies, or directs, or consents to the 
application of any such money to the payment of an unqualified 
teacher's wages, thereby commits a misdemeanor ; and any fine 
imposed upon him therefor shall be for the benefit of the common 
schools of the county. {See sec. 22, of title 3.) 

§ 44. Teachers shall keep, prepare and enter, in the books pro- 
vided for that purpose, the school lists and accounts of attendance 
hereinafter mentioned, and shall be responsible for their safe keep- 
ing and delivery to the clerk of the district at the close of their 
engagements or terms. (See sec. 53 of this title.) 



134 ScuooL DiSTKiCT Meetings and Officers. 

SIXTH ARTICLE. 
Of the trustees^ their powers and duties ; and herein of school taxes 
and annual reports. 
§ 45. All property which is now vested in, or shall hereinafter 
be transferred to, the trustee or trustees of a district, for the use 
of schools in the district, shall be held by him or them as a corpo- 
ration. 

The original provision of tlie act of 1819, section 29, chapter 161, from which 
the above is taken, was enacted for the purpose of vesting in the trustees prop- 
erty which had been dedicated or granted for school objects before its passage. 
The principal incidents of a corporation are to have perpetual succession and 
existence by its corporate name, where no period is limited by its charter, and 
the capacity to hold real and personal estate for its corporate purposes, as an 
artificial body, wholly distinct from the individuals who from time to time 
may compose it. 

§ 46. A sole trustee of the district shall have all the powers, and 
be subject to all the duties, liabilities and penalties conferred and 
imposed by law upon or against any trustee or trustees, or the 
majority of the-trustees, of a district. 

§ 47. The trustees of a district compose a board, and when two 
only meet to deliberate upon a matter, and the third, if notified, 
does not attend, or the three meet and deliberate thereon, the con- 
clusion of two upon the matter, and their order, act or proceeding 
in relation thereto, shall be as valid as though it were the conclu- 
sion, order, act or proceeding of the three; and a recital of the 
two in their minute of the conclusion, act or proceeding, or in 
their order, act or proceeding, of the fact of such notice, or of such 
meeting or deliberation, shall be conclusive evidence thereof. A 
meeting of the board may be ordered by any member thereof, by 
giving not less than twenty-four hours' notice of the same. 

Every power committed to the trustees must be exercised by the board. This 
section Avas incorporated into the law of 1864, to obviate the difiiculty often 
experienced of obtaining a meeting of all three trustees when any important 
business was to be done. When they are duly assembled, a majority may do 
any lawful act, make any order, or decide any question properly before them. 
If one of them, after due notice of a meeting absent himself, the other two may 
act just the same as if he were present. 

But the board must meet. It will not do for one or two to form a determina- 
tion and then procure the assent of the absent. The decision of a majority, or 



School District Meetings and Officers. 135 

of all three, under such circumstances, is not the decision of the trustees, any 
more than the concurrent opinion of all the members of the Legislature arrived 
at by taking their separate votes at their respective places of residence is an 
act of the Legislature. In the assessment of a tax, and in general in regard 
to every other duty judicial in its character, this rule is inflexible. 

In other cases a majority may decide, provided all have been notified of the 
intention to meet and confer upon the subject at a definite time and place. 
This rule was applied in 16 Maine B., 185, and the dismissal of a teacher by 
two, a majority of the board, held illegal, because the third was not notified, 
although he was out of town. The court say : " That does not allow the 
majority to dispense with the rule requiring notice. They are not in such 
cases constituted the judges whether the notice would be effectual to secure his 
attendance. Nor would it be entirely safe to intrust them with such a power, 
as it would afford an opportunity to select an occasion when they might judge 
that a notice would be ineffectual, and thus, by neglecting to give it, free them- 
selves from the presence of a dissenting minority. It may often happen that 
those will be able to attend who were believed to be so situated that their 
attendance could not be expected. Nor is there any diflSculty in giving the 
requisite notice in such cases, as one left at the usual place of residence would 
be sutficient." * 

The law goes upon the supposition that a majority may be convinced by a 
minority and change its determinations, and therefore will not suffer the 
majority to act without giving the minority a notice to participate. The legal 
presumption is that officers have thus acted, but this presumption may be 
repelled by evidence to the contrary. 

The case last cited admits that a merely ministerial duty, the execution of a 
determination of the board, may be performed by a single trustee. 

In case of a vacancy in the office of trustee, those in office, whether two or 
one, possess all the powers of a full board ; the very first act, however, ought 
to be the call of a meeting to fill the vacancy. 



§ 48. While there is one vacancy in the office of trustee, the 
two trustees have all the powers and are subject to all the duties 
and liabilities of the three. And while there are two such vacan- 
cies, the trustee in office shall have all the powers and be subject 
to all the duties and liabilities of the three, as though he were a 
sole trustee. 

§ 49. It shall be the duty of the trustees of every school district, 
and they shall have power : 

1. To call special meetings of the inhabitants of such districts 
whenever they shall deem it necessary and proper; 

2. To give notice of special, annual and adjourned meetings in 
the manner prescribed in the sixth section of this title, if there be 



136 School District Meetings and Officers. 

no clerk of the district, or he be absent or incapable of acting, or 
shall refuse to act ; 

3. To make out a tax list of every district tax voted by any 
such meeting, or authorized by law, containing the names of all 
the taxable inhabitants residing in the district at the time of 
making out the list, and the amount of tax payable by each inhab- 
itant, set opposite to his name ; 

4. To annex to such tax list a warrant, directed to the collector 
of the district, for the collection of the sums in such list mentioned; 

5. To purchase or lease a site for the district school-house or 
school-houses, as designated by a meeting of the district, and to 
build, hire or purchase such school-house as may be so designated, 
and to keep in repair and furnish such school-house with necessary 
fuel and appendages, and to pay the expense thereof by tax, but 
such expenses shall not exceed fifty dollars in any one year, unless . 
authorized by the district or by law ; 

6. To have the custody and safe keeping of the district school- 
house or houses, their sites and appurtenances ; 

7. When thereto authorized, by a meeting of the district, to 
insure the school-house or school-houses, and their furniture, and 
the school apparatus, in some company created by or under the 
laws of this State, and to comply with the conditions of the policy, 
and raise the premiums by a district tax ; 

8. To insure the district library in such a company in a sum 
fixed by a district meeting, and to raise the premium by a district 
tax, and comply with the conditions of the policy ; 

9. To contract with and employ all teachers in the district 
school or schools ; but no person who is within two degrees of 
relationship by blood or marriage to any such trustee shall be so 
employed, except with the approval of two-thirds of the voters of 
such district present and voting upon the question at an annual or 
special meeting of the district. Any person employed in disregard 
of the foregoing provision shall have no claim for wages against 
the district, but may enforce the specific contract made against the 
trustee or trustees consenting to such employment as individuals ; 

10. To pay toward the wages of such teachers as are qualified, 
the public moneys apportioned to the district and legally applica- 
ble thereto, by giving them orders on the supervisor therefor, and to 
collect, as herein provided, the residue of such wages by district tax ; 



School District Meetings and Officers. 137 

11. To divide such public moneys apportioned to the district, 
whenever authorized by a vote of their district, into tAvo or more 
portions for each year ; to assign and apply one of such portions 
to each term during which a school shall be kept in such district, 
for the payment of teachers' wages during such term ; and to col- 
lect the residue of such wages not paid by the proportion of public 
money allotted for that purpose, by district tax as herein provided-, 

12. If the library money apportioned to the district be less than 
three dollars, to apply it to the payment of teachers' wages ; 

13. To draw uj)on the supervisor for the school and library 
moneys, in the manner and form prescribed by subdivisions one 
and two of section six of title four of this act ; 

14. After having paid toward the wages of such teachers as are 
qualified the public moneys of the district legally applicable 
thereto, by giving them orders on the supervisor therefor, to col- 
lect the residue of such wages by a district tax, or, if the same 
shall have been already collected, to give such teacher an order on 
the district collector for the balance of his or her wages still 
remaining unpaid. 

1. To call special meetings of the inhabitants of such districts whenever they shall deem 
it necessary and proper. — This power should be liberally exercised for the benefit 
of the district ; and the trustees should call special meetings whenever requested 
for any legal object by a respectable number of the inhabitants, notwithstand- 
ing the trustees may themselves be opposed to the object. If the inhabitants 
have repeatedly acted upon a subject in such a manner as to show that their 
determination has been definitively formed, and is not likely to be altered, it is 
not the duty of the trustees to be made the instruments of a factious minority, 
by harassing them with calls to reconsider the matter. But except in such 
case, or when the purpose is clearly illegal, it is very much a matter of course 
that a meeting should be ordered by the trustees, or, in case of their refusal, by 
the State Superintendent. Application to him for this purpose must be upon 
notice to the trustees, in the manner and form of an appeal from their refusal. 

It is no objection to the call of a special meeting that a meeting having tho 
same subject under consideration stands adjourned. (7 3Ietc., 509.) 

2. To give notice of special, annual and adjourned meetings in the manner prescribed 
in the sixth section of this title, if there be no clerk of the district, or he be absent or inca- 
pable of acting. — This is a ministerial duty, which may be performed by one of 
the trustees, under a resolution of the board, or they may di^dde the district 
into sections, assigning the duty of gi^dng the notice in each to one of their 
number. This power should be exercised by them in the case of a refusal of 
the clerk to give a notice. It is believed they may in such case delegate tho 
ministerial duty to any inhabitant, furnishing him with a written authority, 

18 



138 School District Meetings and Officers. 

under their hands, Avliich can be exhibited to the inhabitants whom he person- 
ally notifies, and with written notices, signed by the trustees, to be left at the 
houses of those whom he may find absent from home. 

3. To make out a tax list of every district tax voted by any such meeting^ or author- 
ized by lav.', containing the names of all the taxable inhabitants residing in the district at 
the time of making out the list, and the amount of tax payable by each inhabitant set 
opposite to his name. — In 4 Denio, 125, the supreme court held a warrant void 
where one of the trustees made out a tax list, and took the list and warrant to 
a second, who signed, but the other trustee was not consulted. In 3 Denia, 598, 
the court held an assessment void which was made and signed by two assessors, 
the third being present in the room where it was made, but not being consulted 
or taking any part in the business. This fact was permitted to be shown by 
the evidence of one of the assessors who acted, to repel the legal presumption 
that all had been consulted. The decision was affirmed by the court of appeals. 
(1 Comst., 79.) 

The trustees should meet for the purpose of making out a tax list within ten 
days after the meeting at which the tax is voted, so that if it be necessary to 
resort to any other evidence than the last town assessment roll for the valua- 
tion of property, or if a reduction shall be claimed, they may give twenty days' 
notice, and complete the tax list at the expiration of thirty days after the dis- 
trict meeting. It would be well for them to give notice at the district meeting 
of the time and place at which they will meet to make a tax list, so that any 
inhabitant conceiving himself entitled to reduction may appear and be exam- 
ined on oath in regard to it. The mode of proceeding in arriving at valuation 
and making the roll will be treated more at large in the comments upon a 
succeeding section. It is proper to remark here that the heading of every tax 
list should specify for what purposes and under what authority every simi in- 
cluded therein is levied. Whenever any controversy is anticipated in regard 
to any tax, it should be made on a separate list from others voted at the same 
meeting, so as not to embarrass or delay the collection of that which is undisputed 

4. To annex io such tax list a warrant, directed to the collector of the district, 
for the collection of the sums in such lists mentioned. — The form of a warrant 
will be given in another place. The supreme court (18 Barb., 331) have stated 
it as " remarkable that the school laws, as they now stand, contain no provision 
limiting or directing the time within which the warrant shall direct the collec- 
tor to collect or return the warrant." It is, however, clearly contemplated by 
the statute thai the warrant shall mention a time within which it is to be exe- 
cuted, and the practice has been to fix it at tliirty days, which was the period 
fixed by section 100, chapter 480 of 1847, prior to the amendment made by 
section 5, chapter 3^2 of 1849. It is better to conform to that practice than to 
fix any other period, unless in a case where it is palpable that an immediate 
collection is unnecessary, and the convenience of the tax payers is to be greatly 
promoted by a brief extension. 

5. To purchase or lease a site for the district school-house or school-houses, as desig- 
naied by a meeting of the district, and to build, hire or purchase such school-house as 
may lie so designated, and to keep in repair and furnish such school-house ivith neces- 



School District Meetings and Officees. 139 

sary fuel and appendages, and to pay the expense tliereofhy tax, hut such expense shall 
i.ot exceed fijty dollars in a7iy one year, unless authorized by the district or by law. — 
This power is necessarily exclusive. A practice lias grown up in some quarters 
of appointing a building committee by the district meeting to superintend the 
erection of a school-house. So far as a building committee act in aid of the trus- 
tees, by their advice and personal service in carrying into execution the 
wishes of the inhabitants, under the direction of the trustees, there is no objec- 
tion. But the trustees alone have the power to bind the district by a contract, 
written or verbal, and the district cannot supersede them by a building com- 
Diiteee or any other agents. It is in the power of the inhabitants, through the 
agency of a committee or otherwise, to procure plans and specifications, to the 
minutest detail, for a school-house or other mechanical structure in contempla" 
tion. They may in district meeting select among those thus procured, and 
may, by the resolution authorizing the building, limit the power to making a 
contract according to the plan and specifications adopted. This is the only 
method of controlling the discretion of the trustees in the matter. It rests 
with the trustees to accept or reject the work, unless the inhabitants, in the 
vote authorizing the building, have appointed or provided for the appointing 
of other arbiters. Tliis they may do, by directing it to be inserted in the con- 
tract with the builder that the safficiency of the materials and workmanship 
under the contract shall be determined by persons named in the resolution, 
Avith the power to determine what sum shall be deducted as damages from the 
contract price, or to reject it wholly ; or by nominating in the resolution an 
arbitrator on the part of the district, and requiring the builder to nominate 
another, Avith power to the two to choose an umpire in case of disagreement, 
such arbitrators to assess damages or reject the work entirely, and securing to 
the trustees in the latter case the right to remove the building from the site at 
the expense of the builder, unless he removes it himself upon notice to do so. 

A stringent contract, which should in all cases be in writing, with such pro- 
visions for the summary adjustment of any questions which may arise under 
it, will relieve the trustees from much personal responsibility and trouble, as 
well as protect the district from quarrels and litigation, which in any event 
are disastrous. 

6. To have the custody and safe keeping of the district school-house or houses, 
their sites and appurtenances. — The trustees are charged with the custody 
of the school-house for the purpose of public instruction ; and it is their 
duty to exercise such a general supervision over its care and management 
that the instruction of the pupils in the school shall not be embarrassed by any 
use of the house other than for school purposes, and that the property of the 
dis'-Tict, and the furniture, books and papers belonging to the school or the 
pupils, shall not be destroyed or injured. Any use of the house in subordina- 
tion to these restrictions, and not inconsistent with the main purposes for which 
H was designed, may be allowed by the trustees, or either of them, under 
authority of section 52 of this title, which was passed to prevent the disputes 
continually arising about the right and power of the trustees to permit the 
school house to be used for any purpose but a common school. Whenever the 



140 School District Meetings and Officees. 

trustees do permit the house to be used for instruction in music, or for lectures, 
or for any other educational purpose, it would seem to be the duty of the 
trustees to require such a remuneration for the use as may be sufficient to clean 
the rooms, and to indemnify the district against casual damage and wear. 
There is no good reason why the expenses of the district should not be light- 
ened by the trifling revenue derivable from the occasional use of its house, 
when not wanted for school purposes, and in a manner not to interfere with 
them. The trustees, however, cannot make any permanent contract for the 
occupation of the school-house. They can simply give a license, revocable at 
their own discretion, which they cannot by contract foreclose themselves from 
exercising as the public good may require at any moment. Strictly speaking, 
under section 52, they can grant no right to use the district property for any 
other than educational purposes ; they can only by their acquiescence estop 
themselves from bringing an action for the act of entering the school-house, 
which would otherwise be a trespass. Nothing should be tolerated which 
may give occasion to a controversy among the inhabitants. 

As the custody of the building is vested in all the trustees, all have the right 
of visiting and inspecting it at all times, and a majority of the trustees cannot 
exclude the third. 

Either of the trustees may prevent the school-house from being used for any 
purpose, except the common school, by forbidding the others to give their 
consent to such use. 

7 and 8. To insure the school-house, or houses, and their furniture and school appa- 
ratus, and to insure the district lilrary. 

The direction to insure should be by a resolution passed at a regular meeting 
of the inhabitants. 

The company must be one incorporated under the laws of this State. 

The insurance once made the trustees may raise a tax for the annual premium, 
when it becomes due, or may add the amount to any other tax list. 

9. To contract with and employ all teachers in the district school or schools ; but no 
person who is within two degrees of relationship ty llood or marriage to any such 
trustee shall he so employed, except with the approval of two-thirds of the voters of 
such district present and voting upon the question at an annnal or special meeting of the 
district — Any person employed in disregard of the foregoing provision shall 
have no claim for wages against the district, but may enforce the specific 
contract made against the trustee or trustees consenting to such employment 
as individuals. 

The jjower to contract for the district is a power to contract with such teachers 
only as the law authorizes the inhabitants to expect, teachers to the payment 
of whose wages public money may be applied, that is, teachers possessing, at 
the time of making the contract, a regular and valid certificate of qualification. 
The inhabitants have no power to engage nor to discharge a teacher. It is a 
fraud upon the inhabitants to engage a teacher not then possessing a certificate, 
Avithout express notice to them that until he shall obtain one the school is to be 
in effect a private school. It is difiicult to find any principle upon which the 
trustees can be authorized, by any official action, to provide for the payment of 



School District Meetings and Officers. 141 

such a teaclier. In tlie mean time tlie only mode for trustees to secure tliem- 
selves against a dangerous personal responsibility is to meet as a board and 
insist upon tlie actual production of a certificate before contracting with a 
teacher. 

A practice has prevailed to a very considerable extent of trustees engaging 
with a teacher that he shall board with the parents of the children alternately. 
There is no authority for such a contract, and it cannot be enforced on 
the inhabitants. This compulsory boarding gives occasion to constant alter- 
cation and complaint, which often terminates in breaking up the school. The 
best arrangement is to give the teacher a specific sum as wages and let him 
board himself. If, however, some persons are willing to board a teacher gratui- 
tously, and thereby save the district from taxation, there can be no objection. 

The amount of the compensation to be paid to teachers is within the discre- 
tion of the trustees excli^ively. The inhabitants have no power to control them 
in this respect, nor in the selection of the individuals to be employed, though 
the trustees would act most unwisely in disregarding their preferences and 
wishes, when reasonable and just. There is little danger that they will abuse 
their discretion in making the compensation too high. The wages of teachers are 
generally quite inadequate, those of females scandalously so. It is a reproach to 
our civilization that a woman should earn less as a teacher than she might in a 
cotton mill or as a dressmaker, especially as the qualities of her sex admirably 
adapt her for the instruction of the yomig. Trustees may be very certain that 
in purchasing the services of a teacher, as in every other business transaction, 
the way to get a good article is to oiFer a fair price, and that the most wretched 
economy in the world is to employ a poor teacher. They would grudge no 
price to secure a skillful physician to restore the bodily health and vigor of 
their own children. They would never commit a watch to a bungler, because 
he offered to tinker at it for slender pay ; what right have they to deal more 
stingily in selecting and paying the person who is to deal with an organization 
so much more delicate and intricate than a watch, as the minds and souls of 
the children of an entire community, and through whose ignorance or error 
they may imbibe poison instead of nutriment or medicine ? 

The following is suggested as a proper form for a contract to be drawn up in 
duplicate, one copy to be filed with the district clerk, the other retained by the 
teacher, viz. : 

A. B., having produced to the trustees of District No. , in the town 

of , a certificate (or diploma of normal school) found in due form to 

license Mm to teach a common school in said district (as first assistant or in the 
primary department, as the case may be, if the certificate is limited), is hereby 
engaged for the term of weeks, provided his certificate shall so long continue 
in force, to instruct the school of said district hours in each day, exclusive of 
Sundays, Saturdays and customary holidays, and the time he may spend in 
attendance on teachers' institutes, for the wages of dollars per week. 

The said A. B. faithfully performing his duties as such teacher, the trustees 
engage to exercise their legal powers in providing for the payment of his 



142 School District Meetings and Officers. 

wages aforesaid, by giving liim orders on the supervisor (monthly, or as may 
be agreed) to the amount of , (so much of the public money appropriated 

to the term as may be apportioned to the teacher upon a fair division thereof 
among all the teachers employed at the same time) for his whole term of 
service, and in proportion for a less time, and at the expiration of the term, 
upon being furnished by said teacher with evidence that he has properly kept 
the register of attendance of the pupils, and that he has verified the correct- 
ness of his registration by his oath, and delivered the register to the district 
clerk to make out a tax list for the collection of the residue of his wages, pro- 
viding there be not money enough applicable to the payment of teachers' wages 
in the hands of the collector, and to give liim an order on the collector therefor. 

Where a teacher was employed by one of the trustees only, after consulting 
the others separately, and all three of the trustees sent children to the school, 
as did the district generally, it was held by the supreme court (15 Barb., 333) 
that having performed the agreement on her part, she was entitled to recover 
the compensation, on the ground that the action was brought on an executed 
contract, and " that where a person is employed for a corporation by one assum- 
ing to act in its behalf, and goes on and renders the services according to the 
agreement, with the knowledge of its officers and without notice that the con- 
tract is not recognized as valid and binding, such corporation will be held to 
have sanctioned and ratified the contract. * * Where the contract is still 
executory, and nothing has been done under it, and the action is to recover 
damages merely for non-performance, it is for the plaintiff to show a legal con- 
tract binding upon the corporation. But this is not that case." 

This is sufficient for the teacher while the consent lasts ; but the difficulty 
in respect to the trustees is, that those who have given their consent in this 
irregular manner may revoke it, and leave the one who made the contract per- 
sonally liable to damages, without any claim to be indemnified by the district. 

A teacher once employed cannot be dismissed, without some violation of the 
contract on his part, during the time for which it was to continue. A teacher 
who is so unfortunate as to fail to give satisfaction to the inhabitants is still 
entitled to retain his place, unless it is forfeited by positive misconduct, such 
as amounts to a breach of the contract, or would justify the annulling of his 
certificate. 

In the employment of teachers, the trustees, besides requiring the legal qual- 
ifications, must also inquire into the legal disabilities of the candidate. They 
cannot hire a teacher standing toward themselves in the second degree of 
relationship by blood or marriage. By our laws, in calculating the degree of 
relationship, the count is made of all the generations between the two persons 
whose relationship is sought. This is according to the civil law. 



School District Meetings and Officers. 



143 



In tlie following table, jou desire to know the relationship between John 
Stiles and his grandfather or grandmother. You count one, two, and find 
them in the second degree. Between John Stiles and his grandson or grand- 
daughter it is the same, and the same between him and his brother. The 
relationship between Flora Stiles, granddaughter, and Matthew Stiles, grand- 
son, is in the fifth degree. Such is the rule in New York. 



















Oliver Stiles. 
Grandfather. 




Jane Bascom. 
Grandmother. 


























Geoffrey Stiles. 
Father. 




Lucy Baker. 
Mother. 












^ 


>"< 


-^^ 












Leonard Stiles. 
Brother. 




JOHN STILES. 




Louisa Stiles. 
Sister. 






















^^^^ 










Gilbert Stiles. 
Son. 




Martha Stiles. 
Daughter. 










1 
1 


















Matthew Stiles. 
Grandson. 




Flora Stiles. 
Granddaughter. 



















144 School Distkict Meetings and Officees. 

In the foregoing table we will suppose Jolin Stiles to be trustee. It will be 
seen tliat he cannot hire, as a teacher, his father nor grandfather, his son nor 
his grandson, nor the wife of either of them ; his mother nor his grandmother, 
his daughter nor his granddaughter, nor the husband of either of them ; nor 
his brother nor brother's wife, nor his sister nor sister's husband, for each of 
these persons is related to him in the first or second degree. 

Everv trustee, when about to hire a teacher, must put himself in the place 
of John Stiles, and then count two degrees from himself in the ascending or 
descending line, and all who come within that coimt are within the prohi- 
bition ; all beyond it he may hire. For instance, he may hire his nephew or 
niece, his uncle or his aunt, the brother or sister of his brother's wife, or the 
brother or sister of his daughter's husband. 

This prohibition may be waived by the district. If, for reasons satisfactory 
to the inhabitants, they are willing that the trustees may employ a person 
within the prohibited degree of relationship, they may, by a vote of two-thirds 
of the voters present and voting at the meeting, grant them dispensation. 
There may often be excellent reasons found, in the superior qualifications of 
some persons, why the trustees should be released from the obligation of t Ms 
law. 

10. To pay toward the wages of such teachers as are qualified, the puUic moneys 
apportioned to the district, and legally applicable thereto, by giving them orders on the 
supervisor therefor, and to collect, as herein provided, the residue of such wages by dis- 
trict tax. 

It will be observed that this power is confined in express terms to the pay- 
ment of qualified teachers. " Any trustee who applies, or directs or consents to 
the application of any such money to the payment of an unqualified teacher's 
wages, thereby commits a misdemeanor ; and any fine imposed upon him there- 
for shall be for the benefit of the county." The public money apportioned for 
the year is to be exhausted in paying the teachers for services rendered during 
that year. The year ends with the 30th of September, and the whole of the 
public money of the year should be earned, and orders for it drawn on or before 
that day. 

The public money apportioned for teachers' wages can be applied to no other 
purpose whatever, and therefore an order drawn upon the supervisor shoidd 
show upon its face that it is in compliance with the statute. The form may be 
as follows : 



To J. D., supervisor of the town of : 

Pay to A. B., or order, dollars cents, on account of wages 

earned by him when duly qualified as a teacher in district No. , in said 

town, between the day of and the day of , 18 . 

Dated , 18 . 

p n ' (. Trustees 
G h' \ ^^^^' '^'^' • 



School Disteict Meetings and Officees. 145 

The wages of a teacher include the whole compensation allowed him for 
b( ard, lodging, or any other object. In drawing an order any smn allowed for 
I card, etc., should be denominated wages. The order can be drawn only 
in favor of the teacher. If he desires to apply the proceeds to the pay- 
ment of a private debt, for board or other consideration, he can indorse 
it to his creditor, but it is for him and not for the trustees to distribute his 
wages. 

Every teacher should be paid promptly at the close of his term. All that the 
trustees can lawfully require is a fulfillment of his contract, which may include 
the duty of keeping the teacher's register, and list of daily attendance. When 
he has placed them, duly verified, in the hands of the clerk of the district, he 
can demand an order for his wages. 

If the inhabitants, as they have power to do, vote a tax at the annual meet- 
ing, to pay the residue of the teacher's wages, after the application thereto of 
so much of the public money as may be set apart for the term, then the trus- 
tees can be always in funds. There is no reason why the tax list should not 
be made out, and the money collected, and in the hands of the collector, ready 
to pay any order as soon as drawn. 

11. To divide the pvMic moneys apportioned to the district, whenever authorized by 
a vote of their district, into two or more portions for each year ; to assign and apply 
one of such portions to each term during which a school shall he kept in such district, 
for the payment of teachers'' loages during such term, and to collect the residue of such 
wages not paid by the proportion of public money allotted for that purpose by district 
tax, as herein provided. Where ihe inhabitants have not made a division of the public 
money by resolution, ihe trustees have the power to make such division as they deem, 
ju^st and expedient. 

The statute authorizes the people at a duly assembled meeting to divide the 
year into as many terms as they please, and to direct what portion of the public 
money shall be applied to each term. As any deficiency is hereafter to be 
made good by a district tax, it is of less consequence than formerly that it 
should be divided. 

The amount of public money, under the amended law, will nearly pay the 
wages of a good teacher in every district in the State for a term of twenty-eight 
weeks. It is to be hoped that the districts in the country will emulate the 
cities, and vote money enough to keep open their schools for at least ten months 
in each year. 

The public moneys payable on the order of the trustees are the moneys in 
the hands of the supervisor, apportioned from the State treasury, and the 
income of town or local funds, the tuition bills of non-resident children, and 
the income of district funds, if there be any. The money from all these sources 
should be exhausted before drawing on the collector of the district for any part 
of the district tax. 

The trustees may at any time, if they are under contract to pay a teacher 
his wages, and there is no money in the hands of the supervisor, levy a tax for 
the amount. They are not by law required to wait for the apportionment of 
the public money. 
19 



146 School District Meetings and Officers. 

12. If the library money apportioned to the distrait he less than three dollars, to 
apply it to the payment of teachers^ vmges. 

The trustees must ascertain what amount of library money has been appor- 
tioned to the district. If it is more than three dollars they must expend it in 
the purchase of books. 

By reference to subdivisions 13 and 14, it will be seen that all public and 
district moneys must be drawn by a written order upon the persons having the 
custody of the same. 

§ 50. The trustees may expend, in necessary and proper repairs 
of each school-house under their charge, a sum not exceeding 
twenty dollars in any one year. They may also expend a sum not 
exceeding fifty dollars in the erection of necessary out-buildings, 
where the district is wholly unprovided with such buildings. 
They may also make any repairs and abate any nuisances, pursu- 
ant to the direction of the school commissioner as hereinbefore 
provided ; and provide fuel, pails, brooms, and other implements 
necessary to keep the school-house or houses clean, and make 
them reasonably comfortable for use, and not provided for by a 
vote of the district ; and may also provide for building fires, and 
cleaning the school room, by arrangement with the teacher or 
otherwise. They shall provide the bound blank books for the 
entering of their accounts, and the keeping of the school lists, 
the records of the district, and the proceedings of district and 
trustee meetings. Whenever it shall be necessary for the due 
accommodation of the children of the district, they may hire 
temporarily any room or rooms for the keeping of schools therein. 
Any expenditure made or liability incurred, in pursuance of this 
section, shall be a charge u2:>on the district. 

To pay the expenses incurred under this section, the trustees may levy a 
special tax, or may add the amount expended to any tax list lawfully made. 

The better course for the trustees and the district is to have an estimate 
carefully made, in items, of the expenditures for the year, and presented at the 
annual meeting. Let it be canvassed at the meeting, and a tax voted suffi- 
cient to cover the expense. 

The most important sentence in this section is the one which authorizes the 
hiring of rooms, temporarily, for the keeping of school. The trustees can offer no 
excuse for not having a school for twenty-eight weeks, on the ground that the 
school-house is not in good repair. If such is the fact, then the trustees, 
under this section, have power to hire a room or rooms. If the school-house 
will not comfortably accommodate all the children of a district, a room may be 
hired and another school organized. 



School District Meetings and Officers. 147 

§ 51. When trustees are required or authorized by law, or by a 
vote of their district, to incur any expense for such district, and 
when any expenses incurred by them are made, by express pro- 
vision of law, a charge upon such district, they may raise the 
amount thereof by tax in the same manner as if the definite sum 
to be raised had been voted by a district meeting. 



This provision first came into force as section 14, chapter 260 of 1841. The 
supreme court, commenting upon it, in 4 Benio, 298, says : " It is said that the 
statute ought to be so construed as to confine its operations to small incidental 
expenses incurred by the trustees. But the language is general, and there is 
nothing which, upon any just principle of interpretation, will warrant us in 
restricting the provisions to any particular class of expenses." That case was 
one in which the district had voted to build a school-house, and the materials 
and dimensions specified were such as to have the effect of bringing the cost 
within four hundred dollars, and it was held that " if the district had left the 
whole within the discretion of the trustees, and they had kept vrithin the four 
hundred dollars, the act of 1841 would have authorized them to levy the tax." 
The object of this section, however, is simply to dispense with the necessity of 
fixing a definite amount to authorize the levying of a tax, and it has not the effect 
of permitting the trustees to levy a tax, under the vote of a district for expenses 
incurred for any purpose for which the law has not conferred the power upon 
the inhabitants of voting a definite tax. If the inhabitants cannot lay the tax 
directly, they cannot eflfect the same object by directing the trustees to expend 
money or to do acts involving the expenditure of money. 

Among the expenses made by express provision of law a charge upon the 
district, and which the trustees are authorized to incur without any vote of 
their district, is that of hiring temporarily any room or rooms for the keeping 
of schools therein, whenever it shall be necessary for the accommodation of 
the children. 

It is believed that a tax list, for any expense incm-red under this section, may 
be separate, or the amount may be included in any other tax list necessary to be 
made out at the time when the amount of such expenses shall have been ascer- 
tained. It is, however, the duty of the trustees, when practicable, to ascertain 
the definite amount, and to make out the tax list therefor within thirty days 
after the meeting at which the expenditure may have been authorized. When 
any tax under this section is included in the same tax list witli others, the head- 
ing should distinctly specify the amount, the object and the authority ; as by say- 
ing, for example : " Also, twelve dollars for the expense of temporarily hiring 
rooms for the keeping of schools therein, necessary for the accommodation of 
the children in said district, from the first day of May to the first day of August, 
1857 ; also, eight dollars and ninety-three cents for the expenses incurred in 
grading and draining the site of the school-house, under the resolution of a 
district meeting held April 12, 1857." 



148 School District Meetings and Officers. 

§ 52. The trustees, or any one of them, if not forbidden by 
another, may freely permit the school-house, when not in use for 
the district school, to be used by persons assembling therein for 
the purpose of giving and receiving instruction in any branch of 
education or learning, or in the science or practice of music. (See 
coomneiits on subdivision 6, of section 49.) 

§ 53. They shall procure two bound blank books for the district, 
and, when necessary, others in their place. In one of them, at or 
before each annual district meeting, they shall enter at large, and 
sign a statement of all movable property belonging to the district, 
and their accounts of all moneys received or drawn for or paid by 
them, and they shall deliver this book to their successors. In the 
other, the teachers shall enter the names of the pupils attending 
school, their ages, the names of the persons who send them, and 
the number of days each pupil attends, and also the facts and the' 
dates of each inspection of the school by the school commissioner 
or other official visitor, and any other facts, in such form as the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall require ; and each 
teacher shall, by his oath or affirmation, verify his entries in such 
book, and the entries shall constitute the school lists from which 
the average daily attendance shall be determined ; and such oath 
or affirmation may be taken by the district clerk, but without 
charge. Until the teacher shall have so made and verified such 
entries, the trustees shall not draw on the supervisor for any por- 
tion of his wages. 

The account to be entered by the trustees should specify every sum of money 
received by them, or any one of them, in his official capacity, and of all orders 
on the supervisor, or on the collector, giving the date when and amount. On 
the opposite page they should credit themselves with every expenditure and 
payment, specifying particularly Vv^hen, and to whom paid, and for what pur- 
pose, and referring to a x^roper voucher, which should be filed and delivered to 
their successors. 

On another page they should make an accurate inventory of all the movable 
property belonging to the district, such as the library of the district, stating 
the number of volumes and their condition, and giving a catalogue of the 
books wherever a general reference cannot properly be made, as to the first, 
second, third, etc., series of the Harper Library ; or Nos. 1, 2, 3, etc., of the Har- 
per Library or Family Library, etc., etc., and the furniture, appendages and 
apparatus of the school room, specifying each article. The whole to be fol 
lowed by a certificate in the following form : 



School District Meetings and Officees. 149 

We, the subscribers, trustees of district No, , in tlie town of Trenton, do 

hereby certify that the preceding, from page to x>age , inclusive, con- 

tains a true and accurate account of all the moneys received by us for the use 
of said district, and of the expenditures thereof, and a correct statement and 
inventory of all the movable property belonging to said district. 
Dated this day of , 18 . 

A. B., ^ 

C. D., > Trustees. 

E. F., ) 

The teacher's list, to be kept in the second book named, is the basis upon 
which the average daily attendance is ascertained for the purpose of appor- 
tioning so much of the public money as is required to be apportioned according 
to average attendance. 

Among the first duties of the trustees will be that of placing the book in 
the hands of the teacher, and directing him to keep the list daily, and accurately. 

The teacher will write the name of each scholar on the list, the first day 
he enters school, and note his attendance every day during the term. The 
trustee should inform him that, unless the roll is correctly and faithfully kept, 
and handed to the collector duly verified at the close of the school, he will not 
be entitled to call on them for his wages. 

At the close of his term the teacher must make out his list, containing the 
name of all the pupils, with the date of their entrance, and the number of days' 
attendance in full. 

Registers for the use of teachers are now prepared in the ofiice of the depart- 
ment, printed and forwarded to the trustees in time for use in all the schools. 
All needful explanations and directions for the instruction and guidance of 
teachers and trustees will be found on the cover of the registers. 

The correctness of the register must be verified by the teacher. The follow- 
ing is the form of an aflfidavit : 



Town of ) 

yss. 



County of 

being duly sworn, deposes and says that the 
within register of attendance of pupils in district No. Town of 
from the day of 186 , to the day of 186 , is correct 

to the best of h knowledge and that he has fvdly and truly made, in the 
" statement " on the last preceding page, all the entries called for by the head, 
ings of the respective columns. 

Signed, 
Subscribed and sworn before me this ) 
day of 186 . f 

This afBdavit, or affirmation, may be certified by a justice of the peace, or 
commissioner of deeds, judge of any court of record, county clerk or school 
commissioner or district clerk to have been taken before him. 



15 School District Meetings and Officers. 

§ 54. If any portion of the moneys apportioned to the district 
shall not be paid, by the supervisor, upon the due requirement of 
the trustees, they shall forthwith notify the treasurer of the county, 
and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, of the fact. 

It is tlie duty of every supervisor to apply for and receive the public moneys 
from tlie county treasurer as soon as tliey can after tlie commissioners have 
made and certified their apportionment, which will he some time in the month 
of March. They will therefore be ready to meet the orders of trustees at any 
time after the first of April. 

If they refuse to pay orders duly drawn, trustees and teachers, by a prompt 
notice to the county treasurer and Superintendent, can have an early remedy 
for mistakes or delays. Inquiry cannot be made too soon into oflBcial neglect 
of duty. 

§ 55. The trustees shall, once in each year, render to the dis- 
trict, at its annual district meeting, a just, full and true account 
in writing, under their hands, of all moneys received by them 
respectively for the use of the district, and of the manner in which 
the yame shall have been expended, and showing to which of 
them an unexpended balance, or any part thereof, is chargeable ; 
and of all drafts or orders made by them upon the supervisor, 
collector, or other custodian of moneys of the district ; and a full 
statement of all suits and proceedings brought by or against them, 
and of every special matter touching the condition of the district. 

If the trustees keep a book as directed by section 53 of this title, and pre- 
serve and file all vouchers, the presentation of their account will be an easy 
matter. It would be well for the meeting to select some man in whom they 
have confidence to examine the accomit of the trustees and report to the inhab- 
itants the result of his investigation. 

§ 56. An outgoing trustee shall forthwith pay to his successor, 
or any other trustee of the district in office, any such unexpended 
balance, or part of such balance remaining in his hands. 

As the public money remains in the hands of the supervisor, and the money 
collected on district tax lists for teachers' wages in the hands of the district 
collector, this section can apply only to trust funds, and money raised for building 
purposes, and for ordinary district expenses, such as repairs, furniture, blank 
books, etc., etc. 

§ 57. Every trustee who shall refuse or neglect to render such 
account shall forfeit twenty-five dollars. Every trustee who shall 
neglect or refuse to pay over any balance so found in his hands, 



School District Meetings and Officers. 151 

shall forfeit twenty-five dollars. These penalties are for the 
benefit of the schools of the district, and shall be sued for by the 
supervisor of the town in which the school-house, or school-house 
longest owned or held by the district, is. {See sec. 22, of title 3.) 

§ 58. By a willful neglect or refusal to render such account, a 
trustee also forfeits any unexpired term of his ofiice, and becomes 
liable to the trustees for any district moneys in his hands. 

§ 59. The trustees in ofiice shall sue for and recover any district 
moneys in the hands of any former trustee, or of his personal 
representatives, and apply them to the use of the district. 

§ 60. The trustees of each school district shall, between the first 
and second Tuesdays of October, in each year, make and direct to 
the school commissioner a report in writing, dated on the first day 
of October of the year in which it is made, and shall sign and cer- 
tify it, and deliver it to the clerk of the town in which the school- 
house of the district is situated ; and every such report shall cer- 
tify: 

1. The whole time any school has been kept in their district 
during the year ending on the day previous to the date of such 
report, and distinguishing what portion of the time such school 
has been kept by qualified teachers, and the whole number of 
days, including holidays, in which the school w^as taught by quali- 
fied teachei-s ; 

2. The amount of their drafts upon the supervisor for the pay- 
ment of teachers' wages during such year, and the amount of their 
drafts upon him for the purchase of books and school apparatus 
during such year, and the manner in which such moneys have been 
expended ; 

3. The number of children taught in the district school or 
schools during such year by qualified teachers, and the sum of the 
days' attendance of all such children upon the school ; 

4. The number of children residing in the district on the last 
day of September previous to the making of such report, between 
the ages of five and twenty-one, and the names of the parents or 
other persons with whom such children respectively reside, and 
the number of children residing with each ; 

5. The amount of money paid for teachers' wages, in addition 
to the public money paid therefor, the amount of taxes levied in 
said district for purchasing school-house sites, for building, hiring, 



152 School District Meetings and Officees. 

purchasing, repairing and insuring school-houses, for fuel, for dis- 
trict libraries, or for any other purpose allowed by law, and such 
other information in relation to the schools and the district as the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction may, from time to time, 
require. 

§ 61. The annual reports of trustees of school districts, of chil- 
dren residing in their district, shall include all over five and under 
twenty-one years of age, who shall, at the date of such report, 
actually be in the district, composing a part of the family of their 
parents or guardians or employers, if such parents, guardians or 
employers reside at the time in such district, although such resi- 
dence be temporary; but such report shall not include children 
belonging to the family of any person who shall be an inhabitant 
of any other district in this State in which such children may by 
law be included in the reports of its trustees ; nor any children 
who are supported at a county poor-house or an orphan asylum ; 
nor any Indian children residing on reservations where schools 
provided by law for their education are taught. 

§ 62. Where a school district lies in two or more counties, its 
trustees shall make such an annual report for each part of it lying in 
a different county, and file each in the ofiice of the clerk of town in 
which the part of the district to which it especially relates lies ; 
and such reports shall be in the form and contain all such special 
matters as the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall from 
time to time prescribe. 

§ 63; The trustee of every separate neighborhood shall every 
year, within the time aforesaid, in like manner, make his annual 
report to the school commissioner, and file it in the ofiice of the 
clerk of the town of which the neighborhood is a part. Such 
report shall specify the whole amount of public moneys received 
during the year, and from what public officer, and the manner in 
which it was expended ; the whole number of such children as can 
be included in the district trustees' report residing in the neighbor- 
hood on the last day of September previous to the making of the 
report ; and any other matters which the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction may require. 

§ 64. Every trustee of a school district or separate neighbor- 
hood, who shall willfully sign a false report to a school commis- 
sioner, with the intent of causing such school commissioner to 



School District Meetings and Officers. 153 

apportion to liis district or neighborhood a larger sum than its 
just proportion of school moneys ; or in the case of a trustee 
of a separate neighborhood, with the intent to procure from the 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction a larger allowance to 
the neighborhood, shall for each offense forfeit the sum of twenty- 
five dollars, and shall also be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. 
Such penalties, and any fines which shall be imposed for the misde- 
meanor, are for the benefit of the common schools of the county. 

The five sections from section 60 to section 64 inclusive will be considered 
together. 

A form of the annual report of the trustees will not be inserted, because it 
is subject to alteration from year to year. The trustees are required to 
report such information, besides what is specially named in the statute, as the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction may from time to time require. 

The comments and instructions which follow apply to the blank reports for 
the year 1867 ; omitting, however, all reference to rate bills, which, having 
been abolished, will hereafter have no place in the reports, and renumbering 
the items after No. 4 in the financial report, and after No. 2 in the statistical 
report. 

The efficient working of our common school system requires that each school 
officer shall strictly observe its provisions. The reports of trustees are the 
source of nearly all the statistical information in regard to the schools, and 
therefore are of paramount importance. Accuracy in these reports is especially 
necessary for the equitable and legal distribution of the public moneys, and 
for the guidance of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and of the school 
commissioners in their various duties. 

The annual report to the school commissioners must be made by the trustees, 
and deposited with the town clerk between the first and second Tuesdays of 
October. It should always be made, when possible, by the trustees in office at 
the close of the school year in regard to which the report is made, and should 
be deposited with the town clerk lefore the annual meeting of the district. 

A digest of the facts and figures reported by the trustees of the various 
school districts is made by the school commissioners of the respective commis- 
sioner districts, and forwarded to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
This digest becomes a part of the permanent record of this department, and the 
facts therein contained are the bases upon which the annual apportionment is 
made. 

The law provides that if trustees fail to make their report within the time 
prescribed, and in consequence thereof there shall result a loss of any money 
to the district, they may be held responsible for the money so lost. 

The following explanations, carefully observed, will enable trustees to avoid 
all errors wliich, under other circumstances, might find place in their report. 

The numbers, with the items to which they correspond, inclosed in quotation 
marks in the following instructions, are taken from the blank for " Report of 
20 



154 School District Meetings and Officers. 

Trustees," issued from tlie Department of Public Instruction, and sent to every 
district in the State. 

" Financial." — " Receipts." 

" 1. Balance on hand October 1, 186 , after paying all claims for previous 
school expenses." 

This includes the balance of the public moneys belonging to the district, 
remaining in the hands of the supervisor, as well as all other moneys unex- 
pended, whether raised by tax or derived from any other source, after paying 
all the indebtedness of the district accruing previous to October 1, 186 . If, 
on the first Tuesday of March, 186 , there was still remaining in the hands of 
the supervisor any public money apportioned in the year 186 , it should not be 
included here, in item " 1." 

" 3. Amount of public school moneys, both for teachers' wages and library 
apportioned to the district from State fimds." 

Do not include in this item any library moneys raised in the district, nor any. 
moneys referred to in item " 3." If any supplementary allowance has been 
received from the Superintendent of Public Instruction, it should be reported 
imder this item. 

" 3. Amount received from the proceeds of gospel and school lands, whether 
rents, or the proceeds of a fund raised by the sale of such lands," 

But few towns in the State have any funds or lands such as are referred to 
in this item, and no explanation is deemed necessary, beyond what may be 
to and under section 1 of title 4. 

" 4. Amount raised, including the amount remaining to he raised, by tax on 
property, for all school purposes within the school year ; but not including 
money so raised to pay expenses of a previous year." 

Trustees will include under this item only the amormts raised, and to be 
raised, by tax levied upon the property in the district, for the payment of school 
expenses (including teachers' wages) incurred within the school year. In fact, 
the sum reported under this item ought to be the actual cost of the school 
(including repairing and building) for the year, less the amount of the public 
moneys and the amounts reported imder items " 1," *' 3 " and " 5." 

If a tax has been ordered to be raised by installments, the trustees report 
each year only the installment actually collected, or legally collectible, within 
the year. 

" 5. Amount received from all other sources, not above enumerated, viz. : 
" Teachers' board for weeks, the teacher having boarded around (esti- 

mated) ; 

" Tuition bills of non-resident pupils, and of pupils not of school age ; 
" Subscriptions, donations, legacies, etc. ; 
" Other sources not named above." 

In cases where teachers provide themselves with board, without any cost to 
the district over and above the stipulated wages per day, week or month, the 



School District Meetings and Officers. 155 

value of such, board is not to be reported under this item. In other cases, 
whatever the number of qualified teachers employed, trustees should set down 
the number of weeks each boarded around, and the value of the board of each, 
and add these numbers, and place the whole number of weeks, and the whole 
value of the board, in their report. This board should be stated in the 
"receipts," for the reason that it was just as truly furnished by the district for 
the support of school, as were the moneys raised by tax. The amount of the 
tuition bills collected of non-resident pupils, and persons over twenty-one years 
of age, should be reported under the second subdivision of this item. All 
other moneys received during the school year, and not reported under any pre- 
ceding subdivision, should be given in this item under the following subdi- 
vision. 

The several sums reported under item " 5," should be placed in the inner 
column, then added, and their amoimt v>aitten directly beneath, and also in 
the outside column, opposite the words " Total, carried into outside column." 

"6. Total." 

Special care should be taken that this " total," or footing be correctly made. 

" Payments." 

" 7. For teachers' wages earned during the school year ending with Septem- 
ber 30, 186 (except for colored schools), as follows, viz. : 

" By drafts on the super^dsor ; 

" From funds collected by a tax on property ; 

" Value of teachers'' board, the teacher having boarded around (estimated) ; 

" From moneys received from all other sources ; 

" Teachers' wages remaining unpaid Oct. 1, 18G ." 

Under specification " By drafts on the supervisor," trustees should include 
all drafts actually made during the school year closing with September 30th, 
186 , for payment of teachers' wages earned during that year, whether made 
for payment of moneys apportioned for that year or the previous school year. 
But if they have, since the close of the year, paid, or contemplate paying 
in the future, any wages of teachers for that year from the moneys in the 
supervisor's hands October 1, 186 , such pajTnents should not be included in 
this subdivision of the item. The amomits for wages thus paid wovdd be prop- 
erly embraced in subdivision " Teachers' wages remaining unpaid," and 
should be reported next year under subdivision " By drafts on the supervisor." 

Under subdivision "From funds collected by tax on property," will be 
included all moneys raised by district tax for teachers' wages. The amount to 
be reported under " Value of teachers' board," etc., will be the same reported 
imder the first subdivision of item " 5 " of receipts. 

If trustees have paid out for teachers' wages any moneys received from any 
Bources not named in the first four subdi%'isions of this item, they should report 
them under subdivision " From moneys received from all other sources." 

The amount to be reported under subdi^^sion " Teachers' wages remaining 
unpaid," will be easily found, by subtracting, from the amount contracted to be 



156 School Disteict Meetings and Oeficees. 

paid to teacliers for wages earned during the year, the sums reported Tinder 
the preceding subdivisions of this item. 

" 8. For libraries ; including all moneys applicable to library purposes ; both 
the amount received from the supervisor, and the amount raised in the district, 
within the year, for such purpose." 

Under this item state the amount actually paid for new books for the library 
and the repair of old books, from moneys stated in the report as received by or 
raised in the district. They will not include any amount paid for a book-case. 

" 9. For school apparatus ; such as blackboards, globes, maps, etc." 

State the amount which has actually been paid for school apparatus, within 
the year, from the moneys of that year, whether library money received from 
the State, or money raised by tax, or received from any other source. 

" 10. For colored schools ; all expenses, for teachers' wages or other purposes, 
actually paid or to be paid." 

"11. For expenses of school-houses and sites, viz. : 

" For sites ; 

" Building or purchasing school-houses ; 
" Hiring school-houses ; 
" Repairing and insuring school-houses ; 
" Fences, side- walks, out-houses, and improving sites ; 
, " Furniture ; such as chairs, tables, clocks, bells, etc." 

Under the second subdivision of item " 11," in cases where a tax for the pur- 
pose of building a school-house is raised by installments, include only the 
installment collected and paid out within the year. 

" 12. For all other incidental expenses, viz. : 

" For fuel, and preparing the same for use ; 

" Building fires, and sweeping and otherwise cleaning school-houses ; 

'•* Salaries, other than those of teachers, for the following purposes, viz. : " 

S>j section 50 of title 7, trustees are authorized to "provide for building fires 
and cleaning the school room, by arrangement with the teacher or otherwise." 

The moneys paid for these purposes, unless paid to the teacher as a part of 
his wages as teacher, ly special contract, or to some individual employed at a 
salary by the year, as janitor, should be reported under the second subdivision 
of this item. If paid to a janitor as salary, they should be reported, and the 
purpose for which they were paid specifically stated, on the blank lines under 
the last subdivision. 

In cases where a clerk of the board of education has been appointed, and a 
salary has been paid him, under authority derived from a special act of the 
Legislature, the fact, and the sum paid as salary, should be reported on the 
blank lines under the last subdivision of this item. 

" 13. Forfeited by not having been drawn from supervisor's hands before the 
first Tuesday of March, 186 ." 



School Disteict Meetings akd Officees. 157 

If tliere were any public scliool moneys apportioned to a district by the 
Bcliool commissioner in 186 , remaining in tlie iiands of the supervisor on 
the first Tuesday of March, 186 , such moneys were on that day forfeited by 
the district, and should have been reported by the supervisor to the county 
treasurer. If any such sum. was so reported, it was re-apportioned by the com- 
missioners among the districts of the entire county. The amount so forfeited, 
if any, must be stated under this item. {See section 4 of title 4, and also subdi- 
vision 3 of section 21^ title 3 of this act.) 

" 14. Amoimt remaining on hand October 1, 186 , after paying all claims, for 
school purposes, up to that date." 

If the report is correctly made, up to this point, trustees will easily find the 
true balance by subtracting from the total " receipts " the sum of the items 
under " payments," ]3receding item " 14," But in order to verify their report, 
they can collect into one sum all the moneys subject to their order, for which 
orders were not given previous to October 1, 186 , viz. : The amount of public 
moneys remaining in the hands of the supervisor ; the amount in the collect- 
or's hands, together with the amount remaining uncollected on tax list, even 
though such tax list has not been put into the collector's hands ; any amount 
in their own hands, from any source whatever, as from tuition bills of non- 
resident pupils or pupils over twenty-one years of age, donations or legacies ; 
and all moneys, wherever they may be, to which the district has an undisputed 
title, and which were due previous to October 1, 186 . 

From this sum subtract the amount still due for teachers' wages, and for any 
other expenses, which accrued previous to October 1, 186 . This balance should 
agree with the former balance found as above stated. 

"15. Total." 

This toted of "payments" must agree, and will agree if correctly com^ 
posed, with the preceding " total " of " receipts " under item " 6." If, upon find- 
ing the correct sum of the items, these totals do not agree, the error must be dis- 
covered and corrected in the proper place. 



" Statistical." 
The " Statistical " portion of the report should be rigidly exact. 

"1. The number of duly licensed teachers employed and teaching at the same 
time for twenty-eight weeks, or more, during the school year commencing 
October 1, 186 , and closing with September 30, 186 ." 

What the Superintendent wishes to know, under this item, is, not how many 
different teachers have been in school during the school year, but how many 
duly licensed teachers has the school had regularly and constantly employed 
teaching in the school all the time for the same entire twenty-eight weeks. A brief 
temporary absence of any teacher, occasioned by sickness or other uncon- 
trollable circumstance, the trustees paying the teacher for the entire time, 
is not to be regarded. 



158 School District Meetings and Officees. 

Suppose A. has been employed for the winter term, and B. for the summer 
term. In that case trustees are to report (in answer to the' question) only 
one teacher. Again, if A. taught ten weeks, B. ten weeks, and C. eight weeks or 
more, they report but 07ie teacher. But if A. and B, taught both at the same 
time, and each for twenty -eight weeks, then they are to report tiuo teachers ; or if 
A. and B. taught together twelve weeks, then C. and D. twelve weeks, and 
finally E. and F. four weeks, they are to report in such case only ttvo teachers 

This item forms a basis for the distribution of a part of the school money, 
and will not admit of errors. 

" 2. The number of children over five and under twenty-one years of age, 
residing in the district on the 30th day of September, 186 , etc." 

An actual census must be taken, and none under five or over twenty-one 
years of age should be reported. The penalty affixed by law for a false report, 
as to the number of children in the district, is twenty-Jive dollars, to be collected 
from the trustees making such report. In making up this number, and the 
" schedule " which follows the statistical part of their report, trustees will 
consult sections 61, 62, 63 and 64, in article 6 of title 7 of this act. 

" 3. The nmnber of private schools within the district (not including colleges, 
incorporated academies or seminaries) ; " and, 

"4. The nimiber of pupils over five and under twenty-one years of age, 
registered as having attended such private schools some portion of the school 
year closing with September 30, 186 ." 

In reporting the number of private schools, and of the pupils attending 
them, there has heretofore been great neglect on the part of some district 
ofiacers. Trustees should take pains to ascertain the facts fully, and report 
them correctly. 

" 5. The whole time the district school was taught within the twelve months 
ending with September 30, 186 , etc. ;" and, 

" 6. The whole time the district school was taught by teachers while duly 
licensed, during said year." 

The whole time, in vjeeks and days, during which school has been kept by 
duly licensed teachers should be carefully stated. It is important also that the 
dates on which each teacher commenced and closed his service be given. 
These dates can be obtained from the school register, kept by the teachers, as 
shown by the afiida\'its made by them at the close of the register. 

" 7. The names of the teachers who taught the district school during the 
school year commencing October 1, 186 , and closing \\dth September 30, 186 , 
and of the authorities by whom they were severally licensed, and the dates of 
the beginning and ending of the services of each, and the time of ser\'ic0 
of each, lohile duly licensed, etc." 

Do not fail to write the first Christian name of each teacher in full, and 
to state by whom each teacher was licensed. This is an easy matter, if trustees, 
as they should, refuse to hire any teacher who cannot show his license. There 
is evidence in this department that, in some few instances, persons asking 
employment as teachers inform trustees that they are duly licensed, when they 
are not. It is therefore suggested that, before hiring a teacher, trustees reqmre 



School -District Meetings and Officees. ]59 

him to show his license, and that they examine it for the purpose of knowing 
that the time for which it was granted has not expired. This is a safe pre- 
caution, to which an honest applicant for any school ^\\\\ not object. 

Attention is particularly called to the following sections of the school act, 
viz. : Sections 7 and 29 of title 3 ; sections 43 and 43 of title 7, and section 9 
of the same title. 

Tliose children ONLY are of SCHOOL AGE, who are over five and under twenty-one 
years of age. 

"8. The number of children of school age, who, lohile residing in the dis- 
trict^ attended the district school some portion of the school year ; " and, 

" 9. The number of children of school age, who, while residing in other dis- 
tricts, attended the district school in this district some portion of the school year." 

Trustees will, in stating the " number of children of school age, who, 
while residing in the district, attended the district school," keep in ^iew and 
make the distinction, in their report, between those who, while attending 
school, were residents of their district, and those who were not residents of it ; 
and, in the " schedule " at the close of their report, they will give the number, 
and the names of the parents or guardians, of those children only who resided 
in the district on the 30th day of September, 186 . 

This information will be indispensable to the school commissioner, for the 
purpose of apportioning to every district its just share of the public money. 

" 10. The whole number of children, of school age, who attended the district 
school some portion of the year." 

The number to be reported under this item, is the sum of the numbers reported 
under items " 9 " and " 10." 

" 11. The average daily attendance of children of school age, residing in the 
district while attending the school ; and, 

" 12. The average daily attendance of children, of school age, attending the 
school, but residing in other districts while so attending." 

The average daily attendance of children of school age residing i7i the dis^ 
irict while attending the school, and of the children of school age attending 
the school, but residing in other districts while so attending, must be given, or 
the district will not draw any public money for attendance. Trustees must 
not include the attendance of any children while they were under 5 years of 
age, nor the attendance of any pupils after they became 21 years of age. 

In cases where there are children who have attended certain departments 
of the school not taught by duly licensed teachers, the attendance of such 
pupils should not be reported for the time during which they have attended 
such departments, unless they have at the same time attended some department 
of the school which was taught by a duly qualified and licensed teacher. 

The Rule for finding the average daily attendance, in each case, is simply 
this: 

1. Add together all the days' attendance of all the children over 5 and under 21 
years of age, who, while residing in the district, attended the district school, and divide 
the sum by the whole number of days on which the school was actually taught as stated 



160 School Distkict Meetings and Officers. 

in item " 16." (Trustees will not include for this purpose, in ihe ivhole number of 
days on which school was actually taught, any days, whethej they be legal 
holidays or other days, on which the school did not hold its regular session ; 
Bince no attendance of pupils vnll be found on the registers for those days.) 

2. Add together the days'' attendance of all the non-resident pupils over 5 and under 
21 years of age, who, while residing in other districts, attended the district school, and 
divide the sum by ihe number of days school was actually taught as stated in item " 16." 

When a fraction is contained in the .average daily attendance, write it as a 
common and not as a decimal fraction ; thus, 220 120-150ths, not 220.8. Do not 
reduce the fraction to lower terms. 

All children of over five and under twenty-one years of age, residing in the 
county in which the school-house stands, are to be reported, as regards their 
number and attendance, to the commissioner in whose commissioner district 
the school-house is situated. 

In a few other cases which exist within the State, it is believed that the 
proper course for the trustees to pursue in making their annual report to the 
commissioner will be shown by the following example, which is designed as a 
guide for trustees of joint districts ; that is, districts lying partly in two or more 
counties. No other districts are joint districts. 

Example. 

There is a certain school district, No. 7, lying partly in the town of Antwerp, 
in the second commissioner district of Jefferson county, partly in the town of 
Theresa, in the third commissioner district of Jefferson county, and also partly 
in the town of Rossie, in the first commissioner district of St. Lawrence county. 

We will suppose, for our purpose, that the school-house stands in Rossie, 
and that the following statement shows the other facts as regards children and 
their residence and attendance, from which the trustees are to make their 
report. Suppose, also, that the form of the district and the relative positions 
of the school-house and the town and county lines, are correctly shown by the 
following 



School District Meetings and Officees. 
DIAGRAM. 



161 



St. Lawrence County. 

First Commissioner District. 

M. L. Laughlin, School Commissioner* 

Town of 
ROSSIE. 

School Q House. 



Jefferson 
Third Commissioner District. 

Chas. a. Kelsey, School Comm'r 

Town of 
THERESA. 



County 

Second Commissioner District. 

J. M. Beaman, School Comm'r. 

Town of 
ANTWERP. 



Statement. 
Suppose that in Rossie 

The number of children of school age residing in said district No. 7 

and in Rossie, September 30, 186 , was, 18 

The number of children of school age, who, while residing in the 

district, attended said school during the year, was, 13 

They attended said school in the aggregate, 1,850 days. 

The number of children of school age, who, while residing in other 
districts in Rossie, attended said school during the year, was, ... 6 

They attended said school in the aggregate, 725 days. 

In Antwerp. 
The number of children of school age, residing in said district and 

in Antwerp, September 30, 186 , was, 15 

The number of children, of school age, who, while residing in the 

district, attended said school during the year, was, 10 

They attended said school in the aggregate, 1,225 days. 

21 



162 School Disteict Meetings and Officees. 

The number of cMldren, of school age, who, while residing in other 

districts in Antwerp, attended said school during the year, was, . . 3 

They attended said school in the aggregate, 875 days. 

In Theresa 

The number of children, of school age, residing in said district and 
in Theresa, September 30, 186 , was, 13 

The number of children, of school age, who, while residing in the 

district, attended said school during the year, was, 9 

They attended said school in the aggregate, 1,250 days. 

The number of children, of school age, who, while residing in other 
school districts in Theresa, attended said school during the year, 

was, 4 

They attended said school in the aggregate, 575 days. 

The whole number of days on which school was actually taught 
during the school year, that is, was open for the instruction of 
pupils, a duly licensed teacher having been present each day (as 
given in item 17), was, 150 

Now, how shall the trustees make their annual report, as regards the num- 
ber of children and their attendance ? 

They would report to the commissioner of the first commissioner district of 
St. Lawrence county, as follows : 

" 8. The number of children, of school age, who, while residing in the 
district^ attended the district school some portion of the school 
year, was, 13 

" 9. The number of children, of school age, who, luhile residing in 
other districts, attended the district school in this district some por- 
tion of the school year, was, 6 

10. The whole nmnber of children, of school age, who attended 
the district school some portion of the year, was (13 and 6 are), . . 19 

"11. The average daily attendance of children, of school age, resid- 
ing in the district while attending the school, was ( j^^ or 12 ^^ is), l^lso 
'12. The average daily attendance of children of school age, 
attending the school, but residing in other districts while so attend- 
mg, was (y^y or 4^^^ is), ^^to 



And in the " schedule " at the close of the report, they would specify and 
report only the eighteen children residing in school district No. 7 and in the 
town of Rossie, September 30, 186 . 

They would report to the commissioner of the second commissioner district 
of Jefferson county, as follows : 

" 8. The number of children of school age, who, while residing in the 
district, attended the district school some portion of the school 
year, was, , 10 



School District Meetin^gs and Officers. 163 

" 9. Tlie number of cliildren of scliool age, who, ivliile residing in 
other districts, attended the district school in this district some por- 
tion of the school year, was, 3 

"10. The whole number of children of school age, who attended 
the district school some portion of the year, was (10 and 3 are),. . 13 

"11. The average daily attendance of children of school age, resid- 
ing in the district while attending the school, was (^^ or 8 j|^ is), 8 -^ 

" 12. The average daily attendance of children of school age, attend- 
ing the school, but residing in other districts while so attending, 
was (S or 2 3^, is), 2,-^ 

In the " schedule " at the close of their report, they would specify and report 
ojihj the fifteen children residing in district No. 7 and in the town of Antwerp, 
September 30, 186 . 

They would report to the commissioner of the third commissioner district of 
Jefferson county, as follows : 

" 8. The number of children of school age who, ivhile residing in the 
district, attended the district school some portion of the school 
year, was, 9 

" 9. The number of children, of school age, who, while residing in 
other districts, attended the district school in this district some portion 
of the scliool year, was, 4 

" 10. The whole number of children, of school age, who attended 
the district school some portion of the school year, was (9 and 
4 are), 13 

"11. The average daily attendance of children, of school age, 
residing in the district while attending the school, was Q^ or 

8^3^ ••••• 8rro 

"12. The average daily attendance of children, of school age, attend- 
ing the school, but residing in other districts while so attending, 
^as(HSor3l|iis), 31|^ 

In the " schedule " at the close of their report, they would specify and report 
only the twelve children residing in district No, 7 and in the town of Theresa. 

These three reports would be on separate papers and would be sent to the 
respective commissioners. 

" 13. The whole number of days' attendance at the district school of all the 
children, of school age, residing in the district while attending the school." 

Trustees will be careful and include in item 14, the attendance of those 
children onlxj, who, while attending their school, resided in their district. 

" 14. The whole number of days' attendance at the district school, of all the 
children of school age, residing in other districts while attending the school." 

It is very important to report correctly, under item 15, the attendance of those 
children only who, while attending school, resided in other school districts. 



164 School District Meetings axd Officers. 

Trustees must not include under either item 13 or 14 the attendance of any 
cliildren who were not of school age at the time of such attendance. In many 
districts there t\411 he pupils who became five or twenty-one years of age during 
the school year. In such cases trustees should include under these items the 
attendance of such pupils for that time only while they were over five and 
under twenty-one years of age. 

" 15. The whole number of days' attendance of all the children of school 
age who attended the school." 

The number of days to be reported in item 15 will be found by adding 
together the two numbers reported in items 13 and 14. 

" 16. The whole number of days on which school was actually taught during 
the school year ; that is, was open for the instruction of pupils, a duly licensed 
teacher having been present each day." 

Include under this item all the days on which the district school was taught 
by a duly qualified teacher, whether they be ordinary week-days or holidays. 

By section 5 of title 11, trustees are authorized to " give to the teacher or 
teachers employed by them, the whole or any part of the time spent by such 
teacher or teachers in attending at any regular session or sessions of an institute 
in a county embracing the school district or any part thereof, without deduct- 
ing any thing from his or their wages for the time so spent." Where trustees 
have given the teacher such time so spent, and have paid the teacher his or her regular 
compensation for such time, they may report the facts in their annual report ; and 
in case such time, added to the time during which the district school shall have 
been taught by a duly qualified teacher, shall equal twenty-eight weeks, " the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction may include the district in his apportion- 
ment of the State school moneys, and direct that it be included by the school 
commissioner or commissioners in their apportionment of school moneys ; pro- 
vided always that such school district be in all other respects entitled to be 
included in such apportionment," 

Trustees will understand distinctly that they are not to report such time 
unless the trustees liaA^e given it to the teacher, and have paid the teacher his 
or her regular wages for such time. When reported it should not be included 
under item " 16," but in item " 18," on the second page of the report, and 
should constitute item " 14 " on the third page. 

"17. The number of holidays, during the terms of school, occurring on the 
regular school days, but during which the school was not taught." 

Holidays occurring in vacations, or on days on which the school would not 
be taught were they not holidays, are not to be included in this item. 

" 18. The number of other week-days, during the terms of school, on which 
school was not taught." 

Under this item trustees vnll report Saturdays and other week-days on which 
school was not taught, occurring during the terms of school, but oiot in vaca- 
tions. Include, also, those holidays occurring during the terms of school, which 
were not reported under item " 16 " or " 17." 



School District Meetings and Officers. 165' 

Vacations of a week or more, occurring during the terms of school, are not 
to be included in the time reported in item " 16," '"' 17 " or " 18." 

A few words only need be said in regard to the remaining items on the 
second page of the report. 

It is especially important that trustees report the actual nuniber of rolumes in 
the district library, and their estimated value. If the district has no library, 
write the word " none " in the first blank space in item " 20." 

In all cases they will state the value of the school-house site and of the 
school-house respectively, according to their best judgment. Do not fail to 
give the assessed valuation of all the property taxable in the district. 

Trustees are urged to give correctly every item called for in the blank for 
report. The questions on page 3 of the blank have been added mainly for the 
purpose of affording the school commissioner and the department additional 
information in regard to the affairs of the various districts. 

A full and correct report in regard to every item called for by the blank for the 
report must be insisted upon by the school commissioners and by the depart- 
ment. 

In filling the blank spaces at the close of the report, give the name of post- 
office, that the commissioner may know where to address the trustees, in case 
he shall desire so to do. In many districts in the State, the district number 
has been changed since July 17 1866. In every case the district should be 
reported under the new number. 

Joint Districts. 

If a district does not lie wholly in one county, and the children to be reported 
do not all reside in the same county, trustees will make to the commissioner, 
in whose commissioner district the school-house stands, a full "financial" 
report, and also a full " statistical " report, except that it must be a report in 
regard to those children only who reside in his county ; but they will include 
all these, even though some of them may reside in some other commissioner 
district of his county. They will make to each other commissioner in any 
county other than that in which the school-house stands, and in whose com- 
missioner district any portion of their school district is situated, a report show- 
ing the length of time the school shall have been taught, by duly licensed 
teachers, during the said school year ; the number of children of school age who 
reside in that part of their school district which lies in his commissioner district ; 
the number of children of school age who, at any time during the year while 
residing in that part of their district, shall have attended their school ; and also 
the number of children residing in other school districts lying in any town in 
his commissioner district, who shall have attended their school for any length 
of time during the year, being at that time of school age. They will also 
make out the average daily attendance, in each case, so that, in each report, it 
shall relate to those children only Avho are therein reported. 

All blanks, registers, and other documents for school districts are to be sent 
to the town clerk ; and the trustees should call for them if not received in 



166 Assessment axd Collection of Taxes. 

time. If tliey fail to receive them, simply because they have not called on the 
town clerk for the same, they will not therefore be relieved from any responsi 
bility of ha\'ing the register kept, and of properly making their annual report. 

It is quite important that the names of school district officers and their post- 
office address be known at the department, and by the school commissioners, 
that communications may be sent to any of them by mail. In view of this, 
the law now requires the district clerk to report to the town clerk, immediately 
after each annual school meeting, the names and post-office address of the 
district officers. Trustees should see to it that the clerk of their district com- 
plies vrrih the law in this respect. 

In making out the report, the trustees should, if possible, meet together. As 
a precaution, it is earnestly urged that they complete their report and deposit 
it in the office of the town clerk before the annual meeting. 

In all cases the outgoing trustee should hand over to his successor in office 
circulars and all other documents and papers relating to the district. 

The importance of the position that the office of trustee holds in our admir- 
able and beneficent school system, and the influence it must exert in insuring 
the complete enforcement, or partial neglect, of its salutary provisions, cannot 
be too highly magnified. Upon an intelligent conception of their trusts, and a 
generous liberality in the discharge of them, must depend in a great measure 
the prosperity not only of every district, but of the schools at large. 

SEVENTH AETICLE. 
Of the assessment of district taxes^ and the collection of such 

taxes / and herein of the collector, his powers, duties and liability. 

§ 65. Within thirty days after a tax shall have been voted by 
a district meeting, the trustees shall assess it, and make out the 
tax list therefor, and annex thereto their warrant for its collection. 
But they may at the same time assess two or more taxes so voted, 
and any tax or taxes they are authorized to raise without such 
vote, and make out one tax list and one warrant for the collection 
of the whole. They shall also prefix to their tax list a heading 
showing for what purpose the different items of the tax is levied. 

This section makes provision, 

1. For the time within which a tax list shall be made out ; 

2. For what shall be included in it ; 

3. For the heading of it. 

1. The first sentence is substantially the same as section 99, chapter 480, 
Laws of 1847. Of that section the supreme court said (2 Denio, 161) : " There 
are no negative words in the statute, such as would necessarily make it imper- 
ative ; and in such a case, for the benefit of the public, the act may be done 
after the time has elapsed ; the statute, as to time, being regarded as directory 
only." The court remark, however : " Had it appeared, in this case, that there 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 167 

was sucli a change in the taxable persons or property in the district, between the 
expiration of the month and the time the tax list was made out, a different ques- 
tion would have been presented. But it does not appear that there was any such 
change, or that the plaintiff was in any way injured by the delay." The policy 
of the statute is, that the tax shall affect only the persons and property subject 
to the authority of the meeting which imposes it, and such persons as shall 
voluntarily expose themselves to liability while the tax list is being made out. 
Land purchased after a tax is voted, but before the tax list is made out, should 
be assessed to the purchaser, if he has taken possession ; and the seller may 
be taxed for the purchase-money secured by mortgage, as personal property, 
although he has reserved the possession to a tenant until a period which will 
not arrive until after the tax list is made out. Persons about to remove from 
the district must be included in the tax list, if inhabitants when it is completed. 

By section 82 of this title the trustees are forbidden to deliver the tax list 
and warrant to the collector until the thirty-first day after the tax was voted. 
A tax list cannot be regarded as completed until it has been delivered with the 
warrant to the collector. While it remains in the hands of the trustees it may 
be altered and amended at any time. The actual making up of a tax list and 
warrant may be the work of a clerk or amanuensis. Although it may be in 
due form and contain all that is legally necessary, even to the signatures, it 
cannot be deemed complete until it has passed from their hands to the proper 
officer to collect it. There is an analogy between such a paper and a deed, 
mortgage or lease. They may be complete as to form and execution, but the 
transaction between grantor and grantee is not complete without delivery. 

It is the clear duty of trustees to proceed in the making out of every tax 
list with such dispatch that it may be completed within thirty days, whenever 
practicable. It should not be postponed because circumstances may render it 
expedient to delay the collection. 

If the copy of an appeal be served before the trustees have completed their 
assessment, the time during which the appeal is pending is to be deducted in 
counting the thirty days. 

2. In regard to the form of a tax list, the following directions, prescribed by 
title 2, chapter 18, first part of the Revised Statutes, for the government 
of assessors, are appropriate, and it would conduce to accuracy for trustees to 
conform to them, whether it be strictly necessary or not. 

" § 9. They shall prepare an assessment roll, in which they shall set down in 
four separate columns, and according to the best information in their power : 

"1. In the first column the names of all the taxable inhabitants in the town 
or ward, as the case may be ; 

" 2. In the second column, the qiiantity of land to be taxed to each person ; 

" 3. In the third column, the full value of such land, according to the defini- 
tion of the term land, as given in the first title of this chapter. 

4. In the fourth column, the full value of all the tsjixable personal property 
owned by such person, after deducting the just debts owing by him. 

" § 10. Where a person is assessed as trustee, guardian, executor or admin- 
istrator, he shall be assessed as such, with the addition to his name of his rep- 
resentative character, and such assessment shall be carried out in a separate 
line from his indi\ddual assessment ; and he shall be assessed for the value of 



168 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 



tlie real estate held by him in such representative character, at the full value 
thereof, and for the personal property held by him in such' representative 
character, deducting from such personal property the just debts due from him 
in such representative character." 

3. The follo-wdng are suitable forms of tax list and warrant : 
List of taxes apportioned by the trustees of District No. , in the town of 
Trenton, county of Oneida, in accordance with the pro\isions of article seven, 
title seven, of the general school law of the State of New York, for the purpose 
of raising the sum of $1,081.80, laid and charged on the said district according 
to law, viz. : $50 for the purchase of an additional site and $1 ,000 for build- 
ing thereon, voted by a district meeting on the day of , 186 , $10 
for repairs of the school-house, and $8.20 for fuel. 



NAMES OF TAXABLE INHABITANTS AND COEPOKA- 

TIONS. 


P 


C 

%i 
> 


^1 


% . 


James Thomas • 


80 acres. 


$400 


$1,025 
25,000 


$6 81 

17 45 

446 91 

10 64 


James Thomas, executor of estate of John Thomas, 
deceased 




5 acres. 
X acres. 


1,2.50 
625 


John Davison 



Statement and description of unoccupied and unimproved lands of non-residents 
of said district on which a tax has been imposed as above stated : 



NO. AND DESCRIPTION OF LOTS AND PARTS OF LOTS. 



No. 17, short tract, 

That part of the sonth-west quarter of lot No. 23, 
short tract, which lies east of a line rnnnino: north 
43° west from the south-east corner of lot No. 12, 
in the same tract, being the district boundary 
line 



a 



i'^ es 



10 acres 



2X acres. 



$25 00 



6 CO 



18 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 169 

To tlie collector of school district No. , in the town of 

county of : 

You are hereby commanded to receive from each of the taxable inhabitants 
and corporations named in the foregoing list, and of the owners of the real 
estate described therein, the several sums mentioned in the last column of the 
said list, opposite to the persons and corporations so named, and to the several 
tracts of land so described, or so much thereof as may be voluntarily paid 
to you for two successive weeks after the delivery to you of this warrant, 
together with one cent on each dollar thereof for your fees ; and, after the 
expiration of the time above mentioned, to proceed forthwith to collect the resi- 
due of the sums not so paid in as aforesaid, with five cents on each dollar 
thereof for your fees ; and in case any person upon whom such tax is imposed 
shall neglect or refuse to pay the same, you are to levy the same by distress 
and sale of the goods and chattels of the person or corporation so taxed, in the 
same manner as on warrants issued by the board of supervisors to the collect- 
ors of taxes in towns ; and you are to make a return of this warrant within 
thirty days after the delivery thereof to you ; and, if any tax on the real estate 
of a non-resident mentioned in the said list shall be unpaid at the time when 
you are required to return this warrant, you are to deliver to the trustees of 
the said district an account thereof, according to law. All moneys received or 
collected by you by virtue of this warrant, you are to keep safely, aiid to pay 
out the same on the written order of a majority of the trustees. 

Given under our hands this day of , in the year one 

thousand eight hundred and sixty- 

A. B,) 

C. jy.X Trustees. 

E. F.,) 

When the tax has been levied and assessed by all the trustees, their judicial 
duties are at an end ; it is unimportant whether all are present at the signing 
of the warrant, which is but a ministerial act. (19 Barb., 167.) It is because 
the issuing of the warrant is a ministerial act, and the statute prescribes the 
legal effect of the process, that the trustees will be trespassers if they adopt a 
form which departs from it and directs the collector to act otherwise than the 
law directs. (16 Wend., 607.) The collector acts for two weeks after the deliv- 
ery of the warrant as mere receiver of taxes ; if he undertakes to levy upon 
property within that time, he becomes a trespasser. (17 Barb., 147.) 

The statute no longer prescribes thirty days, or any other period, within 
which the warrant shall be made returnable (18 Barb., 331) ; but the trustees 
must prescribe a time in the warrant, and should not depart from the former 
usage except for strong reasons. 

§ 66. In making out a tax list, the trustees of school districts 
shall apportion the same on all taxable inhabitants of the district, 
and upon corporations and persons holding property therein, 
according to the valuation of the taxable property which shall be 

22 



170 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

owned or possessed by them at the time of making out such list 
within such district, or partly within such district, and partly in an 
adjoining district, and upon all unoccupied real estate lying within 
the boundaries of such district, the owners of which shall be non- 
residents, and which shall be liable to taxation for town or county 
purposes ; and upon the amount of rents reserved in any leases in 
fee, or for one or more lives, or for a term of years exceeding tAventy- 
one years, and chargeable upon lands within such district, which 
rents shall be assessed to the person or persons entitled to receive 
the same as personal estate, which it is hereby declared to be, 
for the purpose of taxation for school purposes, at a princi2:)al sum, 
the interest of which, at the legal rate per annum, shall produce a 
sum equal to such annual rents ; and in case such rents are payable 
in any other thing except money, the value of such annual rents 
in money shall be ascertained by the trustee or trustees, and the 
same shall be assessed in manner aforesaid. But when it shall be 
ascertained that the proportion of any tax upon any lot, tract or 
parcel not occupied by any inhabitant, or upon rents reserved, 
would not amount to fifty cents, the trustees, in their discretion, 
may omit such lot, tract or parcel, or reserved rents, from the tax 
list. Banks or banking associations, organized under the laws of 
Congress or of this State, shall be taxed by assessing the indi- 
vidual stockholders for the amount of stock owned or possessed 
by them ; but such assessment shall be made only in the district 
where the bank is located. And it is hereby made the duty of 
the president or cashier of any such banking association, or of the 
person temporarily performing the duties of either of them, to fur- 
nish to the trustee or trustees, or board of education of the school 
district in which the bank of such association is located, whenever 
the same shall be called for, for the purpose of making out a tax 
list for the collection of a district tax, a list of all persons and 
bodies corporate, owning or holding stock in said bank, which list 
shall also show the amount of stock owned or held by each 
such person or body corporate. A refusal to comply with the 
requirements of this section, by the officers of any such banking 
association herein named, shall be punished by a fine of not less 
than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars for each and every 
refusal, to be sued for by the supervisor of the town in which the 
bank of such association is located, in his name of office; which 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 171 

penalty, when collected, shall be for the benefit of the school dis- 
trict in which such bank is located. Individual bankers shall be 
assessed in accordance with the provisions of section 2 of chapter 
761 of the Laws of 1866. 



The statute requires the trustees to ascertain and determine who are taxable 
inhabitants at the time of making out the fax list, and to apportion the tax on the 
persons and corporations then holding property in the district, without regard 
to the time when the same was voted, and without discrimination on account of 
the purpose for wliich it was voted, except that in favor of any inhabitants under 
section 73, of this title. 

The personal property of all persons, actually residing in the district is taxa- 
ble therein, wherever such personal property may be situated. As an exception 
to this rule, the shares in banks and banking associations are taxable only in 
that district in which the bank is located. It is also provided, by chapter 37 of 
1855, that " all persons and associations doing business in the State of New 
York, as merchants, bankers or otherwise, either as principals or partners, 
whether special or otherwise, and not residents of this State, shall be assessed 
and taxed on all sums invested in any manner in said business, the same as if 
they were residents of this State, and said taxes shall be collected from the 
property of the firms, persons or associations to which they severally belong." 

Non-residents, taxable under the above cited statute, are to be deemed taxable 
inhabitants of the district in which they may be doing business. If the owners 
or their agents become temporary sojourners in the State, for the purpose of 
managing such business, their residence for the purpose of such taxation is 
defined in the following statute : 



" § 5. Every person shall be assessed in the town or ward where he resides 
when the assessment is made, for all personal estate owned by him, including 
all personal estate in his possession or under his control as agent, trustee, 
guardian, executor or administrator ; and in no case shall property, so held 
under either of these trusts, be assessed against any other person ; and in case 
any person, possessed of such personal estate, shall reside, during any year in 
which taxes may be levied, in two or more counties, towns or wards, his resi- 
dence, for the purposes and within the meaning ot this section, shall be deemed 
and held to be in the county, town or ward in which his principal business 
shall have been transacted ; but the products of any State of the United States, 
consigned to agents in any town or ward of this State, for sale on commission, 
for the benefit of the owner thereof, shall not be assessed to such agent, nor 
shall such agents or moneyed corporations or capitalists be liable to taxa- 
tion under this section, for any moneys in their possession or under their con- 
trol transmitted to them for the purposes of investment or otherwise." (D'Me 3, 
chapter 13, part 1st Esvised Statutes, as amended by section 3, chapter 176 of 1851.) 

The Revised Statutes " of the assessment and collection of taxes," in title 1 
of the same chapter from which the preceding quotation is taken, contain the 
following provisions : 



172 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

" § 2. The term ' land,' as used in this chapter, shall be construed to include 
the land itself, all buildings and other articles erected upon or affixed to the 
same, all trees and underwood growing thereon, and all mines, minerals, 
quarries and fossils, in and under the same, except mines belonging to the 
State ; and the terms ' real estate ' and * real property,' whenever they occur in 
this chapter, shall be construed as having the same meaning as the term ' land ' 
thus defined. 

" § 3. The terms ' personal estate ' and ' personal property,' whenever they 
occur in this chapter, shall be construed to include all household furniture, 
moneys, goods, chattels, debts due from solvent debtors, wdiether on account, 
contract, note, bond or mortgage, public stocks and stocks in moneyed corpo- 
rations. They shall also be construed to include such portion of the capital of 
incorporated companies, liable to taxation on their capital, as shall not be 
invested in real estate. 

" § 4. The following property shall be exempt from taxation : 

" 1. All property, real or personal, exempted from taxation by the Constitu- 
tion of this State or under the Constitution of the United States ; 

" 2. All lands belonging to this State or the United States ; 

" 3. Every building erected for the use of a college, incorporated academy or 
other seminary of learning; every building for public worship, every school- 
house, court-house and jail ; and the several lots whereon such buildings are 
situated, and the furniture belonging to each of them ; 

"4.- Every poor house, almshouse, house of industry, and every house 
belonging to a company incorporated for the reformation of offenders, and the 
real and personal property belonging to or connected with the same ; 

" 5. The real and personal property of every public library ; 

" 6. All stocks owned by the State or by literary or charitable institutions ; 

" 7. The personal estate of every incorporated company not made liable to 
taxation on its capital in the fourth title of this chapter ; 

"8. The personal property of every minister of the gospel, or priest of any 
denomination ; and the real estate of such minister, or priest, when occupied 
by him, provided such real and personal estate do not exceed in value one 
thousand five hundred dollars ; and 

'* 9. All property exempted by law from execution. 

" § 5. If the real and personal estate, or either of them, of any minister or 
priest exceed the value of one thousand five hundred dollars, that sum shall 
be deducted from the valuation of liis property, and the residue shall be liable 
to taxation. 

" § 6. Lands sold by the State, though not granted or conveyed, shall be 
assessed in the same manner as if actually conveyed. 

" § 7. The owner or holder of stock in any incorporated company liable to 
taxation on its capital shall not be taxed as an individual for such stock," 



Land set apart, and a portion of which has been actually used, for a family 
or private burying ground, not exceeding one-quarter of an acre, and provided 
a description of the same has been made and duly acknowledged and recorded 
in the county clerk's office, is also exempt. {Laius of 1847, chapter 85, sections 
1 and 2.) 

The exemption from taxation of every building for public worship, and 
every school-house and other seminary of learning, under the provisions of 
subdivision 3 of section four, title 1, chapter 13 of part first of the Re\ased 
Statutes, or amendments thereof, shall not apply to any building or premises 
in the city of New York, unless the same shall be exclusively used fo^r such 
purposes, and exclusively the property of a religious society, or of the. New 
York Public School Society. {Laws of 1852, cha^jter 282.) 



ASSESS^XENT AND COLLECTION OF TaXES. 173 

No tax or assessment shall at any time be imposed, assessed or collected 
upon the mint- or branch mint of the United States, which may be authorized 
by act of Congress to be established in the city of New York ; neither upon 
the land on which the buildings used or to be used therefor shall or may be 
erected, nor upon the buildings used or to be used therefor, nor upon the 
machinery used or to be used therein, nor upon bullion or metal deposited for 
coinage, nor upon the coin stamped at said mint or branch mint, while in the 
custody of the officers of said mint or branch mint of the United States in the 
city of New York. {Laws of 1852, chapter 46.) 

No assessment or tax of any description, general or local, shall be imposed, 
assessed or collected upon the assay office of the United States, which, by act of 
Congress of March, 1853, it is provided shall be established in the city of New 
York ; neither upon the land owned by the United States on which the build- 
ing used or to be used therefor shall be erected ; nor upon the buildings used 
or to be used therefor ; nor upon the machinery used or to be used therein ; nor 
upon the metal, bullion or coin deposited for melting, remelting or assaying ; 
nor upon the bars or ingots, after melting, remelting or assaying, while the 
same is in the custody, possession or under the control of the officers of the 
assay office of the United States in the city of New York. {Laws of 1853, chap- 
ter 406.) 

All lands now held or which may hereafter be held by any agricultural 
society in this State, and permanently used for show grounds by any such 
society, shall be exempt from taxation during the time so used. {Laws of 1856, 
chapter 183.) 

No tax shall hereafter be assessed or imposed on either of said reservations 
(Allegany or Cattaraugus reservations), or on any part thereof, for any pur- 
poses whatever, so long as said reservations remain the property of the Seneca 
nation ; and all acts of the Legislature of this State confficting with the pro- 
visions of this section are hereby repealed. {Laws of 1857, chapter 45, section 4.) 

From and after the passage of this act, the lands of the corporation " The 
Sackett's Harbor and Saratoga Railroad Company," by whatever name the 
said corporation may hereafter be lawfully called, or which it shall hereafter 
acquire on existing contracts or existing pre-emption rights, shall be free and 
exempt from all taxation until the twelfth day of September, one thousand 
eight hundred and seventy-nine : but this section shall not apply to the road 
bed or track, nor to the lands occupied or used for structures necessary to the 
working of its road, nor to any lands after the same shall be sold by said cor- 
poration. {Laics of 1857, chapter 98, section 1.) 

It is also provided by section 5, chapter 546 of 1855, that " toll-houses and 
other fixtures, and all property belonging to any plank or turnpike road com- 
pany, shall be exempt from assessment and taxation for any purpose whatever, 
until the surplus annual receipts of tolls on their respective roads, over neces- 
sary repairs, and a suitable reserve fund for repairs and relaying of plank, shall 
exceed seven per cent per annum on the first cost of such road. In case of any 
disagreement between the assessors of any town, village or city and any such 
company concerning such exemption claimed, said company may appeal to the 



174 Assessment ais^d Collection of Taxus. 

county judge of the county in wliicli sucli assessment is proposed to be made, 
who shall, after due notice to the appealing party of such appeal, examine the 
books and vouchers of such company, and take such further proofs as he shall 
deem proper, and shall decide whether such company is liable to taxation 
under the section, and his decision shall be final." {Session Laws of 1855, p. 
1044.) 

Section 146 of chapter 477, Laws of 1862 (the Military Code), as amended by 
chapter 502, Laws of 1867 {vol 2, p. 1295), exempts $500 of the property of 
certain persons therein named, and $1,000 of others. 

g 146. Every non-commissioned officer, musician or private of the national 
guard of this State, shall be holden to do duty therein for the term of seven years 
from his enlistment, unless disability after enlistment shall incapacitate him 
to perform such duty, or he shall be regularly discharged by the commandant 
of his regiment ; all general and staff officers, all field officers, all commissioned 
and non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates of the organized national 
guard of this State, shall be exempt from jury duty during the time they shall 
perform military duty, and shall be entitled to a deduction in the assessment 
of their real and personal property to the amount of five hundred dollars each, . 
except cavalrymen, artillerymen and mounted officers, who shall be entitled to 
a deduction of one thousand dollars on all classes of taxes. And every person 
who shall have so served seven years, and shall have been honorably dis- 
charged as required by this section, shall forever after, as long as he remains a 
citizen of this State, be exempt from jury duty. No non-commissioned officer, 
musician or private in the national guard shall be discharged from service, 
except for physical disability or expiration of term of service. Discharges for 
physical disaljility shall be given only upon the certificate of the regimental 
surgeon ; and no member of any company shall be discharged from service 
except upon the certificate of the commanding officer of his company, that 
such member has turned over or satisfactorily accounted for all property issued 
to and charged to him. Commanding officers of regiments shall make returns 
through intermediate officers, to the Adj vitant-General, on the first day of Jan- 
uary and July in each year, of all discharges granted by them during the 
previous six months, giving names and grades of the persons so discharged, 
and the causes for which discharged. 

Under the provision for taxing rents reserved, it has been decided (4 Barb.^ 
12), that " The tax is to be assessed in the town where the lands lie. In this 
respect it is like a tax on real estate, and not like that on personal estate, which 
follows the residence of the person whose property is assessed." In that case 
it was held that the valuation of the assessors might be corrected by the affida- 
vit of the person assessed, and, as was also held in 7 Barl>., 251, that all leases 
are included within the act which originally had more than twenty-one years 
to run, notwithstanding the term remaining unexpired at the time the assess- 
ment is made may be less than twenty-one years ; in other words, the rents 
reserved under such a lease continue to be taxable till the expiration of the term. 
It was held, in 8 Barb., 23, that the tenant was not liable to pay to the landlord 
taxes assessed upon such rents under a lease in perpetuity, though the lease 
contained a covenant binding the tenant to pay any taxes assessed upon the 
premises or upon the landlord, his heirs, etc., for and in respect to the premises. 

"§ 1. All debts, owing by inhabitants of this State to persons not residing 
within the United States, for the purchase of any real estate, shall be deemed 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 175 

personal property, within the town or county where the debtor resides, and as 
such shall be liable to taxation in the same manner and to the same extent as 
the personal estate of citizens of this State," {Laws o/1851, chap. 371,^. 721.) 

The debt taxable under this section must be for the purchase of real estate, 
and is to be taxed in the district where the debtor resides, irrespective of the 
fact that the real estate may lie elsewhere. 

In regard to real estate, they are taxable inhabitants who, living in the dis- 
trict, own or possess any land therein ; that is to say, all persons who have the 
general property in the soil, and all persons who occupy it as tenants having 
a temporary right to its possession under a landlord. The latter, although 
only tenants at will, may be assessed for the land in their occupation, as 
appears from section 70, of this title. The distinction is between a tenant, for 
however brief a period, who occupies the land for his own profit and is entitled 
to a notice to quit before he can be divested, and a mere agent or servant, 
managing the land or employed upon it for the profit of another, under wages 
and without any title to the possession of the land or to its products. In 
respect to land within the district occupied by such agents, the employer, 
whether holding the fee or a leasehold estate, and though residing outside of 
the district, is declared by section 71, of this title, to be a taxable inhabitant in 
respect to the liability of such property to taxation, in the same manner as if 
he actually resided within its bounds. 

After completing the enumeration of taxable inhabitants as defined by the 
various provisions above cited, and which may include sundry persons not resid- 
ing in the district, the trustees are to inquire whether there are any lands 
lying within the boundaries of such district which are liable to taxation for 
town or county .purposes, the owners of which are non-residents, and which 
lands are not occupied by a tenant (who would himself be taxable) or improved 
by an agent or servant, whose occupation would render the owner not a non- 
resident, in the sense of the law for the purpose of taxation, although in fact 
residing in some other district. The following directions to the assessors in 
reference to the mode of designating the lands of non-residents, in title 2, chapter 
13, first part of the Revised Statutes (and which are of course to be followed by 
trustees when they find it necessary to make an original assessment) show that 
it is only imoccupied land which is to be so regarded : 

" § 11. The lands of non-residents shall be designated in the same assessment 
roll, but in a part thereof separate from the other assessments, and in the man- 
ner prescribed in the two following sections : 

" § 12. If the land to be assessed be a tract which is so subdivided into lots, 
or be part of a tract which is so subdivided, the assessors shall proceed as 
follows : 

"1. They shall designate it by its name, if known by one, or if it be not 
distinguished by a name, or the name be unknown, they shall state by what 
other lands it is bounded ; 

" 2. If they can obtain correct information of the subdivisions, they shalFput 
down in their assessment rolls, and in a first column, all the unoccupied lots in 
their town or ward, owned by non-residents, by their numbers alone and 
AAdthout the name of their owners, beginning at the lowest number and Dro- 
ceeding in numerical order to the highest ; 



176 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

"3. In the second column, and opposite to tlie number of each lot, they shall 
set down the quantity of land therein liable to taxation ; 

" 4. In a third column, and opposite to the quantity, they shall set down the 
valuation of such quantity ; 

*' 5. If such quantity be a full lot, it shall be designated by the number alone ; 
if it be a part of a lot, the part must be designated by boundaries, or in some 
other way by which it may be known. 

"§13. If the land so to be assessed be a tract which is not subdivided, or if 
its subdivisions cannot be ascertained by the assessors, they shall proceed as 
follows : 

"1. They shall enter in their roll the name or boundaries thereof, as above 
directed, and certify in the roll that such tract is not subdivided, or that they 
cannot obtain correct information of the subdivisions, as the case may be ; 

" 2. They shall set down in the proper column the quantity and valuation as 
above directed ; 

" 3. If the quantity to be assessed be the whole tract, such description by 
its name or boundaries will be sufficient ; but if a part only is liable to taxa- 
tion, that part, or the part not liable, must be particularly described ; 

"4. If any part of such tract be settled and occupied by a resident of the 
town or ward, the assessors shall except such part from their assessment of 
the whole tract, and shall assess it as other occupied lands are assessed." 



The residue of the section relates to the making of a map, which is supposed 
not to be applicable to trustees of school districts ; if a map is already on file, 
the trustees may refer to it in aid of their descriptions. 

Without amending the sections above quoted, the Legislature, by section 1, 
chapter 176 of 1851, declared that " Land occupied by a person other than 
the owner may be assessed to the owner or occupant, or as non-resident land." 
It is not easy to reconcile the apparent conflict ; and, as the statute last men- 
tioned is merely permissive, it -will be safest for trustees to treat as non-resident 
lands only those which are unoccupied, or, at most, so occupied that there is no 
prospect of collecting -the tax other\^dse than by the sale of the land. 

It is the general rule that, if " assessors should assume to assess land lying in 
another town or ward, their act would unquestionably be void for want of 
jurisdiction." (7 Barh., 129.) The same general rule applies to trustees in 
making an original assessment, or in selecting from the town assessment roll 
the lands to be included in a district tax list. To make an assessment legal they 
must have jurisdiction of the particular case. If they transcend the limits of 
their authority, and undertake to assess property exempt by statute, they cease 
to be judges, and are responsible for all the consequences. A public officer is 
not responsible, in a ci^il suit, for a judicial determination in a matter over 
which he had jurisdiction, however erroneous it may be, but no officer can 
acquire jurisdiction by deciding that he has it. (5 Barb., 611 ; and see 19 Barb., 
22.) The statute gives them jurisdiction, as to the land lying outside of the 
territorial limits of their district, only by directing them to apportion the tax 
" according to the valuation of the taxable property which shall be owned or 
possessed by them (taxable inhabitants) at the time of making out such list 
within such a district, or partly within such district and partly within an adjoining 
districts The statute evidently contemplates a single parcel of land, in the 
possession of a single occupant, which is intersected by the boundary line of 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 177 

two districts. If tlie possession is severed, as if the land is owned by tlie same 
person, but the part within the district is occupied by the owner and that 
which lies outside the district by a tenant, or vice versa, or if the respective 
parts are occupied by different tenants of the same owner, or if one of them 
only is occupied by a tenant and the other is vacant and unimproved, then the 
respective parcels are to be taxed, each in the district within whose boundaries 
it is actually contained. So, if one of the parcels is occupied by a person 
as owner, and the other is also occupied by him as tenant of a third person, the 
parts must be taxed in the districts containing them respectively, for 
the trustees of the district containing the portion under lease have the right to 
assess it to the owner, disregarding the occupant. The statute, moreover, 
requires something more than the imaginary contact of the two parcels 
in a mathematical point, as where they have only an angle in common. They 
should be so connected as to have at least a line of contact, and not a mere 
point. Where, however, two parcels in the possession of the same owner are 
separated only by a public highway, the fee of which he owns, subject to 
the right of passage in the public, this is not to be regarded as preventing 
their contact. 

There are serious difficulties growing out of the fact that the statute, under 
the most restricted interpretation that can be put upon it, sometimes permits the 
resources of a district to be weakened by the purchase of a part of its territory 
by the inhabitants of an adjoining district. Though the district boundaries 
are not thereby altered, yet, for the eminently practical object of taxation, the 
result is the same as if they were. 

In respect to property exempt from taxation, it has been decided that a 
minister of the gospel, or priest, to bring himself within the exemption, must 
show that the value of both his real and personal property did not exceed $1,500, 
and it seems that only that sum is to be deducted from the valuation of both, and 
not $1,500 from the valuation of each, if each exceeded that amount. (5 Barb., 
609.) The latter point, however, was not necessarily involved in the deci- 
sion. 

The land owned by a minister of the gospel, if rented, can be taxed to the 
tenant. It is exempt from taxation to a certain extent, only when occupied ly such 
minister. If, however, the occupant is the agent merely of the minister, so as to 
render it necessary to make out the assessment against the latter as owner, the 
property is then exempt. 

Land occupied by a minister of the gospel, as tenant, may be assessed to the 
owner, but not to the minister. The exemption is personal to the minister, and 
does not avail the owner. 

The court of appeals held ( 3 Kernan, 220 ) that the school-houses referred to 
in the statute exempting property from taxation are those used for the public 
common schools, and that buildings erected and used for private unincorporated 
seminaries of learning, or for boarding schools, are not exempt — overruling a 
dictum in 1 Seld., 376. 

Wherever reference is made in the Revised Statutes, and in former Session 
Laws, and in this volume, to the taxation of banking companies and the 
23 



178 Assessment and Collection or Taxes. 

owners and liolders of stock therein, tlie reference must be held subject to 
chapter 761, I-iaws of 1866, wliicli provides for the assessment and taxation of 
the shares of all banks, to the owners thereof, in the place, town or ward, where 
the bank, or banking association, is situated. That portion of section 66 relating- 
to banks and banking associations is a transfer to the school law of the first sec- 
tion of said chapter 761, modified so as to make it applicable to school districts. 

Chapter 761, of 1866, was passed in conformity with the decision of the 
Bupreme court of the United States (3 Wallace's R., 573) that " the act of 
June 3, 1864, "to provide a national currency," etc., rightly construed, subjects 
the shares of the banking associations authorized by it, and in the hands of 
shareholders, to taxation by the States, under certain limitations (set forth in 
its forty-first section) without regard to the fact that a part or the whole of the 
capital of such association is invested in national securities, declared, by the 
statutes authorizing them, to be "exempt from taxation by or under State 
authority." 

The town assessment rolls will contain an assessment of all taxable shares 
of banks, banking associations, and individual bankers, and for such shares the 
trustees will copy the town roll in the same manner and to the same extent as 
for all other taxable property. 



§ 67. The valuatioDS of taxable property shall be ascertained, so 
far as possible, from the last assessment roll of the town, after 
revision by the assessors ; and no person shall be entitled to any 
reduction in the valuation of such property, as so ascertained, 
unless he shall give notice of his claim to such reduction to the 
trustees of the district before the tax list shall be made out.* 

* The trastees have heretofore had to assess the property of raih'oads within the limits of 
their districts according to their own judgment as to its valuation. The frequent disputes 
betweeji trustees and railroad companies, about the relative proportion of valuation to be 
assigned to each district, have led to the passage of the following law. It will be necessary 
for trustees, before including a railroad in their tax lists, to ascertain from town assessors 
if they have made the apportionment required by this law. If they have not, then the trus- 
tees may call upon the supervisor to do it, by virtue of section three. 

" Chapter 694. An act in relation to the valuation of the property of railroad companies 
in school districts, for the purpose of taxation ; passed April 23, 1867. three-fifths being pre- 
sent. Sec. 1. It shall be the duty of the town assessors, within fifteen days after the 
completion of their annual assessment list, to apportion the valuation of the property 
of each and every railroad company as appears on such assessment list among the 
several school districts in their town, in which any portion of said property is situated, 
giving to each of said districts their proper portion, according to the proportion that the 
value of said property in each of such districts bears to the value of the whole thereof in 
said town. § 2. Such apportionment shall be in writing, and shall be signed by said asses- 
sors, or a majority of them, and shall set forth the number of each district and the amount 
of the valuation of the property of each railroad company, apportioned to each of said dis- 
tricts; and such apportionment shall be filed with the town clerk, by said assessors or one 
of them, within five days after being made ; and the amount so apportioned to each district 
shall be the valuation of the property of each of said companies, on which all taxes against 
paid companies in and for said districts shall be levied and assessed, until the next annual 
assessment and apportionment. § 3. In case the assessors shall neglect to make such 
apportionment, it shall be the duty of the supervisor of the town, on the application of the 
trustees or board of education of any district, or of any railroad company, to make such 
apportionment, in the same manner and with the like effect as if made by said assessors. 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 179 

Tlie first duty of trustees is to determine who are tlie taxable inhabitants of 
the district. In doing this they may find some persons not named in the town 
assessment roll. Some of them may be taxable, as the possessors of property 
w4iich has been valued in that roll, and which belonged to other persons at the 
time it was made out. In the valuation of such property, the trustees are to be 
governed by the assessment roll. They are not to reduce it, unless the new 
owner shall give notice of his claim to such reduction hefore the tax list shall 
be made out, and they are not to reduce it without giving the notice provided 
by the next section. To reduce the valuation of one is precisely equivalent to 
raising that of every other taxable inhabitant, for it increases his quota of the 
tax. He cannot be subjected to such increase of taxatioj^, beyond what hia 
share would be according to the last town assessment roll, without being put 
upon his guard by the posting of a notice. (1 Denio, 214.) 

Other persons may be found to be taxable on account of their posses- 
sion of property, real or personal, for which no person was assessed on 
the town assessment roll. Such property may be real estate casually over- 
looked by the assessors, or purposely omitted because it was then exempt by 
being occupied by a minister of the gospel, or for any other reason ; or it may 
consist in accessions to real estate, to put an uncommon case : land formed by 
the gradual washing up of sand on the shore of the sea or of our great lakes, 
which belongs to the owner of the adjacent bank, or an island formed in the 
bed of a river not navigable, which is to be divided according to the original 
thread of the river between the proprietors on the opposite banks, or to him on 
whose side of the original thread it lies (17 Pick., 41), or in improvements, such 
as the building of a house or barn, not completed when the town assessment 
was made. Or the property may be personal, arising from the sale of real estate 
within the district, or the acquisition of personal estate by devise or otherwise 
to an inhabitant of the district, such property not being in the district, but fol- 
lowing the person of its owner for the purpose of taxation. In all these cases 
an original valuation by the trustees is to be made, and a notice is necessary- 
Additions to the last assessment roll, in consequence of buildings subsequently 
erected, should not be made by the trustees until they are so far completed 
that their value is not contingent and uncertain. {Oom. School Dec, 194.) 

Trustees cannot assess an mdividual for personal property, if he has been 
taxed for none on the last assessment roll of the town, on the mere supposition 
that he may have more than his debts amount to. The assessment roll of the 
town settles the matter, and the trustees cannot vary the amount but from 
some hioivledge of an alteration after that roll was made out, or to correct some 
known and acknowledged error. 

But if the trustees have actual knowledge that any person residing in the 
district has personal property liable to taxation, not assessed upon the town 

§ 4. The town clerk shall, whenever requested, furnish to the trustees or board of education 
of each district, a certified statement of the amounts apportioned to such district, and the 
name of the company to which the same relates. § 5. In case any alteration shall be made 
in any school district, affecting the property of any railroad company, the officer makin,^ 
such alteration shall, at the same time, determine what change in the valuation of the said 
property in such district would be just, on account of the alteration of district, and the 
valuation shall be accordingly changed." 



180 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

roll, their duty is to include it in the tax list, giving notice to the person 
so assessed, so that he may obtain a reduction if the assessment be too 
much. 

The principle on which our laws rest in the taxation of personal property is 
that a man must be taxed only for what he is actually worth. Hence, he 
is permitted to set off his debts against his personal property in possession, 
and is taxable for the excess. 

If a man be the owner of $15,000 in bonds and mortgages, arid $15,000 in 
United States bonds, and at the same time is indebted in the sum of $15,000, he 
cannot be allowed to set off his indebtedness against his bonds and mortgages, 
and so claim that h^ has no taxable personal property. The only legal mode 
of ascertaining his liability is to deduct his whole indebtedness from the total 
of his personal property — his $15,000 from $30,000 — leaving him liable to 
assessment for $15,000. 

The vendor of a farm remaining in possession is liable for taxes assessed on it. 

If a taxable inhabitant sells his farm and remains in the district, he is liable 
to be taxed on the amount of the purchase-money paid, or secured to be paid, 
as personal property (unless he shows that, notwithstanding the increase of his 
personal property, its value is still exceeded by his debts), and the purchaser is 
taxable for the farm according to its assessed value on the last assessment roll 
of the town. 

Where land, owned by the same person, is situated in different districts in 
the same town, but all included under one assessment by the town assessors, if 
all the land is of the same description, and was actually valued at the same rate 
per acre, without any variation on account of improvements or otherwise, or if 
it appears on the roll at what rates the separate parts were valued, then the 
valuation of the portion situate in any particular district may be ascertained 
by the trustees from such last assessment roll. But if the valuation by the 
town assessor was general, and if the land was of different degrees of quality 
or value, or if a dwelling-house or other improvements are situated in one dis- 
trict and none in another, a new and original assessment must in such case be 
made, by the trustees giving the notices, etc., and proceeding in the mode 
required by law. 

Where a person, assessed for a greater number of acres than his farm con- 
tains, omits to claim a reduction when the tax is assessed by the trustees, he 
will not be relieved subsequently on ax)peal. {Com. School Dec, 341.) 



§ 68. Where such reduction shall be duly claimed, and where 
the valuation of taxable property cannot be ascertained from the 
last assessment roll of the town, the trustees shall ascertain the true 
value of the property to be taxed from the best evidence in their 
power, giving notice to the persons interested, and proceeding in 
the same manner as the town assessors are required by law to pro- 
ceed in the valuation of taxable property. 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 181 

The trustees, proceeding in tlie same manner as town assessors, should first 
ascertain the true value of the property to be taxed, according to their judg- 
ment. The rule prescribed by the Revised Statutes, as amended by section 3, 
chapter 176 of 1851, is : 

"All real and personal estate liable to taxation shall be estimated and 
assessed by the assessors at its full and true value, as they would appraise the 
same in payment of a just debt due from a solvent debtor." {Session Laws of 1851, 
p. 333.) 

After having completed a tax list, by taking the valuations from the town 
assessment roll, where it furnishes them, and having added thereto such 
original assessments as in their judgment are required, the statute directs that 
the assessors (and consequently, by the above sections, the trustees) "shall 
make out one fair copy thereof, to be left with one of their nimiber. They 
shall also forthwith cause notices thereof to be put up at three or more public 
places in the district." When the trustees copy the town assessment roll, and 
make no alteration in it, the public notice required of town assessors need not 
be given by them. 

" Such notices shall set forth that the assessors have completed their assess- 
ment roll, and that a copy thereof is left with one of their number, at a place 
to be specified therein, where the same may be seen and examined by any per- 
son interested, until the third Tuesday of August ; and that on that day the 
assessors will meet, at a time and place also to be specified in such notice, to 
review their assessments. On the application of any person conceiving himself 
aggrieved, it shall be the duty of the said assessors on such day to meet, at the 
time and place specified, and hear and examine all complaints in relation to 
such assessments that may be brought before them ; and they are hereby 
empowered and it shall be their duty to adjourn from time to time, as may be 
necessary, to hear and determine such complaints." {Session Laws of 1851, p. 
333.) 

The notice to be given by trustees necessarily varies somewhat from that of 
assessors, and may be in the following form : 

Notice is hereby given, that the trustees of school district No. , in the 

town of , have completed their tax list to raise the sum of $10 for repairs 

of school-house, $8 to furnish the same with the necessary fuel (enumerating 
the several taxes included in the list), and that a copy thereof is left with the 
undersigned, A. B., at his office (mill, dwelling-house, or as the case may be), 
where the same may be seen and examined by any person interested, during 
twenty days from the date of this notice ; and that said trustees will meet at 
the house of , in said district, on the day of next, 

(specifying a day subsequent at least twenty-one days to the posting) at 
o'clock, in the noon, to review the said tax list, on the application of 

any person conceiving himself aggrieved. 
Dated this day of , 18 . 

A. B.,) 

C. D., } Trustees of District No. • 

E. F.,) 



182 Assessment axd Collectiox of Taxes. 

" § 5. If tlie assessors sliall willfully neglect to hold the meeting specified in 
the last preceding section, each assessor so neglecting shall be liable to a pen- 
alty of twenty dollars, to be sued for and recovered before any court having 
jurisdiction thereof by the supervisor of the town, for the use of the poor of the 
same town ; and in case of such neglect to meet for review, any person 
aggrieved by the assessment of the assessors may appeal to the board of super- 
visors at their next annual meeting, who shall have power to review and correct 
such assessment." {Session Laics of 1851, p. 333.) 

Query, whether the provision for an appeal to the board of supervisors is 
applicable to a school district tax. Even if it is there is no provision for sus- 
pending the proceeding, for collection upon such an appeal. 

The trustee with whom the tax list is left is required by law to " submit the 
same, during the twenty days specified in such notice, to the inspection of all 
persons who shall apply for that purpose." 

The provisions of the Revised Statutes, in regard to the proceedings to be 
had where application is made for a reduction of the valuation, have been 
materially varied by the follomng sections of chapter 176 of 1851 : 

" § 6. ^Vllenever any person, on his own behalf or on behalf of those whom 
he may represent, shall apply to the assessors of any town or ward to reduce 
the value of his real and personal estate, as set down in their assessment roll, 
it shall be the duty of such assessors to examine such person under oath touch- 
ing the value of liis or their said real or personal estate, and after such exami- 
nation they shall fix the value thereof at such amount as they may deem just ; 
but if such person shall refuse to answer any question to the value of his real 
or personal estate, or the amount thereof, the said assessors shall not reduce 
the value of such real or personal estate. The examination so taken shall be 
written, and shall be subscribed by the person examined, and shall be filed in 
the office of the town clerk of the town or city in which such assessment shall 
be made ; and any person who shall willfully swear falsely, on such examination 
before the assessors, shall be deemed guilty of willful and corrupt perjury. 

" § 7. The assessors of the several towns and wards of this State shall have 
power to administer oaths to any person apphijig to them, under the pro- 
visions of the sixth section of this act." 

• Formerly, upon the making of an affidavi.t, by a person asking a reduction, 
that the value of his personal estate did not exceed a given sum, the assessors 
and trustees were bound to reduce his assessment to the amount fixed by him. 
Under the preceding sections they are required, instead of taking a mere afiEi- 
davit, to examine him orally, under oath to make true answers to such ques- 
tions as shall be put to him touching the value of his real or personal estate. 
They are at liberty to put any question, the answer to which may assist them 
in arriving at a correct conclusion on the subject, and are not at liberty to 
reduce his valuation, if he refuses to answer. Km affidavit without the exami- 
nation, or without the examination being reduced to writing, is of no avail as 
evidence to reduce the valuation. (12 Hoio. Pruc. R., 237.) After the examina- 
tion, the assessors are to fix the valuation, and are not limited to that fixed by 
the person examined. 

The provision of section 6, chapter 176 of 1851, above cited, relates as well 
to those persons who apply for a reduction of assessments against them in a 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 183 

representative character, as executors, etc., as to those who ask it in their own 
behalf. They are entitled to a deduction for debts due from t'hem in their repre- 
sentative character, and are to be examined as to the vakiation of the property 
under their control, as such representatives, in the same manner as if it 
belonged to them in their private capacity. 

§ 69. Where a district embraces parts of more than one town, 
the supervisors of the towns "so in part embraced, upon application 
^of the trustees of such district, or of those joersons liable to pay 
taxes upon real property therein, shall proceed to inquire and 
determine whether the valuation of real property upon the several 
assessment rolls of said towns are substantially just, as compared 
with each other, so far as said district is concerned, and, if deter- 
mined not to be so, they shall determine the relative proportion of 
taxes that ought to be assessed upon the real j)roperty of the parts 
of such district lying in different towns, and the trustees of such 
district shall thereupon assess the proportions of any tax there- 
after to be raised, according to the determination of said super- 
visors, until new assessment rolls of the town shall be perfected 
and filed, upon like application, using the assessment rolls of the 
several towns to distribute the said proportion among the persons 
liable to be assessed for the same. In cases where two supervisors 
shall be unable to agree, they shall summon a supervisor from 
some adjoining town, who shall unite in such inquiry and 
determination. 

The supervisors of the towns, parts of which are mcluded in any district 
composed of parts of two or more towns, may act under this section, upon the 
written application of its trustees or taxable inhabitants. The power would 
be practically nugatory, if its exercise depended upon the application of a 
majority of the inhabitants. In determining the proportion of taxes to be levied 
upon the respective parts of such district, the simplest form will be to state 
how many cents in the dollar, of each tax, shall be levied upon the real prop- 
erty of one part, and how many upon the other. A record of this determination 
should be made in duplicate or triplicate, according to the number of towns • 
each should be signed by the supervisors, and one copy filed in the clerk's office 
of each town. It may be in the following form, and should have annexed to it 
the original application upon which it was made, evidence of which is necessary 
to uphold the order. (21 Barb., 210.) 



184 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

In the matter of the equalization of assessments for school purposes, in 
District No. , of the towns of , in county, and 

in county. 

Application having been made to the supervisors of the towns of 
and , by persons liable to pay taxes in school district No, of said 

towns ( or by the trustees), to inquire whether the valuations of real property 
upon the several assessment rolls of said towns are substantially just, as com- 
pared with each other, so far as such district is concerned, and the said 
supervisors being unable to agree, having summoned J. D., Esq., supervisor of 
the adjoining town of , to unite in such inquiry, and a meeting of said 

supervisors having been held for that purpose, at which were present A. B. and 
C. D. (and E. F., having been duly notified, failed to attend), and it having been 
determined that such valuations are not substantially just, as compared with 
each other, it was then and is hereby determined that the relative proportion 
of taxes that ought to be assessed upon the real property of parts of such 
districts lying in different towns is as follows, viz, : Thirty-one cents in each 
dollar to be assessed upon the real property of said district should be assessed 
upon the part lying in the town of , and sixty-nine cents in the 

dollar upon the part lying in the town of 

Dated this day of , 18 . 

A. B., Supervisor of 
C. D,, Supervisor of 

This determination does not affect the assessment of personal property. The 
trustees must, therefore, proceed as follows : Taking the aggregate of the 
valuations of real and personal estate in the district, as ascertained from 
the town assessment rolls (after making any additions of personal property 
found proper by the trustees), they are to determine how much of the tax is to 
be assessed upon the personal and how much upon the real estate. It may 
thus, for example, be found that of a tax of $400, $73 will be chargeable on 
the personal estate. The residue, $327, is then to be assessed, thirty-one per 
cent of it, or $101.37, on the real property in one town, and sixty-nine per cent, 
or $225.63, on that in the other, using the assessment roll of each town to 
determine the proportion which each person resident therein is to be assessed 
for real or personal property. 

§ 70. Any person working land under a contract for a share of 
the produce of such land, shall be deemed the possessor, so far as 
to render him liable to taxation therefor in the district where such 
land is situate. 

The meaning of this section is believed to be, that a tenant, working land and 
paying a share of the produce as rent, is taxable, and not that a servant or 
agent is taxable who agrees to take a share of the produce as his wages for 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 185 

working the land. It may sometimes be a little difficult to ascertain whether 
the relation is that of landlord and tenant, or that of master and servant. (15 
Barh., 597.) It being the policy of the law (as will be apparent from section 
73 of this title) that a landlord leasing for a short term should pay the school 
taxes for permanent objects, unless there is an express agreement to the con- 
trary, it will be safest in cases of doubt to avoid the question by assessing the 
owner. 

§ 71. Every person owning or holding any real property within 
any school district, who shall improve and occupy the same by his 
agent or servant, shall, in respect to the liability of such property 
to taxation, be considered a taxable inhabitant of such district, in 
the same manner as if he actually resided therein. 

It is not necessary that the agent or servant should reside on the land in 
order to render the owner a taxable inhabitant. The section was intended to 
prevent the necessity of resorting to a sale of the land, and to authorize the 
collector to levy, under his warrant, upon the personal property of an owner of 
land not residing in the district, but managing the land himself, or by agents 
or workmen, instead of renting it. If the land be occupied by tenants or sub- 
tenants, they and not the non-resident owner are to be taxed for the parts occu- 
pied by them respectively. They are for the time being owners (8 Wend., 518), 
and, although theij, too, should not reside on the land, are made taxable inhabit- 
ants, if they improve it. It is very plain that where land which comes witliin 
the description of the preceding section is situated partly in one district, and 
partly in an adjoining one, the owner, although a resident of neither, is a taxa- 
ble inhalitant of both, in respect to the liability of the several parcels to taxation 
in the district in which each is actually contained. Each district must tax 
such owner only for the part actually within its boundaries. It is difficult to 
see why it should be otherwise, if he happens to be a resident of either dis- 
trict, inasmuch as section 66 of tliis title makes his liability to taxation depend, 
not upon residence, but upon his being a "taxable inhabitant "^within the 
definition of the statute. 

§ 72. Where any district tax, for the purpose of purchasing a 
site for a school-house, or for purchasing or building, keeping in 
repair, or furnishing such school-house with necessary fuel and 
appendages, shall be lawfully assessed, and paid by any person on 
account of any real property whereof he is only tenant at will, oi 
for three years, or for a less period of time, such tenant may 
charge the owner of such real estate with the amount of the tax 
so paid by him, unless some agreement to the contrary shall have 
been made by such tenant. 



186 Assessment axd Collection of Taxes. 

Tlie tenant can charge liis landlord only with such taxes as he may have 
paid for the specific purposes mentioned. If taxed for teachers' -wages, for the 
hire of temporary school-house or rooms, for the purchase of maps, globes, 
school apparatus, books for library, for district minutes, and for teacher's regis- 
ter of attendance, or any other object than those enumerated in the preced- 
ing section, he cannot set it off against his rent or make the landlord repay 
him. 

§ 73. Ever J taxable inhabitant of a district who shall have 
been, within four years, set off from any other district without his 
consent, and shall, within that period, have actually paid in such 
other district, under a lawful assessment therein, a district tax for 
building a school-house, shall be exempted by the trustees of the 
district where he shall reside from the payment of any tax for 
building a school-house therein. 

This exemption relates only to a tax for building a school-house, and does 
not extend to one for repairs, fuel or any other current expense. A voluntary 
contribution for building a house in another district is not ground for an 
exemption, nor is the fact that a person has been taxed, if he has not actually 
paid the tax by the sale of his property or otherwise ; nor is he exempt if he 
has been set off upon his own petition or consent. 

§ 74. When any real estate within a district, so liable to taxa- 
tion, shall not be occupied and imj^roved by the owner, his servant 
or agent, and shall not be possessed by any tenant, the trustees of 
any district, at the time of making out any tax list by which any 
tax shall be imposed thereon, shall make and insert in such tax list 
-a statement and description of every such lot, piece or parcel of 
land so owned by non-residents therein, in the same manner as 
required by law from town assessors in making out the assessment 
roll of their towns ; and if any such lot is known to belong to an 
incorporated company liable to taxation in such district, the name 
of such company shall be specified, and the value of such lot or 
piece of land shall be set down opposite to such description, which 
value shall be the same that was affixed to such lot or piece of 
land in the last assessment roll of the town ; and if the same was 
not separately valued in such roll, then it shall be valued in 
proportion to the valuation which was affixed in the said assess- 
ment roll to the whole tract of which such lot or piece shall be 
part. 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 187 

The directions of the statute for the description of non-resident lands have 
been given at page 175. The preceding section requires, in addition, that the 
name of each incorporated company known to be the owner of unoccupied land 
shall be specified. The non-resident lands are to be described in a part of the 
tax list separate from the other assessments, and the greatest care is requisite to 
secure a minute compliance with the demands of the law. The description 
must be such that the State Comptroller can perceive that it will enable a pur- 
chaser at the tax sale to locate the land with certainty, and also enable the 
non-resident oxsmer to know, from such description alone, that it is Ms land 
which has been sold, so that he may redeem it. 

It is only real estate loitMn the district that is to be described as non-resident 
property ; and if it be part of a tract extending into other districts, the descrip- 
tion in the town assessment roll may not show how much is in one district and 
how much in another. The trustees must supply this defect, in making out 
their tax list, by giving an accurate description of the boundary line of their 
district which intersects any unoccupied lot or subdivision of a tract. The 
description of each parcel separately taxed must be such that if that descrip- 
tion, copied literally from the tax list, were inserted in a deed by the Comptrol- 
ler, without adding any other words, it would suffice to identify the lot and 
determine its boundaries. 

§ 75. If any tax on the real estate of a non-resident, mentioned 
in the tax list delivered to the collector, or the taxes upon rents 
reserved in any leases in fee, or for one or more lives, or for a 
term of years exceeding twenty-one years, or the taxes upon non- 
resident stockholders in banking associations organized under the 
laws of Congress, shall be unpaid at the time he is required by law 
to return his warrant, he shall deliver to the trustees of such dis- 
trict an account of the taxes so remaining due, containing a descrip- 
tion of the lots and pieces of land upon which such taxes were 
imposed, as the same were stated in his tax list, together with the 
amount of the tax assessed on each, and, upon making oath before 
any justice of the peace, or judge of any court of record, that the 
taxes mentioned in any such account remain unpaid, and that after 
diligent efforts he has been unable to collect the same, he shall be 
credited by said trustees with the amount thereof 

The description in the collector's return must be the same as that in the tax 
list. The account should be in substantially the following form : 



183 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 



Account of unpaid taxes assessed upon the lands of non-residents in School 
District No. , in the town of , county of , in a 

tax list made out by the trustees of said district, for and delivered 

to the collector on the day of ,18 



NAMES OF TAXABLE INHABITANTS AND CORPOKA- 
TIONS. 



CO 



o 

':3 « 



CS O kT 

og§3 

COJP 



am 



James Thomas, 

James Thomas, executor of estate of John Thomas, 

deceased, 

Clark Cotton Manufacturing Company, 

John Davison, ^ 



80 acres. 



$400 



5 acres. 
}i acres. 



1,250 
625 



$1,025 
25,000 



17 45 

446 91 

10 64 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 189 

County, ) 
Town of , \ ^^ 

John Doe, being duly sworn, deposes and says, that he is collector of taxes 
in and for school district No. , of the town of , aforesaid ; that 

the foregoing is a true account of the taxes remaining due upon the real estate 
of non-residents in said district ; that the taxes mentioned in such account 
remain unpaid, and that after diligent efforts he has been unable to collect the 



JOHN DOE. 

Sworn and subscribed before me, ) 
this day of ,18 .) 

E. F., Justice of the Peace. 

§ 76. Upon receiving any such account from the collector, the 
trustees shall compare it with the original tax list, and, if they find 
it to be a true transcript, they shall and to such account their cer- 
tificate, to the effect that they have compared it with the original 
tax list and found it to be correct, aud shall immediately transmit 
the account, affidavit, and certificate, to the treasurer of the county. 

The certificate of the trustees should be attached to the affidavit of the col 
lector, upon the original account. It may be as follows : 

" The undersigned, trustees of school district No. , in the town of , 

county of , hereby certify that the preceding is an account of unpaid taxes 

assessed on the real estate of non-residents in said district, delivered to the 
trustees thereof by John Doe, collector of taxes therein, and that we have 
examined and compared the same with the original tax list for 

and found it to be correct. Dated tliis day of , 18 ." 

This should be signed by a majority, at least, of the trustees. The purpose 
for which the tax list was made out ought to be stated, so that it may appear 
to have been for objects for which taxes may be legally imposed by a district 
meeting or by the trustees. 

§ 77. Out of any moneys in the county treasury, raised for con- 
tingent expenses, the treasurer shall pay to the trustees the 
amount of the taxes so returned as unpaid. 

It is imperative upon the county treasurer to pay at once the amount of taxes 
of non-residents returned unpaid, if there be any money raised for contingent 
expenses in the treasury and the certificate of the trustees is regular upon its 
face. It there be no such money in the county treasury, it is stijl his duty to 
lay the accoimt before the board of supervisors, as prescribed in the next sec- 
tion, that they may raise it. The remedy of the trustees, in case of a refusal 
of the county treasurer to pay, is by application to the supreme court for a writ 
of mandamus. 



190 Assessment and Collection op Taxes. 

§ 78. Such account, affidavit and certificate sliall be laid by the 
county treasurer before the board of supervisors of the county, 
who shall cause the amount of such unpaid taxes, with seven per 
cent of the amount in addition thereto, to be levied upon the lands 
of non-residents on which the same were imposed ; and if imposed 
upon the lands of any incorporated company, then upon such com- 
pany ; and if imposed upon rents reserved, in any leases in fee, or 
for one or more lives, or for a term of years exceeding twenty-one 
years, then upon such reserved rents, in the same manner that the 
contingent charges of the county are directed to be levied and 
collected ; and when collected the same shall be returned to the 
county treasurer to reimburse the amount so advanced, with 
the expense of collection ; and if imposed upon the stock of a non- 
resident stockholder in a banking association organized under the 
laws of Congress, then the same, with seven per cent of the amount 
in addition thereto, shall be a lien upon any dividends thereafter 
declared upon such stock, and upon notice by the board of super- 
visors to the president and directors of such bank of such charge 
upon such stock, the president and directors shall thereafter with- 
hold the amount so stated from any future dividends upon such 
stock, and shall pay the same to the collector of the town duly 
authorized to receive the same. 

This section seems to contemplate that the supervisors shall impose any tax 
returned, with the addition of seven per cent, upon the verj same lands, rents 
reserved, and leases on which they were charged by the triistees, and therefore 
not to contemplate any correction of the description by them. This is a reason 
for great care on the part of the trustees in preparing the original description 
in the tax list. 

§ 79. Any person whose lands are included in any such account 
may pay the tax assessed thereon to the county treasurer, at any 
time before the board of supervisors shall have directed the same 
to be levied. 

§ 80. The same proceedings in all respects shall be had for the 
collection of the amount so directed to be raised by the board of 
supervisors as are provided by law in relation to county taxes; 
and, upon a similar account, as in the case of county taxes of the 
arrears thereof uncollected, being transmitted by the county 
treasurer to the Comptroller, the same shall be paid on his war- 
rant to the treasurer of the county advancing the same ; and the 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 191 

amount so assumed by the State shall be collected for its benefit, 
in the manner prescribed by law in respect to the arrears of county 
taxes upon land of non-residents ; or if any part of the amount so 
assumed consisted of a tax upon any incorporated company, the 
same proceedings may also be had for the collection thereof as 
j)rovided by law in respect to the county taxes assessed upon such 
company. 

§ 81. The warrant for the collection of a district tax shall be 
under the hands of the trustees, or a majority of them, with or 
Avithout their seals ; and it shall have the like force and effect as a 
warrant issued by a board of supervisors to a collector of taxes in 
the town ; and the collector to whom it may be delivered for col- 
lection shall be thereby authorized and required to collect, from 
every person in such tax list named, the sum set opposite to his 
name, or the amount due from any person or persons specified 
therein, in the same manner that collectors are authorized to col- 
lect town and county charges. 

The trustees ought to take a written receipt from the collector for the tax 
list and warrants, specifying the return day and the amount to he collected, 
that they may be prepared with the proper evidence, in case it should be neces- 
sary to bring an action against him. 

The representatives of a deceased person are not entitled to any delay in the 
payment of a tax, but are bound to pay on demand ; and on refusal or neglect, 
the collector may proceed to sell any property found on the premises. By sec- 
tion 27, subdivision 2, 2 Revised Statutes, 28, taxes of all kinds have preference 
to any other demand. 

No property is exempt from levy and sale under a tax list and warrant, 
except the military equipments specified on page 102. 

The collector may levy upon any goods and chattels lawfully in the possession 
of the person liable to pay the tax, that is to say, the person named in the tax 
list, although such person be not the owner of such goods and chattels. (13 Wend., 
629.) The individual property of an executor, administrator or trustee may be 
taken for a tax imposed on him in his representative character, when no prop- 
erty of the testator, intestate or cestui que trust can be found. (4 Wend., 223.) 
But the warrant does not protect the collector, if he levies upon property in 
the possession of persons not named in the roll, or whose names, it is apparent 
from the roll itself, the assessors ought not to have set down ; for example, 
persons whose lands are described in the part of the tax list containing the list 
of lands taxed as non-resident. (16 Bart., 651.) 

The manner in which town collectors are authorized to collect town and 
county charges is pointed out by the following sections of title 3, chapter 13, 
part 1st of the Revised Statutes : 



192 Assessment axd Collection of Taxes. 

"§ 1. Every collector, upon receiving tlie tax list and warrant, shall proceed 
to collect the taxes therein mentioned, and for that purpose shall call at least 
once on the person taxed, or at the place of his usual residence, if in the town 
or ward for which said collector has been chosen, and shall demand payment 
of the taxes charged to him on his property. 

" § 2. In case any person shall refuse or neglect to pay the tax imposed on 
him, the collector shall levy the same by distress and sale of the goods and 
chattels of the person who ought to pay the same, or of any goods and chattels 
in his possession, wheresoever the same may be found within the district of the 
collector ; and no claim of property to be made thereto by any other person 
shall be available to prevent a sale. 

" § 3. The collector shall give public notice of the time and place of sale, and of 
the property to be sold, at least six days previous to the sale, by advertisements 
to be posted up in at least three public places in the town where such sale shall 
be made. The sale shall be by public auction. 

" 4. If the property distrained shall be sold for more than the amount of the 
tax, the surplus shall be returned to the person in whose possession such prop- 
erty was when the distress was made, if no claim be made to such surplus by 
any other person. If any other person shall claim such surplus, on the ground 
that the property sold belonged to him, and such claim be admitted by the 
person for whose tax the same was distrained, the surplus shall be paid to such 
owner ; but if such claim be contested by the person for whose tax the prop- 
erty was distrained, the surplus money shall be paid over by the collector to 
the supervisor of the town, who shall retain the same until the rights of the 
parties shall be determined by due course of law." 

It is provided by the Revised Statutes {volume 2, 1st ediiioriy page 522) that 
" no replevin shall lie for any property, taken by virtue of any warrant for 
the collection of any tax, assessment or fine, in pursuance of any statute of this 
State." 

A collector, like other ministerial officers bound to execute process, is pro- 
tected, if the process is regular on its face, and comes from a court or body 
having jurisdiction of the subject-matter, if nothing appears in such process to 
apprise him that there was a defect of jurisdiction as to the particular person 
or property to be affected by such process. That warrant and tax list consti- 
tute a process in the nature of an execution, and must be construed together 
(3 Seld., 517), so that if a defect of jurisdiction appear on either, the collector 
is not protected. But he is not bound to inquire whether the trustees have not 
erred in the exercise of their jurisdiction. Thus he was held to be protected, 
in 7 Wend., 91, where the trustees had taken the valuations from the assess- 
ment roll, which was incomplete and subsequently varied, though the trv.stees 
were held liable as trespassers. But the collector was held liable, in 16 Wend.., 
607, where the warrant was irregular on its face, in commanding him to pro 
ceed, " as on execution issued by justices of the peace," and in 18 Barb., 327, 
where it commanded him to collect five per cent on all sums mentioned in the 
tax list, without excepting those which should be voluntarily paid him in two 
weeks. 

The rule for the protection of ministerial officers acting under process, 
regular and legal on its face, is held to prevail, even though he has knoicJedgs 
of facts rendering it void for want of jurisdiction. (5 Hill, 440.) " He must be 
governed and is protected," say the court, " by the process, and cannot be 
affected by any thing which he has heard or learned out of it." 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 193 

§ 82. A warrant for the collection of a tax voted by the district 
shall not be delivered to the collector until the thirty-first day 
after the tax was voted. A warrant for the collection of any tax 
not so voted may be delivered to the collector whenever the same 
is completed. 

The collector is not bound to give notice of tlie time when the tax list and 
warrant are put in his possession. 

A distinction is here made between a tax voted by the district and one levied 
by authority of law without such vote. 

A tax list made out for the collection of any money to defray the expenses 
incurred by the trustees, under sections fifty and fifty-one of this title, may 
have the warrant attached and be delivered to the collector " whenever the 
same is completed," which means just as soon as the trustees can make the 
assessment. No tax list can be considered as complete until it has passed 
from the hands of the trustees; and is no longer open to their alteration and 
revision. The writing out of the tax list and warrant is purely clerical. The 
completion of the tax list must be found in the last ofl&cial act of the trustees, 
its delivery to the collector. 

A tax list for the collection of a tax voted by the district cannot be com- 
pleted until the thirty-first day after the tax was voted ; but a tax list for the 
collection of a tax not so voted may be completed whenever the trustees 
deliver it to the collector. 

§ 83. Within such time, not less than ten days, as the trustees 
shall allow him for the purpose, the collector, before receiving the 
first warrant for the collection of money, shall execute a bond to 
the trustees, with one or more sureties, to be approved by one or 
more of the trustees, in such amount as the district meeting shall 
have fixed ; or, if such meeting shall not have fixed the amount, 
then in such amount as the trustees shall deem reasonable, condi- 
tioned for the due and faithful execution of the duties of his office. 

The amount of bail to be given by the collector should be fixed at the annual 
meeting, when the officers of the district are chosen. It may be fixed at any 
duly assembled meeting. 

The trustees should notify the collector of the time when a tax list and war- 
rant will be in readiness for delivery to him, and the statute gives him ten 
days to look up his sureties. This notice should be served not more than 
twenty days after a tax is voted, in order that no time may be lost in the 
collection. 

The following is a form of a collector's bond : 

Know all men by these presents, that we, A. B., C. D. and R. S. (the collector 
and his sureties), are held and firmly bound to E. F., G. H. and L. M., trustees 
25 



194 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

of scliool district No. , in tlie town of , county of , in tlie 

sum of (here insert the amount of bail fixed by the district meeting or by the 
trustees), to be paid to the said E. F., G. H. and L. M., trustees as aforesaid, or 
to the survivor or survivors of them, or their successors ; to which payment, 
well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and admin- 
istrators, firmly by these presents. Sealed with our seals, and dated this 
day of , 18 . 

Whereas, the above bounden A. B. has been chosen (or appointed) collector 
of the above mentioned school district No. , in the town of , in con- 

formity to the statutes relating to common schools ; now, therefore, the condi- 
tion of this obligation is such, that if the said A. B. shall well and truly 
collect and properly account for all moneys received by him as such collector, 
and shall, in all respects, duly and faithfully execute all the duties of his ofl&ce 
as collector of such district, then this obligation shall be void, otherwise to be 
in full force and effect. 

A. B. [L. s.] 
CD. [L. s.] 
R. S. [L. s.] 
Signed, sealed and delivered ) 
in the presence of ) 

■ United States internal revenue stamps, to the value of one dollar, must be 
properly affixed to the collector's bond, and be canceled by the persons signing 
the same. 

§ 84. The collector, for two weeks after receiving a warrant for 
the collection of taxes, shall receive such taxes as may be volun- 
tarily paid to him ; and in case the whole amount shall not be so 
paid in, the collector shall proceed forthwith to collect the same. 
He shall receive for his services, on all sums paid in as afol-esaid, 
one per cent, and upon all sums collected by him after the expira- 
tion of the time mentioned, five per cent ; and in case a levy and 
sale shall be necessarily made by such collector, he shall be enti- 
tled to traveling fees at the rate of ten cents per mile, to be com- 
puted from the school-house in such district. 

The trustees are not authorized to receive or hold any money collected on a 
district tax. Payment to them would not be payment of the tax, and the col- 
lector cannot so regard it. He must collect and hold the moneys, and pay 
them out only on the written order of the trustees. 

The collector must hold Ms tax list and warrant for two weeks to receive 
voluntary payments ; but he cannot demand payment within that time, nor 
proceed to levy upon property. 

After two weeks he must collect, and may demand five per cent on the sums 
collected. But he is not entitled to any percentage on sums remaining uncol. 
Iftcted. 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 195 

§ 85. Any collector to whom any tax list and Avarrant may be 
delivered for collection may execute the same in any other district 
or town in the same county, or in any other county where the 
district is a joint district and composed of territory from adjoining 
counties, in the same manner and with the like authority as in the 
district in which the trustees issuing the said warrant may reside, 
and for the benefit of which said tax is intended to be collected ; 
and the bail or sureties of any collector, given for the faithful per- 
formance of his official duties, are hereby declared and made liable 
for any moneys received or collected on any such tax list and 
warrant. 

When a collector levies upon property out of his district, he should put up 
notices of the sale of such property, as well in the district where the sale is to 
take place, as in that of his residence. 

§ 86. If the sum or sums of money, payable by any person 
named in such tax list, shall not be paid by him or collected by 
such warrant within the time therein limited, it shall and may be 
lawful for the trustees to renew such warrant in respect to such 
delinquent person ; or, in case such person shall not reside within 
their district at the time of making out a tax list, or shall not 
reside therein at the expiration of such warrant, and no goods or 
chattels can be found therein whereon to levy the tax, the trustees 
may sue for and recover the same in their name of office. 

Chief Justice Nelson, delivering the opinion of the supreme court, in 24 
Wend., 269, where a warrant had been made out but not delivered to the col- 
lector, and the return day having passed, while it remained in the hands of the 
trustees, it was renewed and then delivered to the collector, says : " The 
renewal is in fact but a re-issuing of the process, and I can perceive no reason 
against regarding it as an original issuing. Nor can the difference be material 
whether it lies in the hands of the trustees for a time and is then revived by a 
renewal, or in the hands of the collector unexecuted, which confessedly would 
justify it." In 3 Hill, 495, where the objection was that the original warrant 
was not under seal (which, as the law then stood, rendered it void), but the 
renewal was signed by the trustees with their seals affixed, the court say : 
" The reneAval of the warrant made it new process for all the purposes of col- 
lecting the taxes then unpaid ; it is the same thing, substantially, as though 
the original warrant had been recited in the renewal ; and thus we have u 
warrant under the hands and seals of the trustees." In 4 Barb., 444, it was 
held that the issuing of a new warrant was a good execution of the power 
to renew. In 17 Barb., 145, a warrant not issued until after its renewal 



196 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

becomes, by delivery to tbe collector with a renewal indorsed, valid and effec- 
tual process, as of that date; and tbe rights of tax payers and duties of the 
collector are the same as they would have been had the warrant been made out 
and dated as an original process on the day of its delivery to the collector. In 
20 Barb., 165, where three trustees signed the original warrant, but one of 
them refused to sign the renewal, the latter was held not liable for any act 
done under the renewal and after the original return day. 

The renewal is to be under the hands of the trustees, or a majority of them, 
who are in office at the time of such renewal. For the purpose of preserving an 
authentic history of the process, it is better to append a renewal to the original 
warrant than to issue a new one, except in cases where the original may be 
discovered to have been defective in its form. It ought to specify the duration 
of the time for which it is renewed, and to be indorsed upon or written under 
the original warrant, in substantially the following form : 

We hereby renew the within (or above written) warrant in respect to delin- 
quents for the period of thirty days. Dated this day of , 18 . 

A. B., 1 Trustees of District 
C. D., V No. , in the 

E. F., 3 town of 

A second or subsequent renewal requires the consent of the supervisor, under 
the next section. In that case, the words " With the approbation of the super- 
visor of the town of (in which the school-house is located )," should pre- 
cede the above form. 

Where the warrant is renewed by the trustees, the collector in office at the 
time of such renewal must execute it. 

It being a palpable absurdity to talk of those as delinquents who have never 
been called upon to pay, this language of the statute is an admonition to the 
trustees not to suffer a warrant to run out in their hands without issuing it. 

The latter clause of the above section, giving the trustees the right to sue 
persons named in a tax list, is confined to such as did not reside within the dis- 
trict at the time of making out the list, or who shall have ceased to reside 
therein at the expiration of the warrant. It cannot be regarded as having 
expired until a renewal may have run out ; and in respect to both classes of 
persons, the inability to find goods and chattels whereon to levy the tax should 
be proved by the sworn return of the collector before a suit is brought. They 
may have been taxable inhabitants, under some of the definitions of those 
words contained in the statutes regarding taxation, without ever having been 
residents or having, in fact, set foot in the district at all. 

§ 8V. Whenever the trustees of any school district shall discover 
any error in a tax list made out. by them, they may, with the 
approbation and consent of the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, after refunding any amount that may have been improperly 
collected on such tax list, if the same shall be required by him. 



Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 197 

amend and correct such tax list, as directed by the Superintendent, 
in conformity to law ; and whenever more than one renewal of a 
warrant for the collection of any tax list may become necessary in 
any district, the trustees may make such further renewal, with 
the written approbation of the supervisor of any town in Avhich a 
school-house of said district shall be located, to be indorsed upon 
such warrant. 

The application to the State Superintendent, for his consent to correct an 
error, should be under the hands of a majority of the trustees, and should state 
specifically wherein the error is supposed to consist, and in what manner they 
propose to amend and correct the tax list. It will ordinarily be the better mode 
to revoke the imperfect tax list and to make out a new one, stating in the 
heading thereof that it is " Amended and corrected with the approbation and 
consent of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, by his order bearing 
date the day of , 18 ." The order should, of course,, be carefully 

filed as evidence of the authority to collect under it. 

The approval of the supervisor may be given by his indorsing on the war- 
rant, mider the form given 'in the preceding section, the words : 

" Approved this day of , 18 . H. T., Supervisor of ." 

If there be more than one school-house in the district, and they be located in 
diffdrent towns, the approval should, as a matter of prudence, be signed by the 
supervisors of all such towns. It is a matter of discretion with the supervisor, 
in the first instance, to grant or withhold his approbation. If he improperly 
refuses it, the remedy is by appeal upon regular notice to him. 

§ 88. The collector shall keep in his possession all moneys 
received or collected by him by virtue of any warrant, to be by 
him paid out upon the order of a majority of the trustees; and he 
shall report in writing at the annual meeting, all his collections 
and disbursements, and shall pay over to his successor in office, 
when he has duly qualified and given bail, all moneys in his hands 
belonging to the district. 

The collector by this section is made the legal custodian of all moneys col- 
lected by tax upon the district ; and he can pay it out only upon the order of 
a maiority of the trustees. The collector should demand a written order. The 
collector and his sureties in his bond are responsible for the safe keeping and 
legal disbursement of the moneys of the district. The orders of the trustees 
are the only proper vouchers for the disposal of the moneys. 

The collector should keep an account of all moneys collected and paid out 
by him, and be ready with his vouchers, to report at the annual meeting. 

Before handing over the moneys in his hands to his successor, he should be 
certain that the bail required has been given ; and should take a receipt for the 
moneys paid over. 



198 Assessment and Collection of Taxes. 

§ 89, If, by the neglect of any collector, any moneys shall be lost 
to any school district, which might have been collected within the 
time limited in the warrant delivered to him for their collection, 
he shall forfeit to such district the amount of the moneys thus lost, 
and shall account for and pay over the same to the trustees of such 
district, in the same manner as if they had been collected. 

Tlie collector's power to sell property ceases with tlie expiration of the time 
limited in tlie warrant for its return, even under a levy made before the return 
day ; and unless the warrant is renewed by the trustees, his liability for not col- 
lecting becomes fixed. (18 Barb., 330.) It behooves him, therefore, not to 
intermit his efforts to collect a tax upon any verbal directions of the trustees. 
Having commanded him by a warrant, he is bound to complete its execution, 
unless the time is extended by the equally solemn act of renewal. Nor is he 
bound to delay, against his own wishes, because the trustees desire it. They 
may sometimes desire to suspend proceedings, where he is indifferent, because 
a warrant, regular on its face, is sufficient for Jiis protection, while they may be 
responsible from a defect of authority not apparent on its face. In such a case 
he should require a formal certificate from the trustees that they have with- 
drawn the warrant, and discharged him from the further execution thereof, and 
should make a return thereon to this effect : 

" Under the within warrant, I have received and collected of the following 
persons named in the tax list thereto attached the sum of money set opposite 
to their respective names, viz. : James Thomas, $6.81 ; James Thomas, executor 
of John Thomas, deceased, $17.45, etc., etc., and have this day ceased from the 
further execution thereof, by the written direction of C. D. and E. F., a majority 
of the trustees, 

" Dated this day of , 18 . 

"STEPHEN GRINNER, Collector." 

Transactions of this nature should never be left to rest upon loose conversa- 
tions, nor should any officer of a district permit his responsibility to the 
inhabitants to be confounded with that of other officers, who may have distinct 
accounts to render for their conduct in the affair. 

Where a warrant runs out in the collector's hands, he is answerable for any 
loss arising from his neglect, notwithstanding such warrant may have been 
afterward renewed and delivered to his successor. 

§ 90. For the recovery of all such forfeitures, and of all balances 
in the hands of the collector which he shall have neglected or 
refused to pay to his successor, the trustees, in their name of office, 
shall have their remedy upon the official bond of the collector, or 
any action and any remedy given by law; and they shall apply 
all such moneys, when recovered, in the same manner as if paid 
without suit. 



Libraries and Library Moneys. 199 

The forfeiture referred to in this section is the amount of money which a col- 
lector might have collected by the exercise of proper diligence. The legal 
"presumption is, when the return day of a warrant arrives, that the collector has 
all the money in his hands. It is sufficient for the trustees to prove that they 
delivered to him a tax list and warrant for the collection of a certain amount, 
and that the time therein specified for its return has expired. They may then 
rest their case, and it lies upon the collector to produce in his defense the orders 
of the trustees for such moneys as he may have paid, his account of non-resident 
taxes, with his affidavit of his inability, after diligent efibrts, to collect the same, 
and then to show as to taxable inhabitants named in the tax list, that they had 
no personal property within the district upon which he could levy. The 
trustees may then prove in reply that such taxable inhabitants had personal 
property outside of the district but within the county (or, if the district includes 
parts of more than one county, in either county), and they ought probably to 
show, in addition, that the collector had express notice of the fact, or that he 
knew it, or that it was so far known in the district that the collector, by rea- 
sonable diligence in making inquiries, would have ascertained such facts as to 
make it his duty to look for property outside of the district. The question is, 
would an ordmary man — not a particularly keen or covetous man — armed 
with the power to appropriate any chattels of his debtor to the payment of a 
debt due himself, have failed to discover that such property was within his 
reach ? 

TITLE VIII. 

OF SCHOOL DISTRICT LIBRARIES, AND THE APPLICATION OF LIBRARY 

MONEYS. 

Section 1. The taxable inhabitants of each school district in 
the State shall have power, when lawfully assembled in any dis- 
trict meeting, to lay a tax on the district, not exceeding ten dol- 
lars in any one year, for the purchase of such books as they shall 
direct for the district library, and such further sum as they may 
deem necessary for the purchase of a book-case. All books and 
cases which may have been or shall be purchased with moneys 
raised by such taxes, or with moneys apportioned to the district 
for library purposes, and all books which have been given to and 
accepted by the trustees for the library, shall compose the library 
of the district. 

The power of taxation granted in this section is a duplication of the power 
given by subdivision 9 of section 16 of title 7 of this act. 

Section 135 of the act of 1847, following chapter 80 of 1835, from which it 
was taken, directs that " the taxes authorized by the foregoing section shall be 
assessed and collected in the same manner as a tax for building a school- 
house." 



200 Libraries and Library Moneys. 

The books to be purchased by tax under this section are such as the district 
meeting shall direct, while those purchased by the library money apportioned 
to the district are selected by the trustees. The meeting may adopt such regu- 
lations as it deems proper for the management of so much of the library as is 
purchased by a district tax, while the general regulations in respect to those 
bought by money received from the State are prescribed by the State Superin- 
tendent. 

§ 2. The sum of :fifty-five thousand dollars, directed to be dis- 
tributed to the several school districts of this State by the fourth 
section of chapter two hundred and thirty-seven of the Laws of 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, shall continue to be applied to 
the purchase of books for the district libraries. 

The selection of books for the district library is devolved by law upon the 
trustees ; and when the importance of this most beneficent and enlightened 
provision for the intellectual and moral improvement of the inhabitants of the 
several districts, of both sexes and all conditions, is duly estimated, the trust 
here confided is one of no ordinary responsibility. In reference to such selec- 
tions, but two prominent sources of embarrassment have been experienced. 
The one has arisen from the necessity of excluding from the libraries all works 
having directly or remotely a sectarian tendency, and the other from that of 
recommending the exclusion of novels, romances and other fictitious creations 
of the imagination, including a large proportion of the lighter literature of the 
day. The propriety of a peremptory and uncompromising exclusion of those 
catchpenny but revolting publications which cultivate the taste for the marvel- 
ous, the tragic, the horrible and the supernatural — the lives and exploits of 
pirates, banditti and desperadoes of every description — is too obvious to every 
reflecting mind to require the slightest argument. 

If any case of improper selection of books should come before the Superin- 
tendent, by appeal from any inhabitant, such selection would be set aside ; and 
if it appears from the reports which, according to regulation, must be made, 
that such books have been purchased, the school commissioner will be bound 
to withhold the next year's library money from such district until they are 
replaced by works of equal cost and better character. 

In regard to works of a sectarian character, which there is considerable dis- 
position to smuggle into district libraries, the following general rules, promul 
gated by Superintendent Randall several years ago, may be regarded as 
expressing the settled principles of the department : 

"1. No works written professedly to uphold or attack any sect or creed in 
our country, claiming to be a religious one, shall be tolerated in the school 
libraries ; 

, 2. Standard works on other topics shall not be excluded because they inci- 
deotally and indirectly betray the religious opinions of their authors ; 

" 3. Works avowedly on other topics, which abound in direct and unreserved 
attacks on, or defense of, the character of any religious sect, or those which 



Libraries and Library Moneys. 201 

hold lip any religious body to contempt or execration, by singling out or bring- 
ing together only the darker parts of its history or character, shall be excluded 
from the school libraries." 

In the selection of books for a district library, information, and not mere 
amusement, is to be regarded as the primary object. Suitable provision 
should, however, be made for the intellectual wants of the young, by furnish- 
ing them with books which, without being merely juvenile in their character, 
may be level to their comprehension, and sufficiently entertaining to excite and 
gratify a taste for reading. It is useless to buy books which are not read. The 
indifference which is manifested in respect to many of the district libraries 
shows that in point of fact their volumes are little sought for. This could 
hardly be the case, if the annual additions were of a kind to interest the young. 
If we can succeed in making eager readers of the youthful generation, they will 
take care of the libraries in the future. 

§ 3. But whenever the number of volumes in the district library 
of any district numbering over fifty children between the ages of 
five and sixteen shall exceed one hundred and twenty-five, or 
of any district numbering fifty children or less between the said 
ages shall exceed one hundred volumes, the inhabitants of the 
district qualified to vote therein may, at a special or annual meet- 
ing duly notified for that purpose, by a ma.jorily of votes, appro- 
priate the whole or any part of the library money belonging to 
the district for the current year to the purchase of maps, globes, 
blackboards, or other scientific apparatus for the use of the school ; 
and in every district having the required number of volumes in 
the district library, and the maps, globes, blackboards and other 
apparatus aforesaid, the said moneys, with the approbation of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, may be applied to the pay- 
ment of qualified teachers' wages. 

This section was a part of section 136 of chapter 480, Laws of 1847. The 
so-called free school law of 1851 required the enumeration of all children 
between the ages of four and twenty-one, and declared the schools free to all 
between those ages. But this section was not amended by that law, but haa 
remained unaltered ever since. 

In order, therefore, to authorize a district to apply its library money to the 
purchase of scientific apparatus, or, with the approbation of the State Superin- 
tendent, to paying teachers' wages, it must number over fifty children between 
the ages of five and sixteen, and actually have in its library over one hundred 
and twenty-five volumes, or over one hundred volumes if the number of 
children between those ages be less than fifty. The mere fact that the district 
has at some previous time possessed the requisite number of volumes is not 
sufficient. 

20 



202 Libraries and Library Moneys. 

On making an application to the State Superintendent, tlie facts must be 
proved by an aflBdavit, stating the number of children, the number of volumes 
actually in the library, and enumerating what maps, globes, and other scien- 
tific apparatus have been procured and are actually in use in the school. 

The vote of a district and the permission of the State Superintendent relate 
only to the application of library money for the cunent year, and must be 
annually renewed to justify any diversion of it from the purchase of books. 

§ 4. When the library money apportioned to a district in any 
3''ear shall be less than three dollars, the trustees may apply it in 
payment of qualified teachers' wages. 

The annual apportionment made by the school commissioners will show 
what is the amount of library money belonging to each district. If it is less 
than three dollars, then the trustees may give an order for it on the supervisor 
in part payment of the wages of a qualified teacher. 

§ 5. The trustees of every school district shall be trustees of the 
library of such district ; and the property of all books therein, and 
of the case and other appurtenances thereof, shall be deemed to be 
vested in such trustees, so as to enable them to maintain any action 
in relation to the same. It shall be their duty to preserve such 
books and keep them in repair; and the expenses incurred for that 
purpose may be included in any tax list to be made out by them 
as trustees of a district, and added to any tax voted by a district 
meeting, and shall be collected and paid over in the same manner. 
The librarian of any district library shall be subject to the direc- 
tions of the trustees thereof, in all matters relating to the preser- 
vation of the books and appurtenances of the library, and may be 
removed from office by them for willful disobedience of such direc- 
tions, or for any willful neglect of duty. 

Being required to preserve the books belonging to the library, the trustees 
must have power to do all that is necessary to their preservation. If the people 
neglect or refuse to vote a tax to buy a book-case, the trustees may buy one, on 
the ground that a library cannot be preserved without a book-case capable of 
holding the books. 

They are also to cause the books and case to be repaired as soon as may be, 
when injured; and to provide sufiicient wrapping paper to cover their books, 
and the necessary writing paper to enable the librarian to keep minutes of the 
delivery and return of books. These are proper expenses for the preservation 
and repair of the books, and are to be defrayed by a tax on the district, which 
is to be added by the trustees to any tax voted by a district meeting. It is not 
n(;cessary that the tax to defray these expenses should be voted by the inhab- 



Libraries and Library Moneys. 203 

itants of tLe district ; it is to be assessed and collected in the same manner as a 
tax for building or repairing a scliool-liouse, or to furnisli it witli necessary 
fuel and appendages. 

The trustees of each school district are required, at the time of making their 
annual reports, to deliver to the school commissioner a catalogue containing 
the titles of all the books in the district library not previously reported, with 
the number of volumes of each set or series, and the condition of such books, 
whether sound, or injured or defaced. This catalogue must be signed by them 
and by the librarian. 

§ 6. Trustees shall be liable to their successors, and the librarian 
shall be liable to the trustees, for any neglect or omission of their 
respective dutios, by which any book shall be lost, destroyed or 
damaged, to the amount of such damage and the v^alue of the book 
so destroyed or lost. 

There is great reason to fear that the duties of trustees, in respect to the 
preservation of the libraries in good condition, are often criminally neglected. 
They ought to investigate its condition as soon as they come into office, ascer- 
tain who has the custody or is responsible for every book upon its catalogue, 
and see that it is returned in due time to the librarian, or that the proper fine 
for its detention is imposed and collected. If their predecessors cannot produce 
or account for the books, they should be prosecuted for the value of such as 
may be missing. 

It is believed that the loss of many books, and the injury of others, are 
owing to neglect of the trustees to provide a book-case for them. Books that 
are tumbled promiscuously into an old trunk, or dry goods box, and stowed 
away in a garret, are not kept and preserved. A book-case well filled with 
good books is the most valuable ornament in any room. The librarian of any 
district which has a library of two or three hundred well selected books ought 
to consider himself the most favored man in his neighborhood. 

§ 7. All moneys recovered under the last j^receding section, and 
all moneys received upon any policy of insurance procured upon 
the library, and all fines and penalties imposed by or in pursuance 
of this title, shall be applied, by the trustees, in the purchase of 
books for and in the reparation and care of the library. 

§ 8. Any two or more adjoining districts, Avith the consent of 
all the commissioners of the school commissioner districts within 
which they lie, may, by a majority of votes in their several dis- 
tricts, unite their libraries, and apply their library moneys and 
funds to the care, reparation and augmentation of their joint library 
so formed. All the trustees of such districts shall be trustees of 
such library, with all the powers, duties and liabilities conferred and 



204 Libraries and Libeaet Moneys. 

imposed by this title upon the trustees of a library of a district, 
and the librarian shall be appointed by them, and have the powers 
and be subject to the duties and liabilities conferred and imposed 
by this title upon the librarian of a district ; but upon the question 
of his appointment or removal, and upon any other question which 
may arise in the board of trustees, the trustee or trustees of each 
district shall have one vote only. All the districts owning such 
library shall be considered as a school district, and the library as 
a school district library, within the meaning of the subsequent 
provisions of this title. 

§ 9. The agreement forming a joint library may be terminated 
by the votes of all the several districts that made it, or by the 
votes of any one or more of them less than the whole, provided a 
majority of the school commissioners, within whose districts the 
school districts lie, advise and consent thereto, or the Superintend- 
ent of Public Instruction so order. 

§ 10. When such an agreement shall be dissolved, the trustees 
of the several districts (the trustee or trustees of each district 
having only one vote) shall divide the library and all the joint 
funds on hand, including all lines and penalties incurred, among 
the several districts ; and if they cannot agree, then such division 
shall be made by the commissioners within whose districts the 
school districts lie, or by some officer or person selected by the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



It has been frequently and earnestly urged upon the department and the 
Legislature to favor tlie consolidation of all the district into town libraries. 
The principal objection to the formation of town libraries is tbat the distance 
to be traveled to and from them would render them practically useless to a 
large part of the inhabitants of any town. There is no other serious objec- 
tion. The money would be more economically expended, the purchase would 
comprise a greater variety of books, they would be in the main a better class 
of books, and they would be more carefully preserved. 

There can be no doubt of the propriety and usefulness of uniting all the 
libraries of such districts as are partly composed of villages. 



§11. The general regulations respecting the preservation of 
school district libraries, the delivery of them by librarians and 
trustees to their successors in office, the use of them by the inhab- 
itants of the district, the number of volumes to be taken by any 



Libraries and Library Moneys. 205 

one person at any one time or during any term, the periods of 
their return, the fines and penalties that may be imposed by the 
trustees of such libraries for not returning, for losing or destroy- 
ing, any of the books therein, or for soiling, defacing or injuring 
them, heretofore framed by the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, are continued in force, and he may, from time to time, amend, 
annul or add to them, and shall, from time to time, furnish printed 
copies of the regulations in force, and of such amendments, annul- 
ments and additions to the trustees of such libraries ; and all such 
regulations shall be obligatory upon all persons and officers having 
charge of such libraries, or using or possessing any of the books 
thereof. Such fines may be recovered in an action of debt, in the 
name of the trustees of any such library, of the person on whom 
they are imposed, unless such person be a minor ; in which case 
they may be recovered of the parent or guardian of such minor, 
unless notice in writing shall have been given by such parent or 
guardian to the trustees of such library, that they will not be 
responsible for any books delivered to such minor. And persons 
with whom such minors reside shall be liable, in the same manner 
and to the same extent, in cases where the parent of such minor 
does not reside in the district. 



IlEGTILATI02iS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT MADE IN PURSUANCE OF THE ABOVE 

PROVISION. 

1. The librarian is required, whenever any library is purchased and taken 
charge of by him, to make out a full and complete catalogue of all the books 
contained therein. At the foot of each catalogue he is to sign a receipt in the 
following form : 

I, A. B., do hereby acknowledge that the books specified in the preceding 
catalogue have been delivered to me by the trustees of school district No. , 

in the town of , to be safely kept by me, as librarian of the said district, 

for the use of the inhabitants thereof, according to the regulations prescribed 
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and to be accounted for by me, 
according to the said regulations, to the trustees of the said district, and to be 
delivered to my successor in oflBce. Dated, etc. 

A correct copy of the catalogue and receipt is then to be made, to which the 
trustees are to add a certificate in the following form : 

We. the subscribers, trustees of school district No. , in the town of 

, do certify that the preceding is a full and complete catalogue 



206 LiBBAKIES AND LiBEAKY MoNEYS. 

of books in th.e library of the said district, now in possession of A. B., the 
librarian thereof, and of liis receipt thereon. Given under our bands, this 
day of , 18 . 

The catalogue having the librarian's receipt is to be delivered to the trustees, 
and a copy having the certificate of the trustees is to be delivered to the libra- 
rian for his indemnity. 

2. Whenever books are added to the library, a catalogue, with a similar 
receipt by the librarian, is to be delivered to the trustees, and a copy, with a 
certificate of the trustees that it is a copy of the catalogue delivered them by 
the librarian, is to be furnished to him. Every catalogue received by trustees 
is to be kept by them carefully among the papers of the district, and to be 
delivered to their successors in ofiice. 

3. ^\^lenever a new librarian shall be chosen, all the books are to be called 
in. For this purpose the librarian is to refuse to deliver out any books for 
fourteen days preceding the time so prescribed for collecting them together. 
At these periods, they must make a careful examination of the books, compare 
them with the catalogue, and make written statements, in a column opposite 
the name of each book, of its actual condition, whether lost or present, and 
whether in good order or injui'ed, and, if injured, specifying in general terms 
the extent of such injury. This catalogue, with the remarks, is to be delivered 
to the successors of the trustees, to be kept by them ; a copy of it is to be made 
out and delivered to the new librarian, with the library, by whom a receipt, in 
the form above prescribed, is to be given, and to be delivered to the trustees. 
Another copy, certified by them as before mentioned, is to be delivered to the 
librarian. 

4. Trustees, on coming into office, are to attend at the library for the purpose 
of comparing the catalogue with the books. They are at all times, when they 
think proper, and especially on their coming into office, to examine the books 
carefully, and note such as are missing or injured. For every book that is 
missing, the librarian is accoimtable to the trustees for the full value thereof, 
and for the whole series of which it formed a part ; such value to be determined 
by the trustees. He is accountable, also, for any injury which a book may 
appear to have sustained by being soiled, defaced, torn or otherwise. And he 
can be relieved from such accountability only by the trustees, on its being 
satisfactorily shown to them that some inhabitant of the district has been 
charged or is chargeable for the books so missing, or for the amount of the 
injury so done to any work. It is the duty of the trustees to take prompt and 
efficient measures for the collection of the amount for which any librarian is 
accountable. 

5. The librarian must cause to be pasted in each book belonging to the 
library a printed or written label, or must write in the first blank leaf of each 
book, specifying that the book belongs to the library of school district No. 

in the town of , naming the town and giving the number of the district ; 

and he is on no account to deliver out any book which has not such printed or 
written declaration in it. He is also to cause all the books to be covered with 



Libraries and Library Moneys. 



207 



strong wrapping- paper, on the back of wliich is to be written tlie title of tbe 
book, and its number in large figures. As new books are added, the numbers 
are to be continued, and they are in no case to be altered ; so that if a book be 
lost, its number and title must still be continued on the catalogue, with a note 
that it is missing. 

The librarian must keep a blank book, that may be made by stitching 
together half a dozen or more sheets of writing paper. Let those be ruled 
across the width of the paper, so as to leave five columns of the proper size for 
the following entries, to be written lengthwise of the paper: In the first 
column, the date of the delivery of any book to any inhabitant ; in the second, 
the title of the book delivered, and its number ; in the third, the name of the 
person to whom delivered ; in the fourth, the date of its return ; and in the fifth, 
remarks respecting its condition, in the following fonn ; 



Time of Delivery. 


Title and No. Book. 


To whom. 


When Returned. 


Condition. 


1839, June 10. 


History of Va. 43. 


T. Jones. 


20th June. 


Good. 



As it will be impossible for tlie librarian to keep any trace of the books 
without such minutes, his own interest to screen himself from responsibility, 
as well as his duty to the public, will, it is to be hoped, induce him to be exact 
in making his entries at the time any book is delivered, and, when it is 
returned, to be equally exact in noticing its condition, and making the proper 
minute. 

A fair copy of the catalogue should be kept by the librarian, to be exhibited 
to those, who desire to select a book ; and, if there be room, it should be 
fastened on the door of the case. 



REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE USE OF THE BOOKS IN DISTRICT LIBRARIES, 
PRESCRIBED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 

I. The librarian has charge of the books, and is responsible for their preser- 
vation and delivery to his successor. 

II. A copy of the catalogue required to be made out by articles one and two 
of the preceding regulations is to be kept, by the librarian, open to the inspec 
tion of the inhabitants of the district at all reasonable times. It will be found 
convenient to aflftx a copy of it on the door of the book-case containing the 
library. 

III. Books are to be delivered as follows : 

1. Only to inhabitants of the district ; 

2. Only one can be delivered to an inhabitant at a time ; and any one ha\'ing 
a book out of the library must return it before he can receive another ; 

3. No person upon whom a fine has been imposed by the trustees, under 
these regulations, can receive a book while such fine remains unpaid; 



208 LiBK ARIES AND LiBRAET MONEYS. 

4. A person under age cannot be permitted to take out a book, unless he 
resides with some responsible inhabitant of the district ; nor can he then receive 
a book, if notice has been given by his parent or guardian, or the person with 
whom he resides, that they will not be responsible for books delivered such 
minor ; 

5. Each individual residing in the district, of sufficient age to read the 
books belonging to the library, is to be regarded as an inhabitant, and is enti- 
tled to all the benefits and privileges conferred by the regulations relative to 
district libraries. Minors will draw in their own names, but on the responsi- 
bility of their parents or guardians ; 

6. Where there is a sufficient number of volumes in the library to accommo- 
date all residents of the district who wish to borrow, the librarian should 
permit each member of a family to take books, as often as desired, so long as 
the regulations are punctually and fully observed. But where there are not 
books enough to supply all the borrowers, the librarian should endeavor to 
accommodate as many as possible, by furnisliing each family in proportion to 
the number of its readers or borrowers. 

IV. Every book must be returned to the library within twenty days after it 
shall have been taken out ; but the same inhabitant may again take it, unless 
application has been made for it while it was so out of the library by any per- 
son entitled, who has not previously borrowed the same book, in which case 
such applicant shall have a preference in the use of it. And where there have 
been several such applicants, the preference shall be according to the priority 
in time of their applications, to be determined by the librarian. Upon applica- 
tion to the Superintendent, the time for keeping books out of the library will 
be extended to a period not exceeding twenty-eight days, where sufficient 
reasons for such extension are shown. 

V. If a book be not returned at the proper time, the librarian is to report the 
fact to the trustees ; and he must also exhibit to them every book which has 
been returned injured, by soiling, defacing, tearing or in any other way, before 
such book shall again be loaned out, together with the name of the inhabitant 
in whose possession it was when so injured. 

VI. The trustees of school districts being, by virtue of their office, trustees 
of the library, are hereby authorized to impose the following fines : 

1. For each day's detention of a book, beyond the time allowed by these 
regulations, six cents ; but not to be imposed for more than ten days 
detention ; 

3. For the destruction or loss of a book, a fine equal to the full value of the 
book, or of the set, if it be one of a series, with the addition to such value of 
ten cents for each volume. And on the payment of such fine, the party fined 
shall be entitled to the residue of the series. If he has also been fined for 
detaining such book, then the said ten cents shall not be added to the value ; 

3. For any injury which a book may sustain after it shall be taken out by a 
borrower, and before its return, a fine may be imposed of six cents for every 
spot of grease or oil upon the cover, or upon any leaf of the volimie ; for 
writing in or defacing any book, not less than ten cents, nor more than the ■ 



LiBRAEIES AND LiBEARY MONETS. 209 

value of the book ; for cutting or tearing tlie cover or the binding, or any leaf 
not less than ten cents, nor more than the value of the book ; 

4. If a leaf be torn out, or so defaced or mutilated that it cannot be read, 
or if any thing be written in the volume, or any other injury done to it which 
renders it unfit for general circulation, the trustees will consider it a destruc- 
tion of the book, and shall impose a fine accordingly, as above provided in 
case of loss of a book ; 

5. When a book shall have been detained seven days beyond the twenty 
days allowed by these regulations, the librarian shall give notice to the bor- 
rower to return .the same within three days. If not returned at that time, the 
trustees may consider the book lost or destroyed, and may impose a fine for its 
destruction, in addition to the fines for its detention. 

VII. But the imposition of a fine, for the loss or destruction of a book, shall 
not prevent the trustees from recovering such book in an action of replevin' 
unless such fine shall have been paid. 

VIII. When, in the opinion of the librarian, any fine has been incurred by 
any person under these regulations, he may refuse to deliver any book to the 
party liable to such fine, until the decision of the trustees upon such liability 
be had. 

IX. Previous to the imposition of any fine, two days' written or verbal 
notice is to be given by any trustee or the librarian, or any other person 
authorized by either of them, to the person charged, to show cause why he 
should not be fined for the alleged offense or neglect ; and if, within that time, 
good cause be not shown, the trustees shall impose the fine herein prescribed. 
No other excuse for an extraordinary injury to a book, that is, for such an 
inj ury as would not be occasioned by its ordinary use, should be received, than 
the fact that the book was as much injured when it was taken out, by the per- 
son charged, as it was when he returned it. As such loss must fall on some 
one, it is more just that it should be borne by the party whose duty it was to 
take care of the volume than by the district. Negligence can only be pre- 
vented, and disputes can only be avoided, by the adoption of this rule. Subject 
to these general principles, the imposition of all or any of these fines is discre- 
tionary with the trustees, and they should ordinarily be imposed only for willful 
or culpably negligent injuries to books, or where the district actually sustains a 
loss or serious injury. Reasonable excuses for the detention of the books 
beyond twenty days should in all cases be received. 

X. It is the special duty nf the librarian to give notice to the borrower of a 
book that shall be returned injured, to show cause why he should not be fined. 
Such notice may be given to the agent of the borrower who returns the book, 
and it should always be given at the time the book is returned. 

XI. The librarian is to inform the trustees of every notice given by him to 
show cause against the imposition of a fine ; and they shall assemble at the 
time and place appointed by him, or by any notice given by them, or any one 
of them, and shall hear the charge and defense. They are to keep a book of 
minutes, in which every fine imposed by them, and the cause, shall be entered 
and signed by them, or the major part of them. Such original minutes, or a 

27 



210 LiBKARIES AXD LiBRAEY MoXEYS. 

copy certified by them, or tlie major part of them, or by the clerk of the 
district, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that a fine was imposed, as 
stated in such minutes, according to these regulations. 

XII. It shall be the duty of trustees to prosecute promptly for the collection 
of all fines imposed by them. Fines collected for the detention of books, or 
for injuries to them, are to be applied to defray the expense of repairing the 
books in the library. Fines collected for the loss or destruction of any book, or 
of a set or series of books, shall be applied to the purchase of the same or 
other suitable books. 

XIII. These regulations being declared by law " obligatory .upon all persons 
and officers having charge of such libraries, or using or possessing any of the 
books thereof," it is expedient that they should be made known to every 
borrower of a book. And for that purpose, a printed copy is to be affixed con- 
spicuously on the case containing any library, or on one of such cases if there 
be several, and the librarian is to call the attention to them of every person, 
on the first occasion of his taking out a book. 

The offices of trustee and librarian are incompatible, and cannot be held by 
the same person. 



§ 12. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, wlieneyer he 
may deem proper, may require the trustees of any ^uch library to 
make to him, or to the school commissioner, a report showing the 
contents and condition of the library, the fines imposed, and any 
other information which he may deem proper touching the library 
or its management, and shall prescribe the form, contents and 
authentication of such report. And may impose it as a duty upon 
the teacher employed in any district, under the direction of the 
trustees, to assist them in making such examination, and when 
such direction is given, the teacher may close the school one day 
for the pur^^ose of making such examination, and the same shall 
not be accounted as lost time. 

§ 13. If any such trustees willfully neglect or refuse to make 
any such report, the Superintendent shall cause all library moneys 
to be withholden from the district until the report be made and 
considered by him, and such moneys shall, if he see cause, be for- 
feited by the district, in which case they shall be apportioned 
among the school districts of the county in which the library is 
situated, other than such school district. And any trustee or 
trustees, through whose neglect or refusal such moneys shall be 
lost to the district, shall forfeit and pay to the district twice the 
amount of such moneys, for the benefit of the library of the dis- 



Union Feee Schools. 211 

trict, ancl such forfeiture may be recovered by his or their succes- 
sors in office. 

§ 14. The Superintendent, whenever thereto requested by the 
trustees of any district school library, may select the library or 
books for the library of the district, and cause the same to be 
delivered to the clerk of the county. 

§ 15. The act entitled "An act to provide for the distribution 
of standard works of American authors among the libraries of dis- 
trict schools," passed April twelfth, eighteen hundred and fifty- 
six, is hereby repealed. 

TITLE IX. 

OF UNION FEEE SCHOOLS. 

Section 1. Whenever fifteen persons entitled to vote at any 
meeting of the inhabitants of any school district in the State shall 
sign a call for a meeting, to be held for the purpose of determining 
whether a union free school shall be established therein, in con- 
formity with the provisions of this title, it shall be the duty of the 
trustees of such district, within ten days after such call shall have 
been presented to them, to give public notice that a meeting of the 
inhabitants of such district, entitled to vote thereat, will be held 
for such purpose as aforesaid, at the school-house, or other more 
suitable place, in such district, on a day and at an hour in such 
notice to be specified, not more than twenty days after the publi- 
cation of such notice. If the trustees shall refuse to give such 
notice, or shall neglect to give the same for twenty days, the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction may authorize and direct any 
inhabitant of said district to give the same. The qualifications of 
the inhabitants entitled to vote at such meetings, as now by law 
expressed, shall be sufficiently set forth in the notice aforesaid. 

This title is an amendment of chapter 433 of tlie Session Laws of 1853. Its 
object was to promote the consolidation of districts, and, by uniting property 
and numbers, to improve the schools. The Legislature, by tliis act, gave to the 
people of any district the right to have free schools, or to the people of two or 
more districts the right to unite and have free schools upon the conditions pre- 
scribed. The law has worked satisfactorily, and has greatly promoted the cause 
of free schools, by educating a public opinion in their favor. 

The form of the call by the inhabitants may be as follows : " The under- 
signed, inhabitants of school district No. , in the town of , entitled to 



212 UniOjS- Free Schools. 

vote at any meetings of the inhabitants of said district, hereby call for a 
meeting, to be held for the purpose of determining by a vote of such district 
whether an union free school shall be established therein, in conformity to the 
provisions of chapter 555 of the Laws of 1864." 

This, being first signed by at least fifteen qualified voters, should be deliv- 
ered to the trustees. The notice to be given by the trustees should consist, 
first, of a copy of the call and of the signatures thereto, after which the notice 
should proceed as follows : 

" The undersigned, trustees of school district No. , in the town of , in 
compliance with a call of fifteen (or more than fifteen) persons, entitled to vote 
at any meeting of the inhabitants of said district, of which the above is a copy, 
hereby give notice that a meeting of the inhabitants of said district, entitled 
to vote thereat, viz., every male person of full age, residing therein, and enti- 
tled to hold lands in this State, who owns or hires real property in such district, 
subject to taxation for school purposes ; every resident of such district author- 
ized to vote at town meetings of the town of (in a joint district, say either 
of the towns, of or ), who owns any personal property liable to be 
taxed for school purposes in said district exceeding fifty dollars in value, exclu- 
sive of such as is exempt from execution, or who has permanently residing 
with him a child or children of school age, some one or more of whom shall 
have attended the district school for a period of at least eight weeks in the 
year preceding the date at which said meeting is to be held, will be held at 
(the school-house or other more suitable place) on the day of 
next, at o'clock in the noon, for the purpose of determining by a vote 
of such district whether an union free school shall be established therein, in 
conformity to the provisions of chapter 555 of the Laws of 1864, and the 
amendments thereof. Dated this day of , 186 . 

(Signed) A. B., ) Trustees of District 
C. D., [ No. in the 

E. F.,) town of 

The day to be specified in the notice must be not more than twenty days 
after the first posting of the notices. 



§ 2. The notice aforesaid, and at least five written or jDrinted 
copies thereof, shall be severally posted at various conspicuous 
places in, and may also be published in any newspaper circulating 
within, such district. The trustees of such district shall authorize 
and require any taxable inhabitant of the same to notify every 
other inhabitant (qualified to vote as aforesaid), of such meeting, 
to be called as aforesaid, who shall give such notification in the 
manner, and subject to the penalty prescribed in the case of 
the formation of new school districts, by title 7 of this act. 



Union Fkee Schools. 213 

Besides posting the original notice, and five copies in so many conspicuous 
places in the district (which may be done by the trustees), they may require 
any taxable inhabitant to give such notice as is required by section 6 of title 7, 
xmder a penalty of five dollars for refusal, as provided by section 5 of the same 
title. 

§ 3. The reasonable expense of such notices, and of their publi- 
cation and service, shall be chargeable upon the district, in case a 
union free school is established by the meeting so convened, to be 
levied and collected by the trustees, as in cases of taxes now 
levied for school purposes ; but in the event that such union free 
school shall not be established, then the said expense shall be 
chargeable upon the inhabitants signing the call, jointly and 
severally, to be sued for if necessary in any court having jurisdic- 
tion of the same. 

§ 4. Whenever fifteen persons, entitled as aforesaid, from each 
of two or more adjoining districts, shall unite in a call for a meet- 
ing of the inhabitants of such districts, to determine whether such 
districts shall be consolidated by the establishment of a union free 
school therefor and therein, it shall be the duty of the trustees of 
such districts, or a majority of them, to give like public notice 
of such meeting, at some convenient place within such districts, 
and as central as may be, within the time, and to be published and 
served in the manner set forth in the second section of this title, 
in each of such districts. The reasonable expenses of preparing, 
publishing and serving such notices, shall be chargeable upon the 
union free school district, and be collected by tax, if a union free 
school shall be established pursuant to such call; but otherwise 
the signers of the call shall be jointly and severally liable for such 
expenses. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may order 
such meeting, under the conditions and in the manner prescribed 
in the first section of this title. 



The form of the call under this section may be the same as that above given 
under section one of this title, except that it should expressly call " for the con- 
solidation of said districts (the numbers of which will be previously stated) and 
for a meeting," etc. It must be signed by at least thirty, or, if it is proposed to 
consolidate three districts, by forty-five persons, fifteen of whom must be quali- 
fied voters in each of the districts. Where there are less than fifteen voters in 
any one of these districts, the reqidrements of the law will be satisfied if all the 
voters of such district sign the call. The trustees of each district should appoint 



214 Unio:n- Free Schools. 

a taxable inliabitant to give personal notice therein ; and an original and five 
copies of the call and notice should be posted in each of the districts, signed by 
a majority of the board composed of the trustees of all the districts to which the 
notice relates. The place of meeting may be in either district. It is important 
that the original call and notices should be preserved, to be filed with the cer- 
tified copy of the minutes in the town clerk's ofiice. If the proposed consoli- 
dated district includes parts of more than one county, the call and notices should 
be signed in duplicate. 

It is important that it should appear from the proceedings of the meeting 
that at least one-third of the inhabitants of each district concerned are present. 
For this purpose, as soon as the meeting is organized by the election of a chair- 
man and secretary, the clerk of each district, or the inhabitant required to give 
notice therein, should make a return, specifying the names of the voters in his 
district, which should be read by the secretary, and the names of those present 
from each district entered upon his minutes. 

The numbers and constitution of the meeting being thus ascertained, and 
found to be sufiicient to give jurisdiction of the subject, the question should be 
brought before it by a resolution that " a union free school be established 
within the limits of districts ISTo. , in the town of , and No. , 

in the town of , pursuant to the provisions of chapter 555 of the Laws of 

1864 and the amendments thereof." The meeting may adjourn from time to 
time by the vote of a majority of those present, although less than one-third 
of the inhabitants, for not more than ten days at each time. At any such 
adjourned session the question may be taken on the resolution above men- 
tioned; but when it has once been decided in the negative, by failing to 
receive a two-third vote, no further proceedings are in order except a motion 
to adjourn without day, or a motion to reconsider, which latter motion may 
be carried by a majority vote, and the session may then be adjourned. On 
the reconsideration, at the adjourned meeting, if the resolution should be 
again lost, all further proceedings are to be suspended for one year. 

If the resolution to establish a free school shall pass the meeting, it should 
next fix upon the number of trustees to constitute the board of education. As 
the statute has made no provision for subsequently increasing or diminishing 
the number of the board, it should not be fixed without mature deliberation. 
It may be a number not divisible by three, as five or seven, and in such case 
the meeting may divide them into unequal classes, by a resolution which 
should be adopted before proceeding to an election. 

The law is silent about the manner of taking the vote. It may, therefore, be 
by calling the ayes and noes, or by the raising of hands, or by a division of the 
house and count. All that is required is that one-third of the legal voters shall 
be present, and that two-thirds of those present and voting shall be in the 
affirmative. A vote by acclamation would not be considered a compliance with 
the law, for want of certainty. 

§ 5. Any such meeting, held as aforesaid, shall be organized by 
the appointment of a chairman and secretary, and may be ad- 



Union Free Schools. 215 

journecl from time to time by a majority vote, provided any such 
adjournment shall not be for a longer period than ten days; and, 
at any such meeting, where at least one-third of the legal voters 
of such district, or of each of such districts (to determine which the 
lists of such voters made out by the clerks of such districts respect- 
ively, or other person who shall be especially designated to serve 
the notice aforesaid and to make such lists, shall be prima facie 
evidence) ; whenever the question whether a union free school shall 
be established, in pursuance of the call for such meeting, shall be 
determined in the affirmative by a two-thirds vote of those present 
and voting, it shall thereafter be lawful for such meeting to pro- 
ceed to the election by ballot, of not less than three nor more than 
nine trustees, who shall, by the order of such meeting, be divided 
into three several classes; the first class to hold until one, the 
second until two and the third until three years from the second 
Tuesday in October coincident w^ith or following, except in the 
cases in the next section provided for ; and when the trustees so 
elected shall enter upon their office, the office of any existing trus- 
tee or trustees shall cease, except for the purposes stated in section 
eleven of title six of this act. The said trustees and their succes- 
sors in office shall constitute a board of education of and for the 
union free school district for which they are elected, and the desig- 
nation of such district as union free school district number , of 
the town of , shall be made by the school commissioner 

having jurisdiction of the district ; and the said board shall have 
the name and style of the board of education of (adding 

the designation aforesaid). Copies of the said call, minutes of 
said meeting or meetings, duly certified by the chairman and sec- 
retary thereof, shall be by them, or either of them, transmitted and 
deposited, one to and with the town clerk, one to and with the 
school commissioner or commissioners in whose jurisdiction said 
districts are located, and one to and with the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction ; but when, at any such meeting, the question 
as to the establishment of a union free school shall not be decided 
in the affirmative, as aforesaid, then all further proceedings at such 
meeting, except a motion to reconsider or adjourn, shall be dis- 
pensed with, and no such meeting shall be again called within one 
year thereafter. 



216 Uxiox Feee Schools. 

Where a joint meeting is lield, at wliich. one-third of the voters of each dis- 
trict is present, the union free school organization may be adopted bv a vote 
of two-thirds of the whole number of voters present and voting at such 
meeting. 

Where a board of education is elected under the provisions of tliis section, 
prior to the second Tuesday of October, they are to enter upon their duties at 
once, but their terms of office will be for one, two and three years from the suc- 
ceeding second Tuesday of October. 

§ 6. Whenever said board of education shall be constituted for 
any district or districts whose limits correspond with those of any- 
incorporated village or city, the trustees so elected shall, by the 
order of such meeting, be divided into three several classes ; the 
first class to serve until one, the second until two, and the third 
until three years after the day of the next charter election in such 
village or city, and their regular term of service shall be com- 
puted from the several days of such charter elections, and not 
from the second Tuesday in October. And thereafter there shall 
be annually elected in such villages and cities, by separate ballot, 
to be indorsed *' school trustees," in the same manner as the charter 
oflScers thereof, trustees of the said union free schools to supply 
the places of those whose terms by the classification aforesaid are 
about to expire. 

§ 7. The said boards of education are hereby severally created 
bodies corporate, and each shall at its first meeting, and at each 
annual meeting thereafter, elect one of their number president, 
another the clerk thereof, the latter of whom shall also be the gen- 
eral librarian for the district. In districts other than those whose 
limits correspond with those of any city or incorporated village, said 
board shall have power to appoint one of the taxable inhabitants 
of their district treasurer, and another collector of the moneys to 
be raised within the same for school purposes, w^ho shall severally 
hold such appointments during the pleasure of the board. Such 
treasurer and collector shall each, and within ten days after notice 
in writing of his appointment, duly served upon him, and before 
entering upon the duties of his ofiice, execute and deliver to the 
said board of education a bond, with such sufficient penalty and 
sureties as the board may require, conditioned for the faithful dis- 
charge of the duties of his office. And in case such bond shall not 
be given within the time specified, such office shall thereby become 



Union- Feee Schools. 217 

vacant, and said board shall thereupon, by appointment, supply- 
such vacancy. 

A member of the board of education cannot serve as treasurer nor collector. 

§ 8. The corporate authorities of any incorporated village or city, 
in which any such union free school shall be established, shall have 
power, and it shall be their duty to raise, from time to time, by 
tax, to be levied upon all the real and. personal property in said 
city or village, as by law provided for the defraying of the expenses 
of its municipal government, such sum or sums as the board of 
education established therein shall declare necessary for the further- 
ance of any of the powers vested in them by law. The sums so 
declared necessary shall be set forth in a detailed statement in 
writing, addressed to the corporate authorities by the board of 
education, giving the various purposes of anticipated expenditure, 
and the amount necessary for each ; and the said corporate author- 
ities shall have no power to withhold the sums so declared to be 
necessary for teachers' wages and the ordinary contingent expenses 
of supporting the school or schools of said district. 

This section implies that the " detailed statement " shall be an estimate to 
be presented to the village or city authorities, before the board of education has 
incurred the expenses. 

What are the "ordinary contingent expenses" may be a subject of dispute, 
but they will necessarily include fuel, cleaning, repairs, furniture to replace 
what has been broken or worn out, and similar expenditures. 

If such questions arise in any district, and cannot be settled by the inhabit- 
ants, they are to be referred to the Superintendent under section 18 of this title. 

It would seem also that the law must be held to apply only to such districts 
as are coincident, or correspondent, in boundaries with the corporate limits of 
cities or villages. 

§ 9. In case the corporate authorities shall refuse to provide for 
any or all of the other purposes of expenditure declared necessary 
in the statement aforesaid, they shall communicate in writing to 
the said board of education their objections to each and every 
expenditure which they refuse to allow, and thereupon the said 
board of education shall cause the said communication to be pub- 
lished six times in at least one paper published or circulating in 
such district, and the said corporate authorities may, at any time, 
reconsider their action in refusing to allow such expenditures, or 
28 



21 S Uxiox Free Schools. 

any of them, or may allow such other sums for any or all of such 
expenditures as the board of education, in any subseqi;ient or modi- 
fied statement, may recommend. The annual meeting of the board 
of education of every union free school district sliall be held on the 
third Tuesday of October in each year. 

§ 10. A majority of the voters of any union free school district 
other than those whose limits correspond with an incorporated city 
or village, present at any annual or special district meeting, duly 
convened, may authorize such acts, and vote such taxes as they 
shall deem expedient for making additions, alterations or improve- 
ments to or in the sites or structures belonging to the district, or 
for the purchase of other sites or structures, or for the erection of 
new buildings, or for buying apparatus or fixtures, or for paying 
the wages of teachers and the necessary expenses of the school, or 
for such other purpose relating to the support and welfare of the 
school as they may, by resolution, approve ; and they may direct 
the moneys so voted to be levied in one sum, or by installments ; 
and the board of education shall make out their tax list, and attach 
their warrant thereto, in the manner provided in article seven of 
title seven of this act, for the collection of school district taxes, 
and shall cause such taxes or such installments to be collected at 
such times as they shall become due. No vote to raise money shall 
be rescinded, nor the amount thereof be reduced at any subsequent 
meeting, unless the same be done within ten days after the same 
shall have been first voted. 

This section must be understood as intending to confer upon the inhabitants, 
assembled in district meeting, powers additional to those which they would 
have possessed under the general law, if they had not organized a free school 
district. It gives them the power to raise such sums as they may deem expe- 
dient, without limitation as to the amount for making additions and improve- 
ments to sites, buildings, fixtures and apparatus. These are mere investments 
of money for permanent objects, which remain as a part of the icapital of the 
district, and are in their nature different from those expenditures Avhich disap- 
pear in the using, and leave nothing behind capable of sale, and thereby of 
replacing their original cost. There is no reason in law or in the grammatical 
construction of the act for supposing that, in regard to raising money for these 
specially enumerated objects, any other rule is to prevail than that of the com- 
mon law, which makes a majority vote equivalent to a unanimous one. 

In the vote authorizing a tax, the inhabitants may direct at what time and 
by what installments it shall be raised. The sums and periods may be equal 
or unequal in their discretion. 



Union Feee Schools. 219 

§ 11. Any moneys required to pay teachers' wages, in a union 
free school, or in the academical department thereof, after the due 
aj^plication of the school moneys thereto, shall be raised by tax, 
and not by rate bill. 

§ 12. Every union free school district shall, for all the purposes 
of the apportionment and distribution of school moneys, be 
regarded and recognized as a school district. , 

§ 13. The said board of education of every union free school 
district shall severally have power : 

1. To pass such by-laws as they may deem proper for the regu- 
lation and exercise of their lawful business and powers ; 

2. To establish such rules and regulations concerning the order 
and discipline of the school or schools, in the several departments 
thereof, as they may deem necessary to secure the best educational 
results ; 

3. To grade and classify the school or schools of the district, 
and to regulate the admission of pupils and their transfer from one 
class or department to another, as their scholarship shall warrant ; 

4. To prescribe the text-books to be used in the schools, and to 
compel a uniformity in the use of the same, and to furnish the 
same to pupils out of any moneys provided for that i^urpose ; 

5. To take charge and possession of the school-houses, sites, 
lots, furniture, books, apparatus, and all school property within 
their respective districts ; and the title of the same shall be vested 
respectively in said board of education, and the same shall not be 
subject to taxation for any purpose ; 

6. To take and hold for the use of the said schools, or of any 
department of the same, any real estate transferred to it by gift, 
grant, bequest or devise, or any gift, legacy or annuity, of whatever 
kind, given or bequeathed to the said board, and apply the same, 
or the interest or proceeds thereof, according to the instructions 
of the donor or testator ; 

7. To have, in all respects, the superintendence, management 
and control of the said union free schools, and to establish in the 
same an academical department, whenever in their judgment 
the same is warranted by the demand for such instruction ; to 
receive into said union free schools any pupils residing out of said 
districts, and to regulate and establish the tuition fees of such 
non-resident pupils in the several departments of said schools ; to 



220 Union Feee Schools; 

provide fuel, furniture, apparatus, and other necessaries for the 
use of said schools, and to appoint such librarians as they may, 
from time to time, deem necessary ; 

8. To contract with and employ qualified teachers in the several 
departments of instruction, in all not less than one for every fifty 
pupils attending such schools ; to remove them at any time for 
neglect of duty or for immoral conduct, and to pay the wages of 
such teachers out of the moneys appropriated for that purpose ; 

9. To fill any vacancy which may happen in said board by 
reason of the death, removal or refusal to serve of any member or 
officer of said board ; and the person so appointed in the place of 
any such member of the. board shall hold his office until the next 
election of trustees, as by this act provided ; 

10. To remove any member of their board for official miscon- 
duct. But a written copy of all charges made of such misconduct 
shall be served upon him at least ten days before the time appointed 
for a hearing of the same ; and he shall be allowed a full and fair 
opportunity to refute such charges before removal ; 

11. And generally to possess all the powers and j)rivileges, and 
be subject to all the duties in respect to the schools, or the com- 
mon school departments in any union free school in said districts, 
which the trustees of common schools now possess or are subject 
to, not inconsistent with the provisions of this title ; and to enjoy, 
whenever an academical department shall be by them established, 
all the immunities and privileges now enjoyed by the trustees of 
academies in this State. 

Such exposition as may be required of the power and duties of tlie board of 
education, under this section, will be found in the preceding pages under the 
similar provisions of the general law relating to the different school ofl&cers. 
Tinder the eleventh subdivision it is the duty of the board of education to make 
an annual report to the school commissioner, and to submit an annual account 
to the- inhabitants assembled in district meeting, in the same manner as the 
trustees of ordinary districts. Such reports should be adopted at a meeting of 
the board, and authenticated by the signature of its president and secretary. 

Trustees of these districts are not prohibited from employing teachers related 
to them within two degrees. 

§ 14. In union free school districts other than those whose limits 
correspond with any city or incorporated village, the board of edu- 
cation shall have power to call special meetings of the inhabitants, 



Union Free Schools. 221 

in the manner provided in section six of title seven of this act for 
calling special meetings of districts by trusfees, and they shall give 
notice of the time and place of holding the annual school district 
meeting, which shall be held on the second Tuesday of October in 
each year. 

§ 15. It shall be the duty of the board at the annual meeting of 
the district, besides any other report or statement required by law, 
to present a detailed statement in writing of the amount of money 
which will be required for the ensuing year for school purposes 
exclusive of the public moneys, specifying the several purposes for 
which it will be required, and the amount for each, but nothing in 
this section contained shall be construed to prevent the board from 
presenting such statement at any special meeting called for the 
purpose, nor from presenting a supplementary and amended state- 
ment or estimate at any time. 

§ 16. After the presentation of such a statement, the question 
shall be taken upon voting the necessary taxes to meet the esti- 
mated expenditures, and, when demanded by any voter present, 
the question shall be taken upon each item separately, and the 
inhabitants may increase the amount of any estimated expendi- 
tures or reduce the same, except for teachers' wages, and the ordi- 
nary contingent expenses of the school or schools. 

§ 17. If the inhabitants shall neglect or refuse to vote the sum 
or sums estimated necessary for teachers' wages, after applying 
thereto the j)ublic school moneys, and other moneys received or 
to be received for that purpose, provided such estimate shall be 
for no more than one teacher for each fifty pupils attending such 
school, or if they shall neglect or refuse to vote the sum or sums 
estimated necessary for ordinary contingent expenses, the board 
of education may levy a tax for the same, in like manner as if the 
same had been voted by the inhabitants. 

§ 18. If any question shall arise as to what are ordinary contin- 
gent expenses, the same may be referred to the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, by a statement in writing, signed by one or 
more of each of the opposing parties upon the question, and the 
decision of the Superintendent shall be conclusive. 

§ 19. It shall be the duty of each of the said boards of educa- 
tion, elected pursuant to the provisions of this title, to have a 
regular meeting at least once in each quarter, and at such meetings 



222 Uxiox Free Schools. 

to ai^point one or more committees, to visit every school or depart- 
ment under the supervision of said board, and such committees 
shall visit all said schools at least twice in each quarter, and report 
at the next regular meeting of the board on the condition and 
prospects thereof. 

§ 20. It shall also be the duty of said boards, respectively, to 
have reference in all their expenditures and contracts to the 
amount of moneys which shall be appropriated, or subject to their 
order or drafts, during the current year, and not to exceed that 
amount. And said boards shall severally apply all the moneys 
apportioned to the common school districts under their charge, to 
the departments below the academical ; and all moneys from the 
literature fund or otherwise, appropriated for the support of the 
academical department, to the latter departments. 

§21. All moneys raised for the use of the union free schools in- 
any city or incorporated village, or apportioned to the same from 
the income of the literature, common school or United States deposit 
funds, or otherwise, shall be paid into the treasury of such city or 
village, to the credit of the board of education therein ; and the 
funds so received into such treasury shall be kept separate and dis- 
tinct from any other funds received into the said treasury. And 
the officer having the charge thereof shall give such additional 
security for the safe custody thereof as the corporate authorities 
of such city or village shall require. Xo money shall be drawn 
from such funds, credited to the several boards of education, unless 
in pursuance of a resolution or resolutions of said board, and on 
drafts drawn by the president and countersigned by the secretary, 
payable to the order of the person or persons entitled to receive 
such money, and stating on their face the purpose or service for 
which such moneys have been authorized to be paid by the said 
board of education. 

§ 22. All moneys raised for the use of said union free schools, 
other than those whose limits correspond with those of any cities 
and incorporated villages, or apportioned from the income of the 
literature or common school or United States deposit funds, or 
otherwise, shall be paid to the respective treasurers of the said 
several boards of education entitled to receive the same, and be by 
them applied to the uses of said several boards, who shall annually 
render their accounts of all moneys received and expended by 
them for the use of said schools, with every voucher for the same, 



Uxiox Feee Schools. 223 

and certified copies of all orders of the said boards touching the 
same, to the school commissioner of the town in which the prin- 
cipal school-house of the district is located. 

§ 23. Every academical department, established as aforesaid, 
shall be under the visitation of the Regents of the University, and 
shall be subject, in its course of education and matters pertaining 
thereto (but not in reference to the buildings or erections in wdiich 
the same is held), to all the regulations made in regard to acad- 
emies by the said Regents. In such departments the qualifications 
for the entrance of any pupil shall be as high as those established 
by the said Regents for participation in the literature fund of any 
academy of the State under their supervision. 

§ 24. Whenever a union free school shall be established under 
the provisions of this title, and there shall exist within its district 
an academy, the board of education, if thereto authorized by a 
vote of the voters of the district, may adopt such academy as the 
academical department of the district, with the consent of the 
trustees of the academy, and thereupon the trustees, by a resolu- 
tion to be attested by the signatures of the ofiicers of the board, 
and filed in the oflice of the clerk of the county, shall declare their 
ofiices vacant, and thereafter the said academy shall be the aca- 
demical department of sucli union free school. 

The effect of tliis section is, probably, to transfer to tlie board of education 
title to all the property of the academy, provided the proceedings are all regu- 
lar. For greater security, however, the trustees of the academy ought to 
execute and deliver to the board of education a deed of their land and buildings, 
which should be properly acknowledged and recorded. 

§ 25. Every union free school district, in all its departments, 
shall be subject to the visitation of the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. He is charged Avith the general supervision of its 
board of education, and their management and conduct of all its 
departments of instruction. And every board of education shall 
annually, between the first and fifteentli day of October, make to 
the commissioner having jurisdiction, and deposit in the town 
clerk's office, a report for the preceding school year, of all matters 
and things which trustees of a school district are required to report, 
and of all such other matters and things as the Superintendent 
shall, from time to time, require ; and shall also, whenever thereto 



224 Schools For Coloeed Childeeis-. 

required by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, report fully 
to him upon any particular matter or thing ; and, such reports 
shall be in such form, and so authenticated, as the Superintendent 
shall, from time to time, require. 

The Superintendent annually prepares and furnishes blanks for the annual 
reports of the trustees. For instruction as to the filling up of the blanks, refer- 
ence may be had to section 64 of title 7. If the Superintendent wishes for any 
information not contained in the annual reports of trustees, he will call for a 
special report. 

§ 26. For cause shown, and after giving notice of the charge, 
and opportunity of defense, the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion may remove any member of a board of education. Willful 
disobedience of any lawful requirement of the Superintendent, or 
a want of due diligence in obeying such requirement, is cause of 
removal. 

The procedure under this section would be the same substantially as that 
for the removal of any school officer, as provided imder section 18 of title 1 of 
this act. 

§ 27. The provisions of this title shall apply to all union free 
schools heretofore organized pursuant to the provisions of chapter 
four hundred and thirty-three of the Laws of eighteen hundred 
and fifty-three. 



TITLE X 

OF SCHOOLS FOE COLOEED CHILDEEN. 

Section 1. The school authorities of any city or incorporated 
village, the schools of which are or shall be organized under title 
nine of this act or under special acts, may, when they shall deem 
it expedient, establish a separate school or separate schools for 
the instruction of children and youth of African descent, resident 
therein, and over five and under twenty-one years of age ; and 
such school or schools shall be supported in the same manner and 
to the same extent as the school or schools supported therein 
for white children, and they shall be subject to the same rules 
and regulations, and be furnished with facilities for instruction 
equal to those furnished to the white schools therein. 



Teachers' Institutes. 225 

§ 2. The trustees of any union school district, or of any school 
district organized under a special act, may, when the inhabitants 
of any school district shall so determine, by resolution at any 
annual meeting, or at a special meeting called for that purpose, 
establish a separate school or separate schools for the instruction 
of such colored children resident therein, and such schools shall be 
supported in the same manner, and receive the same care, and be 
furnished with the same facilities for instruction as the white 
schools therein. 

§ 3. No person shall be employed to teach any of such schools 
who shall not, at the time of such employment, be legally qualified. 

§ 4. Section one hundred and forty-seven of chapter four hun- 
dred and eighty. Laws of eighteen hundred and forty-seven, is 
hereby repealed. 

The common schools of all the districts not mentioned in this title are as 
free to children and youth of African descent as to those of any other race. 



TITLE XL 

INSTITUTES. 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of every school commissioner, 
at least once in each year, to organize in his own district, or, in 
concert with one or more commissioners in the same county, to 
organize in and for the combined districts, a teachers' institute, 
and to induce, if possible, all the teachers in his district to be pres- 
ent and take part in its exercises. 

§ 2. The commissioner or commissioners, subject always to the 
advice and direction of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
shall, in such form and manner as may be deemed most effectual, 
give public notice to the teachers of the district, or combined dis- 
tricts, and to all others who may desire to become such, of the 
time when and the place where the institute Avill be organized. 

§ 3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall advise and 
co-operate with the school commissioners in fixing the times and 
places of holding the teachers' institute ; and he shall have power 
to employ, or cause the school commissioners to employ, suitable 
persons, at a reasonable compensation, to conduct and teach the 
institutes; and he shall visit, or cause to be visited by persons 
29 



226 Teachees' Institutes. 

employed in the Department of Public Instruction, such and so 
many of the institutes as he possibly can, for the purpose of exam- 
ining into the course and manner of instruction pursued, and of 
rendering such assistance as he may find expedient; and he shall 
establish the bases upon which the yearly appropriation for the 
support of teachers' institutes shall be distributed to the several 
institutes, and the term or terms during which the same may be 
held, having reference, in the establishment of such regulations, 
to the number of teachers in the county, district or combined dis- 
tricts, and in attendance at the institute, to the length of time 
during which they shall be held, to the facilities for attendance 
upon them, and to local disadvantages requiring especial consider- 
ation. 

§ 4. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may establish such 
regulations in regard to certificates of qualification or recommend- 
ation, which may be issued by school commissioners, as will in his 
judgment furnish incentives and encouragement to teachers to 
attend the institutes ; and the closing of his school by a teacher 
for the time during which an institute shall be held in and for the 
county or school commissioner district in which his school is, and 
which institute he shall have attended during the time for which 
he closed his school, shall not work a forfeiture of the contract 
under which he is teaching ; and he shall be allowed to make up 
for the time spent in attending the institute by teaching the school 
the same length of time immediately at the end of the term for 
which he contracted to teach. 

§ 5. The trustees of every school district are hereby directed to 
give to the teacher or teachers employed by them the whole of the 
time spent by such teacher or teachers in attending at any regular 
session or sessions of an institute in a county embracing the school 
district, or a part thereof, without deducting any thing from his or 
their wages for the time so spent; and Avhenever the trustees' 
report shows that a district school has been supported for the full 
time required by law, including the time spent by the teacher or 
teachers in their employ in attendance upon such institute, and 
that the trustees have given the teacher or teachers the time of 
such absence, and have not deducted any thing from his or their 
wages on account thereof^ the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion may include the district in his apportionment of the State 



Teachers' Institutes. 227 

school moneys, and direct that it be included by the school com- 
missioner or commissioners in their apportionment of school 
moneys, provided always that such school district be in all other 
respects entitled to be included in such apportionment. 

§ 6. The Treasurer shall pay, on the warrant of the Comptroller, 
to the order of any one or more of the school commissioners, such 
sum or sums of money as the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
shall certify to be due to them for expenses in holding a teachers* 
institute ; and, upon the like warrant and certificate, to the order 
of any persons employed by the Superintendent to conduct and 
teach any teachers' institute, his reasonable compensation as certi- 
fied by the Superintendent. 

§ 7. The school commissioner or commissioners, by whom any 
teachers' institute shall be organized, shall transmit to the Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction a catalogue of the names of all 
persons who shall have attended such institute, with such other 
statistical information, in such form and within such time as 
may be prescribed by said Superintendent. 

The first law for the establishment of teachers' institutes was passed Novem- 
ber 13, 1847. For several j^ears previous, assemblies of teachers under thia 
name liad been lield in various parts of tlie State. Tlie law was passed to aid 
in testing what many deemed a doubtful experiment. The institute haa 
become a useful part of tlie common scliool system. 

It is now the duty of every school commissioner, alone, or in concert with 
one or more commissioners of the same county, to organize an institute every 
year, and to invite and urge the attendance of all teachers within his or their 
jurisdiction. 

Probably the best mode of giving notice of the time and place of holding an 
institute is by advertisement in the county papers, taking care to send by. mail 
a copy to each teacher. 

The commissioners should also enter into a correspondence with the Superin- 
tendent, that the institutes may be arranged as to time and place, so that 
several appointments may not be made for the same days in the same montli. 
It is desirable that they should be distributed through the summer and autumn, 
so that the same instructors may be engaged for many of them. 

The place appointed for holding an institute should be selected with a view 
to the convenience and pecuniary interests of the teachers. It should be a vil 
lage of such size as to afford ample accommodations for all in board and 
lodging. Its situation should be such as to be accessible by good roads. 

The time and place being fixed, the Superintendent Avill co-operate by engag- 
ing the best and most efficient conductors and teachers, who will attend as 
many institutes as they can visit. 



228 Teachees' Institutes. 

The bases of distribution mentioned in tlie tliird section, and special instruC' 
tions, will be commnnicated every year in circulars to commissioners. 

During tlie year, as occasion may offer, every commissioner sliould converse 
witli teachers, advising and urging tliem to attend the institute. He should 
also consult with them about the organization and conduct of the institute. 
The commissioner should think of, mature and propose some plan for the 
accomplishment of some object at every annual assembling. The whole field 
of education cannot be cultivated at once. A week or ten days should not be 
wasted in striving to do too much, but sliould be improved in doing one or two 
things well. If there is a defect in the manner of teaching in his district, if 
particular studies have been neglected, if errors have crept into the schools, he 
should cause the institute to be so conducted as to cure these evils. In this 
way he will accomplish results. The teachers will be conscious of improve- 
ment, 

^ An institute is meant to be a short training school. And the training should 
be in those particulars in which there is the greatest deficiency. A club foot 
by skillful surgery may be made straight and useful, a squint eye cured of its 
obliquity, and a palsied limb be restored to motion and strength. The com- 
missioners are therefore advised to direct their training to the surgery and cure 
of special defects and evils. Let all have something to do. Let the work go 
on briskly. Let there be no idle moments, and there will be no craving for 
idle amusements. 

Lectures should form only incidents in the proceedings. They should be 
short and appropriate to the matter in hand. Teachers attend an institute 
not to hear an essay from a popular speaker on a favorite hobby, but to learn 
kow to teach children. 

As an inducement to teachers to attend the institutes the trustees of school 
districts, by the fifth section of the title, are authorized to pay them for the 
time passed in attendance, as if it was employed in teaching school ; and when 
this fact appears in their annual reports, the Superintendent will not withhold 
from the district its share in the apportionment of public moneys. The time 
spent by a teacher at an institute is by this law made a fulfillment of his con- 
tract to teach, and a part of the twenty-eight weeks during which school must 
be kept. 

It is optional, however, for the trustees to employ teachers under the fourth 
section, by Avhich the teacher can continue his school beyond the time limited 
in his contract, as many days as he was absent at an institute. 

To enable the commissioners to comply with the provisions of section seven, 
the Superintendent will supply them with forms for a register of attendance. 
He will also annually give them instructions how to make up and render 
their accounts, and furnish them with blanks for any statistical information 
desired. 



Appeals. • 229 

TITLE XII. 

ON APPEALS TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 

Section 1. Any person conceiving himself aggrieved in conse- 
quence of any decision made : 

1. By any school district meeting ; 

2. By any scliool commissioner or school commissioners and 
other officers, in forming or altering, or refusing to form or alter, 
any school district, or in refusing to apportion any school moneys 
to any such district or part of a district; 

3. By a supervisor in refusing to pay any such moneys to any 
such district ; 

4. By the trustees of any district in paying or refusing to pay 
any teacher, or in refusing to admit any scholar gratuitously into 
any school ; 

5. By any trustees ol any school district library concerning such 
library, or the books therein, or the use of such books ; 

6. By any district meeting in relation to the library ; 

7. By any other official act or decision concerning any other 
matter under this act, or any other act pertaining to common 
schools, may appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
who is hereby authorized and required to examine and decide the 
same ; and bis decision shall be final and conclusive, and not sub- 
ject to question or review in any place or court whatever. 

§ 2. The Superintendent, in reference to such appeals, shall have 
power : 

1. To regulate the practice therein ; 

2. To determine whether an appeal shall stay proceedings, and 
prescribe conditions upon which it shall or shall not so operate ; 

3. To decline to entertain, or to dismiss, an appeal, when it 
shall appear that the appellant has no interest in the matter 
appealed from, and that the matter is not a matter of public con- 
cern, and that the person injuriously affected by the act or decision 
appealed from is incompetent to appeal ; 

4. To make all orders, by directing the levying of taxes or other- 
wise, which may, in his judgment, be proper or necessary to give 
effect to his decision. 

§ 3. The Superintendent shall file, arrange in the order of time, 
and keep m his office, so that they may be at all times accessible, 
all the proceedings on every appeal to him under this title, includ- 



230 Appeals. 

ing his decision and orders founded thereon ; and copies of all 
such papers and proceedings, authenticated by him uiider his seal 
of office, shall be evidence equally with the originals. 

The right of appeal to tlie school department was first given in 1822. It has 
since remained with the head of the department, except for the short period 
from 1841 to 1847, during which appeals were in the first instance brought to 
the county superintendents, from whose decisions an appeal could be brought 
to the Superintendent. 

The supreme court, in 3 Denio, 177, declare that "this provision was intended 
as a cheap and expeditious mode of settling most, if not all, of the difficulties 
and disputes arising in the course of the execution of the law organizing and 
regulating common schools. The Legislature has virtually declared that, where 
a party will forego that convenient method of adjusting such a controversy as 
the present, and resort to the ordinary courts, it shall be at his own expense as 
regards costs," In 11 Wend., 91, the court made substantially the same remarks 
when refusing to give relief by an action of trespass against trustees for their 
proceedings in selling the plaintiff's property under a tax list and warrant 
which were in more than one respect erroneous. A further reason for prefer- 
ring the remedy by appeal to a common law action is, that the Superintendent 
can dispose of all the questions connected with the case in a single decision • 
where a proceeding is wrong, he can not only reverse it, but direct the appro- 
priate remedy, so as to redress all persons who have been injuriously affected ; 
while an action at law inures .only to the benefit of the person who brings it, 
and only gives pecuniary damages, without substituting a correct proceeding 
in the place of an erroneous one. 

No person can sustain an appeal unless he is aggrieved, that is, injured in 
his rights by the act or decision of which he complains. Generally, every 
inhabitant of a district is aggrieved by the wrongful act or omission of a trus- 
tee or school commissioner, by which money or property is disposed of, or not 
secured for the benefit of the district. But no one is aggrieved by another 
being included in a tax list, although other inhabitants are by the omission 
of one who should be taxed ; and appeals may be made by trustees in behalf of 
their district whenever they are aggrieved. 

Before giving the rules which have been made to regulate the practice upon 
appeals, it is proper to call attention to some general principles in relation to 
the mode of drawing them up. In the first place, the department wants facts, 
and not arguments, far less injurious imputations upon the motives of parties. 
The facts should be distinctly averred, so that an indictment for perjury would 
lie if they are willfully misstated. Therefore, they should not be stated by way 
of recital under a " whereas," or in any similar indirect way. Every material 
fact should be stated with all practicable particularity as to time, quantities, 
numbers, etc. Where a statement is ambiguous or doubtful in meaning, that 
construction is adopted which is most unfavorable to the party making it. The 
appellant should make out his own case ; so that if no answer is put in, the 



Appeals. 231 

Superintendent will have, in the appeal itself, all the facts to inform him what 
order ought to be made. No decision can be based upon any facts except those 
which are stated in the appeal, and which the opposite party has had the 
opportunity to controvert, although such facts may have been brought to the 
knowledge of the Superintendent in some other way. The record itself must 
contain enough to support the decision. 

In the bringing and answering of appeals, it is recommended that the papers 
be written upon foolscap, ruled as paper is ruled for legal pleadings. Such 
paper is kept by all stationers and booksellers, and is known as law-paper or 
legal cap. The several sheets should be written, as lawyers write their papers, 
on both sides, so that the bottom of the first page is the top of the second, and 
the sheets are fastened with tape, or attached by paste, at the ends, and not 
at the sides. Manuscript arranged in this fashion is m.ore easily handled* 
folded and filed. They should be smoothly folded, and indorsed with the title 
of the case, briefly stating the substance of the appeal or answer, with the name 
of the parties, and the district, town and cormty affected. The party sending 
an appeal or answer should also indorse on the papers his post-ofl[ice address. 



LETTERS OF INQUIRY AND EX PARTE APPLICATIONS. 

Perhaps the most onerous duty of the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
is one which is not mentioned in the statutes. It is that of replying to appli- 
cations for advice respecting the construction of the school laws, and tho 
legality of proceedings of district meetings, of trustees, and other school 
officers. The effort has been made to give in this volume a full exposition, 
under the appropriate section, of the questions which have been found, by the 
experience of the department, to embarrass officers in the discharge of their 
duties. If, however, after examination of the instructions herein contained, it 
is conceived necessary to apply to the department for further information, it 
must be borne in mind : 

1. That no decision can be made on any subject affecting in any manner tho 
rights or interests of other parties, without both sides having been heard or 
having been invited to present their statements. This occurs only when an 
appeal is regularly brought in the mode prescribed by the regulations, or 
where all parties have signed, and united in transmitting, a statement of facts 
to which they agree ; 

2. That an opinion, given under any other circumstances, must be regarded 
as valid only so far as the statement on which it is founded represents fairly 
and fully all the facts pertinent to the case. It frequently happens that two 
parties, applying for advice upon the same question, state the facts so differently 
that they receive very dissimilar replies, and are thus confirmed in their differ- 
ence of opinion, instead of being reconciled. No opinion should be asked upon 
an abstract question or a hypothetical case ; but the actual facts out of which 
th(i question arises should be clearly and briefly stated, with all practicable 
certainty as to dates and number, and in such a manner as to indicate the 
object of the inquiry. The last is advisable, because a proceeding may be 



232 Appeals. 

legally good and sufficient for some purposes, and as against some persons, 
wliile it is invalid for other purposes and against other parties. The facts should 
be stated in contradistinction to mere evidence on the one hand, and to the 
writer's inferences as to the effect of those facts, on the other. 

To facilitate the business of the department, and the prompt and correct 
transmission of answers to its correspondents, it is desirable that all letters 
should be written on foolscap paper, with a clear margin of one inch on the 
left hand edge of the page. . Thej should always specify the number of 
the school district, together with the name of the town or towns of which it 
constitutes a part, and the county in which the latter are situated. The writer 
should, in all cases, no matter how frequently he may write, state at what 
post-office he desires to be addressed. 

Whenever reference may be necessary to any previous letter from the depart- 
ment, its date should he given. This enables the department to ascertain at once 
its contents and those of the paper to which it was a reply. 

Every application for the exercise of any legal power of the department, as 
for special permission to be included in the apportionment of public money, 
etc., must be supported by an affidavit stating the facts on which it is based. 
When any person is interested in opposing it, the application must be accom- 
panied with proof of service of a copy thereof on such party, in the same 
manner as required upon appeals. 

RULES RESPECTING- APPEALS. 

1. An appeal must be in writing, addressed " To the Superintendent of Pub 
lie Instruction," and signed by the appellant. When made by the trustees of a 
district, it must be signed by all the trustees, or a reason must be given for the 
omission of any, verified by the oath of the appellant, or of some person 
acquainted with such reason. 

2. A copy of the appeal, and of all the statements, maps and papers intended 
to be presented in support of it, with the affidavit in verification of the same, 
must be served on the officers whose act or decision is complained of, or some 
of them ; or if it be from the decision or proceeding of a district meeting, upon 
the district clerk or one of the trustees, whose duty it is to cause information 
of such appeal to be given to the inhabitants who voted for the decision or pro- 
ceeding appealed from. Immediately after the service of such copy, the 
original, together with an affidavit proving the service of a copy thereof, and 
stating the time and manner of the service and the name and official character 
of the person upon whom such service was made, must be transmitted to the 
Department of Public Instruction, at Albany. If an answer is received to an 
appeal which has not been transmitted to the department, such appeal will be 
dismissed. 

3. Such service must be made and the original sent to the department within 
thirty days after the making of the decision or the performance of the act com- 
plained of, or within that time after the knowledge of the cause of complaint 
came to the appellant, or some satisfactory excuse must be rendered, in the 
appeal, for the delay. 



Appeals. 233 

4. The party on wliom the appeal was served must, within ten days from 
the time of such service, answer the same, either by concurring in a statement 
of facts with the appellant, or by a separate answer. Such statement and 
answer must be signed by all the trustees or other officers whose act, omission 
or decision is appealed from, or a good reason on oath must be given for the 
omission of the signature of any of them. Such answer must be verified by 
oath, and a copy served on the appellants or some one of them. 

5. So far as the parties concur in a statement, no oath will be required to it. 
But all facts, maps or papers, not agreed upon by them and evidenced by their 
signature on both sides, must be verified by oath. 

6. All oaths required by these regulations may be taken before any person 
authorized to take the acknowledgment of deeds, or to take aifidavits. 

7. A copy of the answer, and of all the statements, maps and papers intended 
to be presented in support of it, must be served upon the appellants, or some 
one of them, within ten days after service of a copy of the appeal, imless fur- 
ther time be given by the State Superintendent, on application, in special 
cases ; but no replication or rejoinder shall be allowed, except by permission of 
the State Superintendent ; in which case such replication and rejoinder shall 
be duly verified by oath, and copies thereof served on the opposite party. 

8. Proof of the service of copies of the appeal, answer and all other papers 
intended to be used on the hearing of such appeal, must, in all cases, accom- 
pany the same. 

9. When any proceeding of a district meeting is appealed from, and when 
the inhabitants of a district generally are interested in the matter of the appeal, 
and in all cases where an inhabitant might be an appellant had the decision or 
proceeding been the opposite of that which was made or had, any one or more 
of such inhabitants may answer the appeal, with or without the trustees. 

10. Where the appeal has relation to the alteration or formation of a school 
district, it must be accompanied by a map, exhibiting the site of the school- 
house, the roads, the old and new lines of districts, the different lots, the 
particular location and distance from the school-houses of the persons aggrieved, 
and their relative distance, if there are two or more school-houses in question. 
Also, a list of all the taxable inhabitants in the district or territory to be 
affected by the question, showing in separate columns the valuation of their 
property, taken from the last assessment roll, and the number of children 
between five and twenty-one belonging to each person, distinguishing the 
districts to which they respectively belong. 

11. An appeal of itself no longer stays proceedings. If the party desires such 
stay, he should ask for it. The Superintendent will graiit a stay, or not, as in 
his judgment it may be proper, or may subserve the interests of either party, or 
the public. 

12. The decision of the Superintendent in every case will contain the order, 
or directions, necessary and proper for giving effect to his decisions. 

30 



234 Miscellaneous Pkovisions. 

TITLE XIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

Section 1. Whenever the share of school moneys, or any por- 
tion thereof, apportioned to any town, school district or separate 
neighborhood, or any money to which a tOAvn, school district or 
separate neighborhood would have been entitled, shall be lost, in 
consequence of any willful neglect of official duty by any school 
commissioner, town clerk, trustees or clerks of school districts, the 
officer or officers guilty of such neglect shall forfeit to the town, 
school district or separate neighborhood so losing the same, the 
full amount of such loss, with interest thereon. 

§ 2. Where any penalty for the benefit of a school district, or of 
the schools of any school district, town, school commissioner dis- 
trict or county, shall be incurred, and the officer or officers whose 
duty it is by law to sue for the same shall willfully and unreasona-' 
bly refuse or neglect to sue for the same, such officer or officers 
shall forfeit the amount of such penalty to the same use, and it 
shall be the duty of their successor or successors in office to sue 
for the same. 

Whenever any penalty or forfeiture is declared to be for the benefit of a dis- 
trict, it is the duty of the trustees to sue for and enforce its collection. 

Whenever any penalty or forfeiture is declared to be for the benefit of a 
town, it is the duty of tlie supervisor to prosecute. 

Trustees may prosecute their predecessors in ofiice for money embezzled or 
unlawfully used or withheld. 

Trustees may prosecute collectors and tlieir bail for moneys lost to the dis- 
trict by the neglect of the collectors, or which are embezzled by them. 

Supervisors may prosecute their predecessors in office for penalties and for- 
feitures incurred by them, and for moneys embezzled or unlawfully used or 
withheld. 

Trustees may prosecute district clerks, and supervisors town clerks, for money 
lost by their willful neglect of duty. 

A public oflficer is bound to give to his official duties the same care and atten- 
tion that a prudent man would give to his private business. 

An officer who comes short of this is guilty of a willful neglect of duty. 

§ 3. Any person who shall willfully disturb, interrupt, or dis- 
quiet any district school or school meeting in session, or any per- 
sons assembled, Avith the permission of the trustees of the district, 
in any district school-house, for the purpose of giving or receiving 



Miscellaneous Provisions. 235 

instruction in any branch of education or learning, or in the science 
or practice of music, shall forfeit twenty-five dollars for the benefit 
of the school district. 

§ 4. It shall be the duty of the trustees of the district, or the 
teacher of the school, and he shall have powei", to enter a complaint 
against such offender before any justice of the peace of the county, 
or the mayor or any alderman, recorder or other magistrate of the 
city wherein the offense was committed. The magistrate, or other 
ofticer before whom the complaint is made, shall thereupon, by his 
warrant, directed to any constable or person, cause the person 
complained of to be arrested and brought before him for trial. If 
such person, on the charge being stated to him, shall plead guilty, 
the magistrate shall convict him ; and, if he demands a trial by the 
magistrate, shall summarily try him ; and, if he demands a trial 
by jury, the magistrate shall issue a venire, and impannel a jury 
for his trial, and he shall be tried in the same manner as in a court 
of special sessions. 

§ 5. If any person convicted of the said offense do not immedi- 
ately pay the penalty, with the costs of the prosecution, or give 
security to the satisfaction of the magistrate for the payment 
thereof within twenty days, the magistrate or other ofiicer shall 
commit him to the common jail of the county, there to be im- 
prisoned until the penalty and costs be paid, but not exceeding 
thirty days. 

The three preceding sections are a substitute for the act of 1845 forbidding 
the disturbance of evening schools. The provisions of the sections of the 
present law are plain and unmistakable. Every person wlio violates them 
forfeits twenty-five dollars. 

It is suggested tliat when the scliool-liousc is used for any other purpose 
than a district school, it would be proper to obtain the loritten permission of the 
trustees, as a safeguard against misunderstanding and forgetfulness. 

§ 6. In any action against a school officer or officers, including 
supervisors of towns, in respect of their duties and powers under 
this act, for any act performed by virtue of or under color of their 
offices, or for any refusal or omission to perform any duty enjoined 
by law, and Avhich might have been the subject of an appeal to 
the Superintendent, no costs shall be allowed to the plaintiff in 
cases where the court shall certify that it appeared on the trial 
that the defendants acted in good faith. But this provision shall 



236 Miscellaneous Pkovisions. 

not extend to suits for penalties, nor to suits or proceedings to 
enforce the decisions of the Superintendent. 

The term " action " in this section signifies a suit brouglit in any of the 
courts of this State. The denial of costs was intended to discourage the prose- 
cution of school officers in the courts, and to encourage the bringing of all dis- 
putes and controversies relating to the administration of the schools to the 
Department of Public Instruction. 

§ 7. Whenever the trustees, or any school district officer, shall 
have been instructed, by a resolution of the district meeting, to 
bring or defend an action or proceeding touching any district 
property or claim of the district, or involving its rights or inter- 
ests, or to continue such action or defense, all their costs and 
reasonable expenses, as well as all costs and damages adjudged 
against them, shall be a district charge, and shall be levied by tax. 
If the amount claimed by them be disputed by a district meeting, 
it shall be adjusted by the county judge of any county in which 
the district or any part of it is situate. 

§ 8. Whenever such trustees or any school district officer shall 
have brought or defended any such action or proceeding, without 
any such resolution of the district meeting, and after the final 
determination of such suit or proceeding shall present to any 
regular meeting of the inhabitants of the district an account in 
writing of all costs, charges and expenses paid by him or them, 
with the items thereof, and verified by his or their oath or affirma- 
tion, and a majority of the voters at such meeting shall so direct, 
it shall be the duty of the trustees to cause the same to be assessed 
upon and collected of the taxable property of said district, in the 
same manner as other taxes are by law assessed and collected ; 
and, Avhen so collected, the same shall be paid over, by an order 
upon the collector, to the officer or ofiicers entitled to receive the 
same ; but this provision shall not extend to suits for penalties, 
nor to suits or proceedings to enforce the decisions of the Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction. 

§ 9. Whenever any officer or officers mentioned in the last pre- 
ceding section of this act shall have complied with the provisions 
of said section, and the inhabitants shall have refused to direct the 
trustees to levy a tax for the payment of the costs, charges and 
expenses therein mentioned, it shall be lawful for him or them 
then and there to give notice, orally and publicly, that he will 



Miscellaneous Provisions. 237 

appeal to the county juclge of the county in which the school- 
house of said district is located, from the refusal of said meeting 
to vote a tax for the payment of said claim, and the inhabitants 
may then and there, or at any subsequent district meeting, 
appoint one or more of the inhabitants of the district to protect 
the riglits and interests of the district upon said appeal. And the 
officer or officers before mentioned shall, thereupon, within ten 
days, serve upon the clerk of said district (or, if there be no such 
clerk, upon the town clerk of the town) a copy of the aforesaid 
account so sworn to, together with a notice in writing, that on a 
certain day therein specified he or they intend to present such 
account to the county judge for settlement. And the clerk shall 
record such notice, together with the copy of the account, and the 
same shall be subject to the inspection of the inhabitants of the 
district. And it shall be the duty of the person or persons 
appointed by any district meeting for that purpose, to appear 
before the county judge on the day mentioned in the notice afore- 
said, and to protect the rights of the district upon such settle- 
ment ; and the expenses incurred by them in the performance of 
this duty shall be a charge upon said district, and the trustees, 
upon presentation of the account of such expenses, with the proper 
vouchers therefor, may levy a tax therefor, or add the same to any 
other tax to be levied by them ; and their refusal to levy such tax 
for the payment of such expenses shall be subject to an appeal to 
the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

§ 10. Upon the appearance of the parties, or upon due proof of 
service of the notice and copj^ of the account, the county judge shall 
examine into the matter, and hear the proofs and allegations pro- 
pounded by the parties, and decide by order whether or no the 
account, or any and what portion thereof, ought justly to be 
charged upon the district, and his decision shall be final ; but no 
portion of such account shall be so ordered to be paid which shall 
appear to the county judge to have arisen from the willful neglect 
or misconduct of the claimant. The account, with the oath of the 
party claiming the same, shall \>q prima facie evidence of the cor- 
rectness thereof. The county judge may adjourn the hearing 
from time to time, as justice shall seem to require. 

§ 1 1. It shall be the duty of the trustees of any school district, 
within thirty days after service of a copy of such order upon them, 



238 Miscellaneous Peovisions. 

or upon the district clerk and notice thereof to them or any two 
of them, to cause the same to be entered at length in the book of 
records of said district, and to raise the amount thereby directed 
to be paid, by a tax upon the district, to be by them assessed and 
levied in the same manner as a tax voted by the district. 

The above five sections have been substituted for the law which referred 
such claims for adjudication and settlement to the board of supervisors. 

By subdivision 14 of section 16 of title 7 of this act, the people of a district 
may vote a tax "to pay the reasonable expenses incurred by district officers in 
defending suits, or appeals brought against them for their official acts, or in 
prosecuting suits or appeals by direction of the district against other parties." 

It will be noticed that by sections six and eight, in suits for penalties, or to 
compel obedience to the decisions of the Superintendent, the provisions of 
this title in respect to costs are not applicable. 

§ 1 2. For the support of the Indian schools, already established 
and which may be established under authority of chapter seventy- 
one of the Laws of eighteen hundred and fifty-six, the Suj^erintend- 
ent of Public Instruction, in his annual general apportionment of 
the State school moneys appropriated for the support of common 
schools, shall make an equitable apportionment, as provided by 
section six of title three of this act ; and the moneys which shall 
be thus apportioned, and those which have been apportioned for 
their support under authority of section four, chapter seventy-one 
of the Laws of eighteen hundred and fifty-six, shall be paid out 
of the treasury for expenditures authorized by law and actually 
incurred in support of such schools, upon the warrant of the Super- 
intendent, countersigned by the Comptroller. 

The following is a copy of chapter 71, Laws of 1856 : 

AN ACT to facilitate education and civilization among the Indians in this 
State. 

Passed April 1, 1856 ; three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact 
as follows : 

§ 1. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be charged with pro- 
viding the means of education for all the Indian children in the State. He 
shall cause to be ascertained the condition of the various bands in the State, 
in respect to education ; he shall establish schools in such places and of such 
character and description as he shall deem necessary ; he shall employ super- 
intendents for such schools, and shall, vdih the concurrence of the Com})troller 
and Secretary of State, cause to be erected, where necessary, convenient build- 
ings for their accommodation. 



Miscellaneous Provisions. 239 

§ 2. In the discharge of the duties imposed by this act, the said Superintend- 
ent shall endeavor to secure the co-operation of all the seA^eral bands of Indians, 
and for this purpose shall visit, by himself or his authorized agent, all the 
reservations where they reside, lay the matter before them in public assembly, 
inviting them to assist either by appropriating their public moneys to this 
object, or by setting apart lands and erecting suitable buildings, or by fur- 
nishing labor or materials for such buildings, or in any other way which ho 
or they may suggest as most effectual for the promotion of this object. 

§ 3. In any contract which may be entered into with the said Indians for the 
use or occupancy of any land for school grounds, sites or buildings, care shall 
be taken to protect the title of the Indians to their lands, and to reserve to the 
State the right to remove or otherwise dispose of all improvements made at 
the expense of the State. 

§ 4. The Indian children in the State, between the ages of four and twenty- 
one years, shall be entitled to draw public money the same as white children. 
The Superintendent shall cause an annual enumeration of said Indian children 
to be made, and shall see that the public money to which they are ratably 
entitled is devoted exclusively to their education. 

§ 5. To carry into effect the provisions of this act, the sum of five thousand 
dollars is hereby appropriated out of the surplus income of the United States 
deposit fund, to be paid by the Treasurer, on the warrant of the Comptroller, 
from time to time, to the order of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

§ 6. The Superintendent shall take and file in his oflace vouchers and 
receipts for all the expenditures made under this act, subject to the inspection 
of the joint committee to examine the accounts of the Auditor and Treasurer, 
and shall annually report to the Legislature all his doings by virtue of the 
authority vested in him ; and for this purpose said Superintendent may require 
full and detailed reports, in such form as he may prescribe, from those having 
the immediate supervision of any Indian schools in this State. 

§ 13. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, so soon as may 
be after the passage of this act, shall prepare and cause to be 
printed, and distribute among the schools of the State, to each 
one copy, an edition of this statute, with brief annotations embody- 
ing such of the decisions of the courts of the State, and of the 
Superintendents of Common Schools and the Superintendents of 
Public Instruction as are applicable thereto, and such comments, 
explanations and instructions as he shall deem necessary or expe- 
dient ; and the game shall be deposited with the district clerk, and 
kept by him for the use of the inhabitants. 

§ 14. All provisions of law repugnant to or inconsistent with 
the provisions of this act are hereby repealed, saving always all 
rights of action vested under such prior provisions, and proceed- 
ings commenced for the assertion thereof; but nothing herein con- 
tained, unless it be so expressed, shall be construed, unless by 
inevitable implication, to revive any act or portion of an act here- 
tofore repealed, nor to impair or in any manner affect or change 
any special law touching the schools or school system of any city 
or incorporated village of the State. 



240 



MiSCELLAKEOUS PeOVISIONS. 



The amendments adopted by cliapter 406, Laws of 1867, of the general school 
law, passed in 1864 and amended in 1866, have thus far, section by section, 
been incorporated in the Code. 

The twenty-fifth section of chapter 406, Laws of 1867, is as follows : 

" § 25. This act shall take effect on the first day of October, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-seven. The State tax of one and one-fourth mills upon the 
dollar shall be imposed for the fiscal year commencing the first day of October, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and shall be assessed, raised, levied and col- 
lected in the manner prescribed by law." 

The twenty-sixth section is in the following words : 

" § 26. Hereafter all moneys, now authorized by any special acts to be col- 
lected by rate bill for the payment of teachers' w^ages, shall be collected by 

tax and not by rate bill." 

This is the most important section contained in any school act since 1814, 
when the rate bill was devised and incorporated into the law as a mode of col- 
lecting the deficiency in the payment of teachers' wages after the application 
nf the public money. 

The rate bill is that feature of our common school system which has been. ' 
most prolific of dispute and controversy ; which has imposed the heaviest and 
most perplexing duties upon the trustees ; which has been burdensome and 
odious to the poor; which has imposed an unequal and unjust tax upon the 
families more blessed in their children than in their basket and store, and 
wdiich has been the great cause of irregular attendance and absenteeism. The 
following table exhibits the sums levied annually by rate bill since the year 
1828 : 



Year. 


Amount. 


Year. 


Amount. 


Year. 


Amonut. 


182S, 


6297,043 49 
346,807 20 
374,001 54 
358.320 17 
3fi9.696 36 
393.137 04 
419.878 69 
425.643 61 
436..346 46 
477,875 27 
521.477 49 
476,443 27 
475,000 00 
468,638 22 


1842,... 


$509,376 97 
447,565 97 
453,127 78 
4(50.764 78 
462.840 74 
466,674 85 
439,696 63 
503,724 56 
136.949 59 
224,971 71 
308.851 33 
330.190 93 
382,359 08 
461,770 13 


18.56 

1857, 

1858 (9 months), ... 
1858-59, . . 


$427,956 07 
390.515 50 
318,353 41 
414.062 72 
420,257 98 
397,215 87 
407,009 57 
363,741 05 
429,892 52 
655.158 78 
709,02.5 36 
743,047 73 


1829, 


1843, 

1344, 

1845, 


1830, 

1831 

1&32, 

ia33, 

1834 

1835 

1836 


1846, 

1847, 

1848, 

1849 


18.59-60, 


1869-61, 


1861-62, 


1862-63, 


18.50, 


186.8-64 

18f)4-6.5, 

186.5-66, 

1866-67 


1837 

ias3, 

1&39, 


1851, 

1,8.52, 


1853, 


1840, 

1841, 

Total, . . . 


18-54, 

1855, 







$17,170,474 39 





The average sum yearly collected by rate bill for the forty-one years included 
in the table is $429,261.86. 

For the fourteen years prior to 1828, it is probable that the amount collected 
by rate bill was $250,000 a year. The aggregate will be, therefore, increased 
to $20,670,474.39, for fifty-five years, and the yearly average will be $382,- 
971.74. 



Miscellaneous Provisions. 241 

It will be observed tliat the sum raised bv rate bill bas uniformly exceeded, 
and generally quadrupled, the amount distributed from the income of the com- 
mon school fund. It has as regularly exceeded the whole public money appor- 
tioned from the school fund, and the United States deposit fund, added to the 
county and town taxes, until the imposition of the State tax in 1851. The 
years to be excepted from these statements are 1850-1-2, the years of the free 
school controversy. The rate bill has been the special tax upon the patrons of 
the common schools. It may j ustly be styled a tax upon knowledge. The pres- 
ent law has merely transferred this burden from the fathers of families to the 
taxable property of the whole State. 

The rate bill ha\ing been abolished, the common schools will hereafter be 
supported from the following sources : 

1. The income of the common school fund ; 

2. The amount that the Legislature may annually set apart from the income 
of the United States deposit fund ; 

3. The general State tax ; 

4. District, village and city taxation ; 

5. The income of local funds. 

(1.) The revenue of the common school fund is about $170,000 a year. The 
distribution from it is at present $155,000 yearly. 

(2.) The appropriation from the income of the United States deposit fund is 
$165,000 annually ; but it depends upon the Legislature, which may, at any 
time, divert the income to some other object. 

(3.) The main dependence of the schools, so far as relates to the payment of 
teachers' wages, must be upon the State tax, which, being now fixed at one 
and a quarter mills upon each dollar of valuation, will probably yield about 
two millions of dollars a year. The income of the two funds is about one- 
fifteenth of the sum annually needed to pay teachers. 

(4.) District, village and city taxation is voluntary, and the amount raised 
annually varies with the exigencies of the year. The purchase of sites, the 
building of school-houses, and the furnishing of them with seats, desks, chairs, 
stoves, fuel and apparatus are all done by local taxation. ISTo money has ever 
been appropriated for these objects from the income of the State funds, or the 
avails of the State tax. 

(5.) The income of local funds, chiefly gospel and school lands, was for the 
year 1867 $26,009.24. It does not vary much from year to year. 

Section 26 repeals all the provisions in special acts passed for cities and vil- 
lages, and all local acts authorizing the collection of any money by rate MIL 
The schools must be free. Education in the State is gratuitous. There are to 
be henceforward no rate bills and no tuition bills, except the fees charged by 
trustees to non-resident pupils, and pupils under five and oVer twenty- 
one years of age, and which they may require to be prepaid. The only 
moneys heretofore "authorized by special acts to be collected by rate 
bill for the payment of teachers' wages," were the amounts due to teachers, 
after they had received the share apportioned to the district from the public 
moneys. After applying the public moneys, so far as they will go, to the pay- 
31 



242 Miscellaneous Provisions. 

ment of teacliers' wages, tlie trustees will, hereafter, collect the residue by & 
district tax. 

The inhabitants of a district, in the first instance, are authorized, at anv 
meeting duly assembled, to vote the sums necessary for this purpose. In the 
absence of such vote, or on the refusal to pass such vote, the trustees are 
required to levy and collect the amount due the teacher by a district tax. 

The twenty-seventh section of chapter 406, Laws of 1867, is as follows : 

" § 27. Nothing in this act contained shall be construed to authorize the 
common council of any city to increase the local city tax for the support of the 
schools therein, beyond the amounts they are now authorized by law to raise 
for local school purposes, and such local tax shall be reduced in such city by 
an amount equal to the amount it shall receive by the additional tax author- 
ized by this act, for the support of schools, in the State generally." 

The laws establishing schools in the cities, generally, if not in every 
case, limit the amount to be raised by tax in each year for their support. 
As the cities will receive their share of the common school and United States 
deposit funds, and their share of the increased State tax, the object of this sec-, 
tion seems to be to reduce the local taxation of the city for the support of 
schools in a sum equal to the difference between what would have been the 
city's share of a State tax of three-fourths of a mill on the dollar of valuation, 
and its share of a tax of one and one-fourth of a mill on the dollar. 



GENERAL LAWS RELATING TO SCHOOLS 

KOT INCLUDED IN THE CODE. 



CHAP. 800. 

AN ACT to provide for the Appraisal of, and acquiring Title to 
Lands taken for or in addition to Sites for District School- 
Houses. 

Passed April 25, 1866 ; tliree-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do eriact as folloios : 

Section 1. Land for the site of a district school-house, or addi- 
tional land adjoining to and for the enlargement of an established 
site, not exceeding one acre, may be acquired in cases where the 
owner or owners thereof, or some of them, shall not consent to sell 
the same for such purpose, or the trustee or trustees of the district 
cannot agree with such owner or owners, or some of them, upon 
the price or value thereof, as follows : 

A petition shall be prepared for presentation to the county court 
of the county in which the land is situated, at some regular term 
thereof, signed by the trustee or trustees of the district, or a major- 
ity of them, setting forth that the inhabitants of the district have 
designated or desire to obtain the land for the site of a district 
school-house, or in addition to and for the enlargement of that 
already established as such site, describing such land by its locality 
and by particular metes and bounds, stating the quantity thereof 
as nearly as may be, with the name or names, and place or places 
of residence of the owner or owners, and that the consent of such 
owner or owners, or some of them, to sell such land for said pur- 
pose, cannot be obtained, or that the trustee or trustees cannot 
agree with him or them, or some of them, upon a reasonable price 
therefor, and praying for the appointment of commissioners to 
appraise the same. 

Said petition shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of 
the county in which the land is situated, and at the time of filing 



244 Sites foe District School-Houses. 

thereof, or at any time afterward, the petitioners may cause a 
notice of the pendency of the proceeding to be filed in said office, 
which notice the county clerk shall file and record in the same 
manner that similar notices in actions in the supreme court are 
required to be filed and recorded; which notice shall state the 
object of the proceeding, and contain a description of the land and 
the names of the parties affected thereby. And all persons who 
shall acquire, in whatsoever way, any title to, interest in, lien or 
incumbrance upon, said land, after the filing of the notice of the 
pendency of the proceedings as aforesaid, shall be bound and 
affected by said proceedings in the same manner and to the same 
extent as if they had been named in the petition as parties thereto ; 
and said persons shall also be bound in the same manner and to 
the same extent, by notice of the existence of said proceeding, 
whether notice of the pendency thereof has been filed or not. The 
petitioners may appear and prosecute such proceedings by an 
attorney. 

A copy of said petition, with a notice thereto annexed of the time 
and place when and w^here the same will be presented to said 
county court, addressed to the owner or owners of the required 
lands, shall be served in all cases, except as hereinafter allowed, as 
follows : Upon each person to whom the notice is addressed, who 
resides in the county in which the land is situated, by delivering 
to each such person, or, in case of his absence, by leaving at his 
dwelling-house or usual place of abode or business, such copy and 
notice, at least thirty days before the day specified in the notice 
for the presentation of the petition. Upon each such person who 
shall reside out of such county, by depositing such copy and 
notice in one of the post-offices nearest to said land, directed to 
such person at his reputed place of residence, and paying the 
proper postage thereon, at least forty days before the day specified 
in the notice for the presentation of the petition, if such place of 
residence be within this State, and at least sixty days before that 
day if such place of residence be out of this State, except that if 
such place of residence be in the upper peninsula of Michigan, or 
in any State or territory of the United States west of the Mis- 
sissippi river, except the States of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and 
Louisiana, or anyplace out of the jurisdiction of the United States, 
then at least four months before such specified day of presentation. 



Sites for District School-Houses. 245 

If any sucli owner or owners shall reside out of the State, and 
shall have an agent or attorney residing therein, authorized to 
convey or contract for the sale of his or their interest in said lands, 
who shall not consent, or with whom the trustee or trustees can- 
not agree as aforesaid, then and in that case the service of the 
copy of petition and of notice aforesaid may be made upon such 
agent or attorney instead of upon such owner or owners, either 
personally or by depositing the same in a post-office as aforesaid, 
directed to such agent or attorney at his place of residence, and 
paying postage as aforesaid, the same number of days or months 
before the said specified day for the presentation of the petition, 
as if the service were upon such owner or owners, as hereinbefore 
required. If any such owner shall be an infant under the age of 
twenty-one years, such service shall be made on his general guard- 
ian ; if there be no such guardian, on the infant, if over fourteen 
years of age, and if under that age, on the person with whom such 
infant shall reside, in each case in the same mode, and the same 
number of days or months before the specified day for the presen- 
tation of the petition, as if the service were upon an adult owner, 
according to the place of residence of such guardian, infant, or 
person with whom such infant resides, upon whom service is made. 
If any such owner shall be an idiot, or of unsound mind, service 
shall be made upon the committee of his person or estate ; or, if 
there be no such committee, then upon the person who shall have 
the care of such idiot or person of unsound mind, in the same 
mode and the same number of days before presentation of the 
petition as in other cases. In all other cases service of copies of 
the petition, of notices, appointments of guardians or committees, 
orders or other papers in the proceedings under this act, or in con- 
nection therewith, shall be made as the court in which the pro- 
ceedings are had shall direct. (As amended by chapter 819, JLaios 
of\^^1ypage 2067, volume 2.) 

§ 2. On presenting such petition to the county court aforesaid, 
on the day specified for its presentation as aforesaid, with proof 
of service of a copy or copies thereof and notice, and of other 
papers as hereinbefore required, all persons whose estate or inter- 
est are to be affected by the proposed proceedings, relative to the 
land described in the petition, may appear in person or by attor- 
ney, or other proper representative, before the said court, and 



246 Sites for District School-Houses. 

show cause against granting the prayer of the petitioners. The 
said court shall hear the proofs and allegations of the parties, and 
if no sufficient cause be shown against granting the prayer of the 
petitioners, shall make an order appointing three disinterested 
and suitable persons, residing in the same county, neither of«whom 
shall be an inhabitant of the school district named in the petition, 
or interested in any taxable property therein, or who shall be 
within two degrees of relationship, by blood or marriage, to any 
owner of such taxable property, or to any owner of the land 
described in such petition, as commissioners to appraise the said 
land and to award the compensation to be made to the owner or 
owmers thereof for the same, for the purposes specified in said 
petition ; and the said court shall specify and appoint in such 
order the time and place within said school district for the first 
meeting of said commissioners, and also the time and place when 
and where said county court will receive the report of said com- 
missioners of their proceedings and award in the premises, for 
confirmation. 

§ 3. The said commissioners, before entering upon their duties, 
shall be sworn before some officer authorized to administer oaths, 
that they will fairly and impartially view the land in question, 
hear the proofs and allegations of the parties interested, and make 
a just and reasonable award of the compensation to be paid by the 
school district for the said land, to be appropriated for a site or 
part of a site for a district school-house. The said commissioners 
shall have power to issue subpoenas and administer oaths to wit- 
nesses, and a majority of them may adjourn the proceedings from 
time to time if necessary. They shall also view the land in ques- 
tion, hear the proofs and allegations of parties, reduce the testimony 
given, if any, to writing ; and, without unnecessary delay, they, or 
a majority of them, shall appraise the said land and determine and 
award the compensation which ought to be made therefor by said 
school district, to the party or parties owning the same. They 
shall make a written report of their proceedings and award in the 
case, signed by them, or a majority of them, which shall be accom- 
panied by the minutes of the testimony taken by them, and shall 
deliver the same to the county judge of the county on or before 
the day named in the order appointing them, for receiving such 
report for confirmation. The said commissioners shall be entitled 



Sites for District School-Houses. 247 

to two dollars per day for their services, which shall be a charge 
upon and be paid by the school district in whose behalf the land 
in question has been appraised by them as aforesaid. 

§ 4. On the day and at the time and place appointed in the order 
aforesaid for receiving such report, the county court aforesaid, on 
being satisfied of the regularity and fairness of the previous pro- 
ceedings, shall make an order reciting the proceedings, giving a 
description of the land appraised, confirming the report and direct- 
ing to whom the compensation awarded shall be paid, or where 
and with whom the same shall be deposited. A certified copy of 
the last mentioned order shall, without unnecessary delay, be 
delivered by the judge holding said county court to the trustee or 
trustees aforesaid, or to one of them, whose duty it shall be forth- 
with to cause the same to be recorded at the expense of the said 
school district, in the office of the county clerk of the county in 
which the land therein described is situated. The trustee or trus- 
tees are hereby authorized and directed, on the filing of said order 
with the county clerk as aforesaid, forthwith to levy a district tax 
for a sum sufficient to pay the compensation named in said award 
and the expense of recording said order, 

§ 5. Upon said order being recorded as aforesaid, and upon the 
payment or deposit of the amount of compensation awarded for 
said land, all the right, title and interest of the owner and owners 
aforesaid, in and to the said land, shall vest in the school district 
in whose behalf the proceedings aforesaid were instituted ; and the 
trustee or trustees of such district shall be entitled to enter upon, 
take possession of, occupy and use said land for the purpose set 
forth in their petition aforesaid; and all land acquired by any 
school district, pursuant to the provisions of this act, shall be 
deemed to be taken for public use. 

§ 6. The proceeds of every such award shall be divided amongst 
the parties whose rights and interests shall have been sold, in pro- 
portion to their respective rights in the premises ; and the share 
of such of the parties as are of full age shall be paid to them or 
their legal representatives by the commissioners, or shall be 
brought into court for their use. 

§ V. When any of such known parties are infants, the court 
may, in its discretion, direct the share of such infants to be paid 
over to the general guardian on proper security being filed, or to 



248 Sites foe Disteict School-Houses. 

be inyested. in permanent securities at interest, in the name and 
for the benefit of such infants, or be deposited in some trust com- 
pany or savings bank to abide the further order of the court. 

§ 8. When any of the parties whose interests have been sold are 
absent from the State, or are not known or named in the proceed- 
ings, the court shall direct the shares of such parties to be invested 
in permanent securities at interest, or to be deposited in some 
trust company or savings bank to abide the further order of the 
court, for the benefit of such parties, until claimed by them or 
their legal representatives. 

§ 9. When the proceeds of a sale belonging to any tenant in 
dower, or by the curtesy, or for life, shall be brought into court 
as hereinbefore directed, the court shall direct the same to be 
invested in permanent securities at interest, so that such interest 
shall annually be paid to the parties entitled to such estate during 
their lives respectively, unless such parties shall elect to accept a 
sum in gross in lieu thereof. 

§ 10. The court may, in its discretion, require all or any of the 
parties, before they shall receive any share of the moneys arising 
from such sale, to give security to the satisfaction of such court to 
refund the said shares with interest thereon, in case it shall there- 
after appear that such party was not entitled thereto. 

§ 11. The amounts of all commissioners' fees, and of all expenses 
incurred by or in behalf of any school district, in pursuance of the 
provisions of this act, shall be a charge upon such district, and be 
levied and collected by tax in the same manner as other district 
taxes are levied and collected therein. 

§ 12. This act shall not apply to cities; nor shall it be lawful 
under this act to acquire title to any garden or orchard, or any 
part thereof, without the consent of the owner, nor to any part of 
any yard or inclosure necessary to the use and enjoyment of build- 
ings or any fixtures or erections for the pur^^oses of trade or manu- 
factures, without the consent of such owner. 

§ 13. This act shall take efiect immediately. 

Ciiap. 819, Laws of 1867, sections 2 and 3, refers to and amends tlds law, and 
provides as follows : 

§ 2. The act hereby amended shall apply to union free school 
districts and to districts organized under special laws; and the 



Sites for District School-Houses. 249 

trustees of such districts, or the boards of education organized 
under special Laws, shall be and are hereby clothed with all the 
powers vested in trustees under said act. 

§ 3. Nothing in this act contained shall prejudice or impair any- 
right acquired or proceeding had or instituted, under or by virtue 
of the act hereby amended. 

Domain is the right to dispose of a thing wliich belongs to us. 

Eminent domain is the right which the people or government retain over 
the estates of individuals to resume the same for public use. {Bouvier's Law Dic- 
tionary.) 

The word domain is derived from the Latin dominium, which signifies domin- 
ion, power. The word eminent is derived from the Latin emineo, and signifies 
high. The words " eminent domain," therefore, mean the highest authority or 
ultimate power. All governments have exercised this power. In despotic 
countries it is unlimited. Even in England — a constitutional monarchy — the 
Parliament may take private property for public use without compensation. 

A brief history of the changes in the tenure of land, and a few definitions, 
will aid in understanding this provision of law, and the clauses of the Consti- 
tution by which it is authorized. 

Prior to the year 1000, the feudal tenure of land, called the feudal system, 
w'as hardly known in Europe. The word " feud " is found in very few manu- 
scripts earlier than that date. The territory of Europe during the preceding 
six hundred years had passed out of the Eoman power and been divided and 
parceled among the children and descendants of Charlemagne, or had become 
the property of the various barbarian hordes that had successively pressed 
upon each other and overrun the land. About the tenth century the Franks 
had possession of France and the Normans of Normandy ; the Teutonic nations 
held Germany and laid claim to Italy, We learn from ancient manuscripts 
and from the historians of the middle ages, that the proprietors of the soil 
in Germany and France were numerous and independent, and were the abso- 
lute owners. The introduction of the feudal system changed the whole face 
of things. It was a system of landholding. The great landholder had domin- 
ion over a certain extent of country. He granted to others the possession of 
subdivisions of his domain on condition that the grantee should swear fealty 
and hold himself in readiness at all times to do military service for his lord. 
During the two hundred years from 900 to 1100, the tenure of nearly all the 
land m Europe had become feudal. The allodial proprietors had been con- 
quered and reduced to feudal subjection, or had, for protection and safety of 
person and property, voluntarily sworn fealty to some mighty lord. There is 
evidence that the feudal system had been introduced into some parts of Eng- 
land prior to the Norman conquest. William the Conqueror proceeded to 
establish it, and give it a form and stability which clothed him and his suc- 
cessors with greater wealth and power than was possessed by any other mon- 
archs of their time. He divided England into sixty thousand parcels, that 
32 



250 Sites for District School-Houses. 

were all surveyed, named and described in a book called Dooms book, wliich 
was a surveyor's field book and an appraisal. The name was derived from 
the Latin word domus, a house. These parcels were erected into manors 
and lordships, and such as William did not retain as his own were granted 
to the retainers and adventurers who composed his army, as a reward for their 
services. A few of the Saxon proprietors were confirmed in their possessions ; 
but William required all the men, Saxon or Norman, to whom he granted or 
confirmed land, to swear fealty to him, to become his tenants, to acknowledge 
him as their superior and to become his vassals, ready to do him military ser- 
vice, and to obey promptly his summons to the field. England was his domain, 
and since his day the laws of England have recognized the king as the ulti- 
mate owner of all the land in the kingdom. William was a very wise and 
politic prince ; he had experienced the dangers which threatened all feudal 
sovereigns from the wealth, ambition and power of their vassals. He was 
himself, for his fief of Normandy, a vassal of the king of France. He guarded 
liis authority and supremacy by the subdivision of the kingdom into compara 
tively small estates. He created many fiefs, but made few rich feudatories. 
He gave to a few favorites hundreds of manors, but they were situated in' 
many different counties. The owners of estates so divided, so far apart, and 
whose retainers could not be summoned and assembled speedily, could never 
be very formidable to the king. 

In France the case was different. The great feudal lords were, in many 
instances, equal to the king in wealth, and their domains were not held by 
royal grant. In some instances, the domain of the feudal vassal was so large 
that he became a rival of the king. The dukes of Normandy, after they became 
kings of England, came also into possession, by marriage and inheritance, of 
the duchies of Guienne, Poictiers and Aquitanie, and their power was such that 
they disputed in the field for the throne of France. The word domain was 
used to express both the extent of their territory and their dominion over it. 
The feudal system in France and Germany reduced the peasantry to the most 
miserable condition of poverty and servitude. In process of time the power of 
the feudal lords was absorbed in the various monarchies. The kings of France 
and Prussia became absolute. The larger part of Germany became the property 
of the two houses of Brandenburg and Hapsburg, whose jealousy and rivalry 
however, permitted the establishment of thirty or more free cities, petty princi- 
palities and dukedoms. 

It is a curious historical fact, that a few of the ancient allodial estates resisted 
the encroachments of feudal power, and were still in existence even down to 
the time of the French revolution. But the wars and political revolutions of 
the last century have left nothing of the feudal system, except a legal vocabu- 
lary and the legal fiction which acknowledges the ultimate property of the 
nation, by right of its sovereignty, in the whole territory within its limits. In 
France, the laws now permit every person to become the owner of land, and 
favor its division and distribution ; so that the number of proprietors is nearly 
six millions, of whom five millions own on an average between three and seven 
and a half acres. In a large part of Germany, also, within the last seventy-five 



Sites foe District School-Houses. 251 

years, the right of owning land has been granted to the peasants. In Switzer- 
land, which was formerly most intensely feudal and aristocratic, the laws have 
recently abolished all aristocratic privileges and distinctions. Of the 485,000 
heads of families, it is said that 465,000 possess landed property, and it is cal- 
culated that of the 2,534,242 inhabitants of Switzerland, there are but 500,000 
having no landed possession ; and yet 30 per cent of the country is uncultivated, 
or occupied by water, rocks and glaciers. 

According to the census of 1861, the soil of the kingdom of Prussia is divided 
between 2,141,486 land owners — Grundbesitzer — divided very unequally among 
the various provinces. More than half of the proprietors own less than five 
morgen, or about three and a half acres. The whole population was 18,497,458, 
of whom eight millions and a half were engaged in agriculture, as their sole 
or chief occupation. Of these, 2,070,157 are proprietors, possessing from three 
acres to four hundred acres and more. The owners of three acres and less 
number 1,052,126 ; those from three to eighteen acres are 518,134; from 18 to 
160 acres 387,741 ; from 160 to 400 acres 17,675 ; and above 400 acres 14,481. 
As a rule, the least populous provinces contain the largest estates. The land 
is said to be passing from the nobility to the middle classes. This change is 
due to the abolition of serfdom and the right of the peasants to become the 
owners of land. 

If we turn to the two duchies of Mecklenburg, we shall see a different state 
of things. The population of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is 548,449, and they are 
nearly all serfs, who neither own land nor property of any kind. Of the soil 
of the duchy, 4,834 square miles, the duke owns one-fifth, the nobility, who 
number 624, own seven-tenths, and the remaining tenth is owned by various 
corporations and monastic institutions for Protestant noble ladies. In May, 
1864, a bill passed the parliament giving the landed proprietors power to con- 
demn the laborers on their estates, for simple " neglect of service," to a week's 
imprisonment and " twenty-five blows with a stick." It is not strange that the 
emigrants from this duchy to America number nearly ten thousand a year. Of 
the other duchy, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, containing 997 square miles, 527 square 
miles belong to the grand duke, 353 to the nobility, and 117 to the town corpo- 
rations. 

In England, at the conquest (1066), the population was about 1,500,000. In 
Doomsday book, the number of persons recorded is 283,242, which, Mr. Hallam 
thinks, allowing for women and children, may be roundly called 1,000,000. 
When the great survey was taken, there were within the realm 45,706 land- 
holders ; namely, 1,400 tenants in cajnti (including ecclesiastical corporations), 
7,871 wide?- tenants, 23,071 Sockmanni, and 13,364 liberi homines. At the revolu- 
tion of 1688, Grregory King estimated the population of England at 5,500,000, 
of whom 170,000 were land owners. At the census of 1861, the population of 
England was 20,066,224, and the landed proprietors are .stated at only 30,766. 
If we add to tliis number 5,000, to make up for mistakes, the astonishing 
fact still appears, that the land owners in England are 10,000 less than 
they were 800 years ago, and 135,000 less than they were 200 years ago. 
In 1066 the land holders composed about one in twenty-five of the popula- 



252 Sites for District School-Houses. 

tion ; in 1688, about one in tliirty-two, and in 1861 about one in five 
liundred. 

Ealpli Waldo Emerson, in liis book, " English. Traits," says : " The Marquis 
of Breadalbane rides out of his house a hundred miles in a straight line to the 
sea on his own property. The Duke of Sutherland owns the county of Suther- 
land, stretching across Scotland from sea to sea. The Duke of Devonsliire, 
besides his other estates, owns 96,000 acres in the county of Derby. The Duke 
of Richmond has 40,000 acres at Goodwood, and 300,000 at Gordon Castle. The 
Duke of Norfolk's park, in Sussex, is fifteen miles in circuit. The large 
domains are growing larger. In 1786 the soil of England was owned by 
250,000 corporations and proprietors, and in 1822 by 30,000. Of the 20,066,224 
population, less than one-tenth, 1,924,110, are agriculturists. Even the farms 
held by tenants are decreasing in number, the smaller being yearly absorbed 
in the larger." 

A recent English writer, Mr. Laing, writing in 1849, says : " In Holland, 
Flanders, Friesland, about the estuaries of the Scheldt, Maese, Ehine, Ems, 
Weser, Elbe and Eyder, in a great part of Westphalia, and other districts of 
Germany, in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and in the south of Europe, in 
Switzerland, the Tyrol, Lombardy and Tuscany, the peasants have, from very 
early times, been the proprietors of a great portion of the land. France and 
Prussia have, in our own times, been added to the countries in which the land is 
divided into small estates of working peasant proprietors. In every country of 
Europe, under whatever form of government, however remotely or indirectly 
afifected by the wars and convulsions of the French revolution, and however 
little the laws and institutions of the government may as yet be in accordance 
with, this social condition of the people, the tendency during this century has 
been to the division and distribution of the land into small estates of a working 
peasant proprietary, not to its aggregation into large estates of a nobility and 
gentry. This has been the real revolution in Europe. The only exception is 
Great Britain. The tendency with us during the present century has been 
directly the reverse. It has been to aggregate small estates into large, and in 
Scotland and in a great part of England, to aggregate small tenant occupancies 
into large farms." 

Mr. Maine, in his work entitled " Ancient Law," says : " The kingship of our 
Anglo-Saxon regal houses was midway between the chieftainship of a tribe 
and a territorial supremacy, but the superiority of the Norman monarchs, 
imitated from that of France, was distinctly a territorial sovereignty. Every 
subsequent dominion which was established or consolidated was formed on the 
later model. Spain, Naples and the Principalities, founded on the ruins of 
municipal freedom in Italy, were all under rulers whose sovereignty was 
territorial." 

In England, the whole fabric of the feudal system was reared upon the 
principle that the national territory was the property of the State. The boast 
of Louis XIV, " L'Et.at, c^est moi,'" might have been made Avith the most exact 
truth by the conqueror and his immediate successors. The system in England 
was this : In the crown resided the dominum directum over all the soil of the 



Sites foe. Disteict School-Houses. 253 

country, and from it alone could the dominum utile be derived. {See Reeves* 
History of English Law, volume 1, page 37.) Tlie division of the land was into 
three parts — first, the crown lands ; secondly, the fiefs granted on condition of 
the render of military or other services and the payments of rents ; and, thirdly, 
the estates of the church, also held for appropriate considerations. To these, in 
the almost endless subdividance of subinfeudation, there were tenants from the 
honorable position of knights and freeman down to the servile cultivators and 
adscripti glebce. But the land, although in the occupation of individuals, was 
always recognized as the property of the State, and, as its representative and 
the source of law and administration, the king was lord paramount over all his 
dominions. 

Such is the law of England, and such was the law in this State mitil 1776 
and 1787, when some modifications were made by our statutes. The common 
law of England was declared to be the law of tliis State, except so far as it 
should be changed by statute. Two great changes have entirely abolished the 
feudal system and the laws of primogeniture. The statute of 1787 declared all 
lands in the State to be allodial. This word is thus defined in Gregory's Dic- 
tionary : Ai,LODiAL, an epithet given to an inheritance without any acknowl- 
edgment to a lord or superior ; in opposition to feudal. Allodial lands are free 
lands, for which neither fees, rents nor services are due.* 



* Allodial. — Alloditim, in Middle Age Latin, was an estate held in absolute possession 
■without a feudal superior. iBlackstone.) The derivation has been much disputed, and 
little light has been thrown upon it by the various guesses of antiquMrians. The word 
appears as early as the ninth century, under ihe forms alodis, alodus, aiodiuni, alaudam ; 
anA, in French, alei!, aleiefranc,franc-alovd,f}'anc-aloi,franc-alei/f. The general sense is 
that of an estate held in absolute possession. 

"Mete prsediura possessionis hereditari^e, hoc est, alodum nostrum qui est in pago 
Anrligavensi." {A deed of the year 839, in Ducange.) Translated it is: "A farm in my 
hereditary possession, that is, my allodium which is in the Andigavensian country." 

'■'■ Alaiidum meum sive hereditatem quam dedit mihi pater mens in die nuptiarum 
mearum." " My allodium, or the inheritance that my father bestowed upon me on the 
day of my marriage." 

"Paternse hseriditatoe, quam nostrates a^oc?^«m vel patrimonium vocant, sese contulit." 
" He betook himself to his paternal estate which our people call allodhim, or patrimony." 

It is often opposed to a fief. " Usee autem fuerunt ea— quae de allodiis sive prgediis in 
feudum commutavit Adela." " These were the same lands which Adela changed from allo- 
dial or free lands into feudal lands." 

It is taken for an estate free from duties. " Habemus vin^se agripennum unum allodi- 
aliter immuneni, hoc est ab omni census et vicariae redhibitione liberum." "We have 
one little vineyard allodially exempt, tiat is, free from every kind of public tax or 
charge." 

" Eeddit ea terra 2 den. census cum ante semper alodium fuisset." " This land, which 
was always heretofore allodial, is now registered for a tax of two denarii." 

It can hardly be wholly distinct from Icelandic odal, which is used in much the same 
sense: "Allodium, prsedium hereditarium ; an inheritable farm:" " oc?aZ^<f-^'o?'(?, prspdium 
hereditarium ; odal-horinn, natus ad hcredium avitum ; born to an ancestral estate ; that 
is. one in the direct line from the first owner:'' '■'■ odals-madr, domlnus allodialis, stricte 
primus occupans: an allodial lord, strictly the first occupant." 

Danish and Swedish, odel, a patrimonial estate. The landed proprietors of the Shetland 
islands are still called udallers, according to Sir Walter Scott. The Icelandic odal is also 



254 Sites for District School-Houses. 

But altliough tlie tenure of land was changed from feudal to allodial, tlie 
ultimate property was still declared to be in the people. It follows, therefore, 
that every owner of land in the State is the tenant of the people, and holds his 
title subject to the paramount right of the people. 

The logical consequence of this territorial sovereignty of the people, or the 
State, is thus expressed by John Stuart Mill, in his "Principles of Political 
Economy," volume 1, page 285 : 

" Landed property is felt, even by those most tenacious of its rights, to be a 
different thing from other property ; and when the bulk of the community have 
been disinherited of their share of it, and it has become the exclusive attribute 
of a small minority, men have generally tried to reconcile it to their sense of 
justice by endeavoring to attach duties to it, and erecting it into a sort of 
magistracy, either moral or legal. But if the State is at liberty to treat the 
possessors of land as public functionaries, it is only going one step further to 
say that it is at liberty to discard them. The claim of the land owners to the 
land is altogether subordinate to the general policy of the State. The princi- 
ple of property gives them no right to the lands, but only a right to compensa- 
tion for whatever portion of their interest in the land it may be the policy of 
the State to deprive them of." 

In feudal times the king in England, or the chief lord, could resume his 
land at his pleasure, and the corollary here drawn by Mr. Mill, from the feudal 
law, is now established in constitutional practice. 

Our Constitution, article 1, section 6, declares that private property shall not 
be taken for public use without just compensation. The clause was borrowed 
from the fifth article of the amendments of the United States Constitution, 
proposed at the First Congress, 1789, and approved by the Legislatures of three- 
fourths of the States. 

used in the sense of abandoned goods : " at leggiafyrer odal ; to abandon a thing ; to leave 
it to be taken by the first occupier." 

If the Middle Latin alodis, alodum, is identical with the Icelandic word, it exhibits 
a singular transposition of syllables. Ihre would account for allodium from the com- 
pound "alldha odhol" mentioned in the Gothic laws, an ancient inheritance, from ail- 
draetas, antiquitas, and odal, inheritance, as allda-vinr, an ancient friend ; alder-hajfd, 
R possession of long standing. 

Ihre supposes the root of odel to be od, and, primarily meaning possession ; and this is 
confirmed by the legal signification of the word, which, in strictness, is a prescriptive title 
acquired by thirty years continuous possession. It was also the highest title known in 
Scandinavian jurisprudi nee, and the domain of the crown was said to be held by it. Exam- 
ples of its use in this latter sense will be found in Harold'' s Saga ens Harfagra, c. vi. ; in 
the Heimskungla, and in the Saga Olafs Tryggrasonar, c. 13, 97. 

*' The writers on this subject define allodium to be every man's o-\vn land, which he pos- 
sesseth merely in his own right, without owing any rent or service to any superior." 
{Bladcstone.) 

" This allodial property no subject in England has, it being a received, and now an unde- 
niable, principle in law, that all the lands in England are holden mediately or immediately 
of the king." (Blackstone.) 

" Allodium is a law word contrary iofeudum, and it signifies land that holds of nobody. 
We have no such land in England. 'Tis a true proposition, all land in England is held, 
mediately or immediately, of the king." (Selden's Table Talk.) 

The word has also been derived from all and odh, meaning all property, or whole estate. 
This is a very plausible etymology. "All" and "whole" are the same word differently 
epelt. 



Sites for District School-Houses. 255 

How it may be taken is pointed out in section seven : " When private prop- 
erty shall be taken for any public use, the compensation to be made therefor, 
when such compensation is not made by the State, shall be ascertained by a 
jury, or by not less than three commissioners appointed by a court of record, 
as shall be prescribed by law. Private roads may be opened in the manner to 
be prescribed by law ; but in every case the necessity of the road, and the 
amount of all damage to be sustained by the opening thereof, shall be first 
determined by a jury of freeholders, and such amount, together with the 
expenses of the proceeding, shall be paid by the person benefited," 

Section eleven, of article first, asserts the dominion of the State over land as 
follows : " The people of this State, in their right of sovereignty, are deemed 
to possess the original and ultimate property in and to all lands within the 
jurisdiction of the State ; and all lands, the title to which shall fail, from a 
defect of heirs, shall revert or escheat to the people." 

The tenure of land in this State is declared in sections twelve and thirteen 
of article first : 

§ 12. All feudal tenures of every description, with all their incidents, are 
declared to be abolished, saving, however, all rents and services certain which 
at any time heretofore have been lawfully created or reserved. 

§ 13. All lands within this State are declared to be allodial, so that, subject 
only to the liability to escheat, the entire and absolute property is vested in 
the owners, according to the nature of their respective estates. 

The words of the Constitution are nearly the same as the words of the 
Revised Statutes, which took effect January 1, 1830, section 2, title 1, chapter 
1, part 2. 

§ 2. All lands within this State are declared to be allodial, so that, subject only 
to the liability to escheat, the entire and absolute property is vested in the 
owners, according to the nature of their respective estates ; and all feudal 
tenures of every description, with all their incidents, are abolished. 

§ 3. The abolition of tenures shall not take away, or discharge, any rents or 
services certain, which at any time heretofore have been, or hereafter may be, 
created or reserved ; nor shall it be construed to affect or change the powers or 
jurisdiction of any court of justice in this State. 

The language of these two sections is substantially borrowed from the act 
concerning tenures, passed February 20, 1787, section six : "And be it further 
enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the tenure upon all gifts, grants and 
conveyances heretofore made, or hereafter to be made, of any manors, lands, 
tenements, or hereditaments, of any estate of inheritance, by any letters patent 
under the great seal of this State, or in any other manner, by the people of 
this State, or by the commissioners of forfeitures, shall be and remain allodial, and 
not feudal, and shall forever be taken and adjudged to be and continue in free 
and pure allodium only ; and shall be forever discharged of all' toardsMp, value 
SioA forfeiture of marriage, livery, primer seisin, ousterlemain, relief aid pur file mar^ 
rier, aid pur fair fitz chivalier, rents, renderz, fealiy, and all other services whatso- 
ever ; any law, statute, reservation, custom or usage to the contrary hereof in 
anywise notwithstanding." 



256 Sites foe District School-Houses. 

It is left to tlie Legislature to determine tlie necessity of taking private 
property. If a fort or an arsenal is to be built, if a turnpike or canal or railroad 
is to be made, if a street or alley is to be laid out, if a capitol or court-bouse is 
to be erected, if a school-bouse site is wanted, or if a private road is demanded, 
the rights of private persons are made subservient to those of the community 
at large, and as much land is seized and confiscated as may be considered neces- 
sary for the object in view, with or without the consent of the owner, whilst 
he is not permitted to fix his own price. If the State take it, the compensa- 
tion is fixed by the Legislature. If a railroad, or any public corporation take 
it, the price is fixed by a jury, or by commissioners appointed by a court of 
record. A jury of freeholders assesses the damage of laying out a private road. 

The manner in which lawyers soften down or gloss over the exercise of this 
right may be seen by the following extract from J/r. Strgeant Stephen's Black- 
stone, volume 1, page 166, fourth edition : 

■'Xo unnecessary violation of the rights of property is in any instance 
allowed by our law. If a new road, for example, is to be made through 
the grounds of a private person, in a case where it would be extensively bene- 
ficial to the public, the Legislature never permits itself to do this ^^'ithout the 
consent of the owner of the land, or at least loithout securing to him a complete 
iaaemnificatlon. In vain may it be urged that the good of the individual ought 
to peld to that of the community. The true principle applicable to all such 
cases is one to which we have had occasion already to refer, and which is con- 
stantly borne in mind by the law, viz., that the private interest of the individ- 
ual is never to be sacrificed to a greater extent than is necessary to secure a public 
benefit of adequate importance. The public, therefore, in all such transactions, is 
considered as an individual treating with an indi^'idual for an exchange. All 
the Legislature does is to oblige the owner to alienate his possession for a reasonable 
price." 

The last sentence is not quite consistent with the preceding one, for if one 
indi\idual desired to exchange properties with his neighbor, or to take his 
neighbor's farm for a sum of money, it may be reasonably doubted whether 
the exchange could be effected by giving a reasonable price to be fixed by 
himself. But this is just what the State does in all such cases. 

The courts have defined this power of " eminent domain " in language rather 
more positive than that employed by Sergeant Stephen. 

The Parliament of Great Britain possesses the power of taking private prop- 
erty for public uses without compensation. Every government has this power, 
and may exercise it under such restraints and limitations as may be fixed by 
its Constitution and laws. {The Governor, etc., of Cast Plate Manufacturing Com- 
pany V. Meredith, 4 Term Reports, 764.) 

Our people and the framers of our laws understood perfectly the extent of 
this power, and therefore, to guard against the abuse of it, the provision pro- 
hibiting the taking of private property without compensation was inserted in 
the Constitutions of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and several 
other States. This prohibition' was not contained in the Constitution of SoutI/ 
Carolina, and, accordingly, it has been held that the State may take private 
property for public use without compensation. The Legislature of a State, 
unless restricted by the State Constitution, would even have power to take 



Sites foe District School-Houses. 257 

private property for private use. (Stark v. Mc Govern, 1 Nbit & Mb Cordis [South 
Carolina] Reports, 387.) 

The eminent domain remains in tlie government, or in the aggregate body 
of the people in their sovereign capacity ; and they can resume the possession 
of private property, not only when the safety, but also when the interest, or even 
the convenience of the State is concerned ; as when the land is wanted for a 
road, canal, or other public improvement. 

The only restriction upon the power of the people to resume the possession 
of property for the purpose of an internal improvement, in which the public or 
the inhabitants of any particular section of the State, as citizens merely, have 
an interest, is, that the property cannot be taken for such public use without 
just compensation to the owner and in the mode prescribed by law. 

It belongs to the Legislature to determine whether the benefit to the public 
from such improvement is of sufficient importance to justify their exercise of 
the right of eminent domain, in thus interfering with the private rights 
of indi\aduals. 

In cases of public improvements, from which a benefit would result to the 
public, this right of eminent domain may be exercised directly by the agents 
of the government, or through the medium of corporate bodies, or by means 
of individual enterprise. {Beehnan v. Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad Company, 
3 Paiges Chancery Reports, page 45.) 

The power to take private property has been granted by the Legislature for 
the construction of public highways, turnpikes, bridges, ferries, canals, plank- 
roads and railroads. It has been given to cities and towns and villages, for 
making streets, alleys and sewers, and to private persons for the purpose of 
making private roads. A like power has been granted to the owners of mill- 
sites, to flow the lands upon a stream for the accumulation of water necessary 
to turn the water-wheels of a mill. The same power has been exercised in the 
laws that have authorized the draining of swamps and marshes, and the assess- 
ment of the expense upon the owners of the lands benefited by the improve- 
ment. The taking of land and the occupation of streets for aqueducts, to bring 
water to cities and villages, are authorized by the same power. Gas companies 
for lighting the streets and public buildings have the same right, and now the 
Legislature has authorized the taking of land for school-house sites. {Laws of 
1773; Kent and Rad, Ed. Laws, volume 2, page 49, section 3 ; Act of April 18, 1825. 
Draining marshes of the Seneca river, Laivs of 1818, page 115 ; chapter 25, Laios of 
1807 ; Laius of 1826, page 247 ; 2d Ed. R. S., page 548 ; i John. Ch. R., 143.) 

Herbert Spencer, in his " Social Statics," page 119, in an imaginary conver- 
sation between himself and an American squatter, puts the following case in 
illustration of this power : 

" Suppose now that in the course of your wanderings you come upon an 
empty house, which, in spite of its dilapidated state, takes your fancy ; sup- 
pose that with the intention of making it your abode yoii expend much time 
and trouble in repairing it ; that you paint, and paper, and whitewash, and at 
considerable cost bring it into a habitable state ; suppose further, that on some 
fatal day a stranger is announced who turns out to be the heir to whom this 
house has been bequeathed, and that this professed heir is prepared with all 
33 



258 Taxatioi^^ of Banks. 

the necessary proof of his identity, what becomes of your improvements ? Do 
they give you a valid title to the house ? Do they quash the title of the original 
claimant ? No. Neither, then, do your pioneering operations give you a valid 
title to this land ; neither do they quash the title of its original claimants — the 
human race. The world is God's bequest to mankind. All men are joint 
heirs to it ; you amongst the number. And because you have taken up your 
residence on a certain part of it, and have subdued, cultivated and beautified 
that part (improved, as you say), you are not therefore warranted in appropri- 
ating it entirely as your private property. At any rate, if you do, you may at 
any moment be justly expelled by the lawful owner — society." 

If society should exercise its lawful power, as individuals exercise the power 
given to them by the laws over their private estates, what results might not 
we expect ? 

The Duke of Sutherland ejected from his domain, the county of Sutherland, 
not many years ago, more than fifteen thousand persons, and turned their 
farms into sheep-walks. Other proprietors in the Highlands have done the 
same to make sheep-pastures, and reserves for the shooting of snipe and 
woodcock. 

In Ireland the landlords, by ejectments and evictions, have dispossessed 
thousands and thousands of tenants, in order that the small holdings might 
be absorbed in large farms. 

The Irish and Scotch, as many as can find means to cross the ocean, have 
come to America, and thousands more, driven from their homes, to make room 
for cattle and sheep, hounds and hunters, because it is for the real or fancied 
interest of the landlords, have crowded into the manufacturing districts, or 
cities, of Scotland and England. 

If the 30,000 land owners of England should take :-t into their heads to eject 
all tenants from their lands, what would they do more than has been done by 
the Scotch and English landlords? They would be simply exercising the 
power which the law has lodged in their hands. For every tenant who 
remains in possession after the expiration of the term of his lease, and 
against the will of his landlord, may be ejected by law. And persons who 
enter, without permission, another's land, are trespassers. 



CHAP. 761. 

AN ACT authorizing the Taxation of Stockholders of Banks, and 
the Surplus Funds of Savings Banks. 

Passed April 23, 1866. 
The People of the State of New TorJc^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1 . No tax shall hereafter be assessed upon the capital 
of any bank or banking association organized under the authority 
of this State or of the IJnited States, but the stockholders in such 
banks and bankinor associations shall be assessed and taxed on the 



Taxation of Banks. 259 

value of their shares of stock therein; said shares shall be included 
in the valuation of the personal property of such stockholder, in 
the assessment of taxes at the place, town or ward where such 
bank or banking association is located, and not elsewhere, whether 
the said stockholder reside in said place, town or ward, or not, 
but not at a greater rate than is assessed upon other moneyed 
capital in the hands of individuals in this State. And in making 
such assessment there shall also be deducted from the value of 
such shares such sum as is in the same proportion to such value as 
is the assessed value of the real estate of the bank or banking asso- 
ciation, and in which any portion of their capital is invested, in 
which said shares are held, to the whole amount of the capital 
stock of said bank or banking association. And provided, further, 
that nothing herein contained shall be held or construed to exempt 
from taxation the real estate held or owned by any such bank or 
banking association ; but the same shall be subject to State, county, 
municipal and other taxation, to the same extent and rate and in 
the same manner as other real estate is taxed. 

§ 2. Every individual banker, doing banking business under the 
laws of this State, is hereby required to declare upon oath before 
the assessor the amount c)f capital invested in such banking busi- 
ness, and each one hundred dollars of such capital, for the purpose 
of this act, and for the purpose of taxation, shall be held and 
regarded as one individual share in such banking business, and 
such shares are hereby declared to be personal property. If such 
banker have partners, he shall declare upon oath before the asses- 
sor the number of shares held by each of them in such banking 
business, ascertained as above provided, and the shares so held by 
any partner shall be included in the valuation of his taxable prop- 
erty in the assessment of all taxes levied in the town, scliool dis- 
trict or ward where such individual banker is located, and not 
elsewhere; and such individual banker shall pay the same and 
make the amount so paid a charge in the accounts with such part- 
ners ; and if such individual banker have no partners he shall be 
held to be sole owner of all the shares in such business of 
banking, and the same shall be included in the valuation of his 
personal property in the assessment of all taxes levied in the town, 
school district or ward where his bank is located, and not else- 
where. 



260 Taxation of Banks. 

§ 3. There shall be kept at all times in the office where the 
business of such bank or banking association, organized under the 
authority of this State or of the United States, shall be transacted, 
a full and correct list of the names and residences of all the stock- 
holders therein, and of the number of shares held by each ; and 
such list shall be subject to the inspection of the officers author- 
ized to assess taxes during the business hours of each day in which 
business may be legally transacted. 

§ 4. Sections ten and eleven of chapter ninety-seven of the Ses- 
sion Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-five are hereby repealed. 

§ 5. When the owner of stock in any bank or banking associa- 
tion, organized under the laws of this State or of the United 
States, shall not reside in the same place where the bank or bank- 
ing association is located, the collector and county treasurer shall, 
respectively, have the same powers as to collecting the tax to be 
assessed by this act, as they have by statute, when the person 
assessed has removed from the town, ward or county in which the 
assessment was made ; and the county treasurer, receiver of taxes, 
or other officers authorized to receive said tax from the collector, 
may, all or either of them, have an action to collect the tax from 
the avails of the sale of his shares of stock, and the tax on the 
share or shares of said stock shall be and remain a lien thereon 
till the j)ayment of said tax. 

§ 6. For the purpose of collecting such taxes, and in addition 
to any other laws of this State, not in conflict with the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, relative to the imposition of taxes, it 
shall be the duty of every such bank or banking association, and 
the managing officer or officers thereof, to retain so much of any 
dividend or dividends belonging to such stockholders as shall be 
nectissary to pay any taxes assessed in pursuance of this act, until 
it shall be made to appear to such officers that such taxes have 
been paid. 

§ 7. The privileges and franchises granted by the Legislature of 
the State to savings banks or institutions for savings, are hereby 
declared to be personal property, and liable to taxation as such in 
the town or ward where they are located, to an amount not 
exceeding the gross sum of their surplus earned, and in the posses- 
sion of said banks or institutions ; and the officers of such institu- 
tions or banks may be examined on oath, by assessors, as to the 



Fines Used for School Purposes. 261 

amount of such surplus ; and the property of such banks and 
institutions shall be liable to seizure and sale for the i^ayment of 
all taxes assessed upon them for said privileges and franchises. 
§ 8. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAP. 889. 

AN ACT providing for the Application of Moneys hereafter col- 
lected in the Metropolitan Excise District for Certain Fines and 
from Licenses for the Sale of Liquors. 

Passed May 10, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 
The People of the State of Neio York ^represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do enact as folloios : 

SECTiOiS- 1. From and after the first day of May, one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-seven, the treasurer of the Metropolitan 
board of excise shall pay over all sums received by him for 
licenses and fines as follows : All such sums as are received 
for licenses granted in the city of Brooklyn, and for fines imposed 
for offenses in said city, to the commissioners of the sinking fund of 
the city of Brooklyn, to be applied by them, without deduction, to 
the extinction of the debt of said city ; all such sums as may 
be received from the towns in the county of Richmond to the 
commissioner of common schools in said county, to be by him 
apportioned among the several school districts in said county 
ratably in proportion to the number of scholars attending school 
in each, and applied for the maintenance of the schools and the 
erection and improvement of school buildings therein respectively ; 
in the towns of Kings county, except the city of Brooklyn, to the 
commissioner of schools, the money received from each town to be 
apportioned by him among the several school districts in such 
town, in proportion to the number of scholars attending school in 
each district, and a^Dplied for school purposes; and in the towns of 
Queens county, to the highest ofiicer having the general charge of 
schools in said county, to be by him distributed in like proportion 
among the towns from which it is received, and to be applied 
for like purposes. But before paying over such sums, the said 
treasurer shall deduct the proper proportion of the expenses of 
said board, and the ten per cent now provided by law to be paid 



262 Oephax Astlu:m — Secukity. 

to the State inebriate asylum. He shall also deduct, from the sums 
received from Brookl^'ii, auy sum now provided by law to be paid 
to the inebriates' home. 

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAP*. 261. 

[Laws of 1850, page 500.] 
AN ACT to provide for the Better Education of the Children in 
the Several Orphan Asylums in this State, other than in the City 
of New York. 

Passed April 10, 1850. 

The Peoiole of the State of New York^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly^ do enact as follows: 

Sectioj^ 1. The schools of the several incorporated orphan asy- 
lum societies in this State, other than those in the city of New 
York, shall participate in the distribution of the school moneys, 
in the same manner and to the same extent, in proportion to the 
number of children educated therein, as the common schools in 
their respective cities or districts. 

§ 2. The schools of said societies shall be subject to the rules and 
regulations of the common schools in such cities or districts, but 
Bhall remain under the immediate management and direction of 
the said societies as heretofore. 



CHAF*. 78. 

[Laws of 1866, page 149, volume 1.] 
AN ACT in relation to the Security to be given by Supervisors 

of Towns. 

Passed February 28, 1866. 

The People of the State of JSFev) York^ represented in Senate 
and Assembly^ do enact as folloios : 

Sectiox 1. In addition to the bond or bonds that the supervis- 
ors of the several towns in this State are now by law required to 
execute, the supervisor of every town in this State, which has a 
local school fund belonging to said town, shall, before entering 
upon the duties of his office, execute a bond, with two or more 



School Commissioner Districts. 268 

sufficient sureties, in double the amount of all school moneys, 
funds* or securities belonging to such town, and which by law is 
under the control or in the custody of the supervisor of such town ; 
such bond to be in accordance with the requirements of section 
twenty of chapter one hundred and seventy-nine, Laws of eighteen 
hundred and fifty-six, and subject to all the provisions thereof, 
except as herein specified. 

Section 20, chapter 179, Laws of 1856, has been amended by section 31 of title 
III of the Laws of 1864. {Ante, p. 62.) It would seem tbat a separate bond for 
the security of the " moneys, funds and securities " belonging to the towns 
must be given. 



CHAP*. 38. 

AN ACT to make the Town of Chester a Part of the Second School 

Commissioner's District of Orange County. 

Passed February 15, 18G7. 
The People of the State of New York^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The town of Chester, in Orange county, is hereby 
declared to be and shall form a part of the second school commis- 
sioner's district of said county, under the control and supervision 
of the school commissioner of said district. 
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAP. 184r. 

AN ACT to make the Town of Cambria a Part of the First School 

Commissioner's District of Niagara county. 

Passed March 28, 1867. 
The People of the State of New York., represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do enact asfolloios: 

Section 1. The town of Cambria, in Niagara county, is hereby 
declared to be and shall form a part of the first school commis- 
sioner's district of said county, under the control and supervision 

of the school commissioner of said district. 

« 

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



264 Idle and Truant Children. 

CHAP. 531. 

AN" ACT to transfer the Town of Delhi from the First to the Sec- 
ond School Commissioner District of the County of Delaware. 
Passed April 22, 1867 ; tliree-fiftlis being present. 
The People of the State of N'ew York^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly^ do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The town of Delhi of the county of Delaware is 
hereby transferred from the first to the second scliool commis- 
sioner district of the said county of Delaware. 

§ 2. All official acts heretofore performed by the school commis- 
sioner of the said first district of the said county of Delaware 
shall be legal and valid, so far as aifects the said town of Dellii, 
and to the same extent that they would have been had this trans- 
fer not been made, and no more ; and, after the passage of tliis 
act, the school commissioner of the said second district shall exer- 
cise all lawful authority pertaining to his office over the said town 
of Delhi, without additional compensation therefor. 
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAF*. 185. 

AK ACT to provide for the Care and Instruction of Idle and 

Truant Children. 

Passed April 12, 1853. 

The People of the State of N'eio York^ represeyited in Senate 
and Assembly^ do enact as folloios : 

Section 1. If any child, between the ages of five and fourteen 
years, having sufficient bodily health and mental capacity to attend 
the public schools, shall be found wandering in the streets or lanes 
of any city or incorporated village, idle and truant, without any 
lawful occupation, any justice of the peace, police magistrates, or 
justices of the district courts in the city of New York, on com- 
plaint thereof by any citizen on oath, shall cause such child to be 
brought before him for examination, and shall also cause the 
parent, guardian or master of such child, if he or she have any, to 
be notified to attend such examination. And if, on such examina- 
tion, the complaint shall be satisfactorily established, such justice 



Idle and Truant Ciiildken. 265 

shall require the parent, guardian or master to enter into an 
engagement in writing, to the corporate authorities of the city or 
village, that he will restrain such child from so wandering about, 
will keep him or her on his own premises, or in some lawful occu- 
pation, and will cause such child to be sent to some school, at least 
four months in each year, until he or she becomes fourteen years 
old. And such justice may, in his discretion, require security for 
the faithful performance of such engagement. If such child has 
no parent, guardian or master, or none can be found, or if such 
parent, guardian or master refuse or neglect, within a reasonable 
time, to enter into such engagement, and to give such security, if 
required, such justice shall, by Avarrant under his hand, commit 
such child to such place as shall be provided for his or her recep- 
tion, as hereinafter directed. 

§ 2. If such engagement be habitually or intentionally violated, 
an action may be brought thereon, by the overseers of the poor, 
or either of them, of such city or village, in the name of the 
corporate authorities thereof, and on proof of such habitual or 
intentional violation, the plaintiff shall recover therein a penalty 
of not more than fifty dollars, with costs. And thereupon the 
magistrate, or court before whom such recovery shall be had, 
shall, by warrant, commit such child to the place so provided for 
his or her reception, as aforesaid. 

§ 3. The corporate authorities of every city and incorporated 
vjllage shall i3rovide some suitable place for the reception of every 
child that may be so committed, and for the employment of such 
child in some useful occupation, and his or her instruction in the 
elementary branches of an English education, and for his or her 
proper support and clothing. Every child so received shall be 
kept in such place until discharged by the overseers of the poor or 
the commissioners of the almshouse of such city or village, and 
may be bound out as an apprentice by them or either of them, 
with the consent of any justice of the peace, or any of the alder- 
men of the city, or any trustee of the incorporated village where 
he may be, in the same manner, for the same periods, and subject 
to the same provisions in all respects, as are contained in the first 
article and fourth title of the eighth chapter, and second part of 
the Revised Statutes, with respect to children whose i3arents have 
become chargeable on any city or town. 
34 



266 Albany Normal School. 

§ 4. The expenses of providing and maintaining such place for 
the reception, clothing, support and instruction of such children, 
shall be defrayed in the same manner as charges for the support of 
paupers chargeable upon such city or village ; and the corporate 
authorities of every city and village shall certify to the board of 
supervisors of the county, at their annual meetings, the amount 
necessary for said purposes, which amount the said supervisor shall 
cause to be levied and collected as part of the taxes for the support 
of the poor, chargeable to such city or village. 

§ 5. It shall be the duty of all police officers and constables, 
who shall find any child in the condition described in the first 
section of this act, to make complaint to a justice of the peace, as 
provided in the said section. 

§ 6. The fees of justices, for services performed under this act, 
shall be the same as allowed by law in cases of vagrancy, and 
shall be paid by the city or village in which they were rendered. 

§ 7. 'This act shall take effect immediately 



CHAP*. 311. 

AN ACT for the Establishment of a Normal School. 

Passed May 7, 18M. 

The People of the State of JVew York, represented in Senate 
and Assembly/, do enact as follov^s : 

Sectiox 1. The Treasurer shall pay on the warrant of the 
Comptroller, to the order of the Superintendent of Common 
Schools, from that portion of the avails of the literature fund 
appropriated by chapter two hundred and forty-one of the Laws 
of one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, to the support of 
academical departments for the instruction of teachers of common 
schools, the sum of nine thousand six hundred dollars ; which sum 
shall be expended under the direction of the Superintendent of 
Common Schools and the Regents of the University, in the estab- 
lishment and support of a normal school for the instruction and 
practice of teachers of common schools in the science of educa- 
tion and in the art of teaching, to be located in the county of 
Albany. 



Albany Normal School. 267 

§ 2. The sum of ten thousand dollars shall, after the present 
year, be annually paid by the Treasurer, on the warrant of the 
Comptroller, to the Superintendent of Common Schools, from the 
revenue of the literature fund, for the maintenance and support 
of the school so established, for five years, and until otherwise 
directed by law. 

§ 3. The said school shall be under the supervision, management 
and government of the Superintendent of Common Schools and 
the Regents of the University. The said Superintendent and 
Regents shall, from time to time, make all needful rules and regu- 
lations, to fix the number and compensation of teachers and others 
to be employed therein ; to prescribe the preliminary examination 
and the terms and conditions on which pupils shall be received 
and instructed therein ; the number of pupils from the respective 
cities and counties, conforming as nearly as may be to the ratio 
of population ; to fix the location of the said school, and the terms 
and conditions on which the grounds and buildings therefor shall 
be rented, if the same shall not be provided by the corporation of 
the city of Albany, and to provide in all things for the good gov- 
ernment and management of the said school. They shall appoint 
a board, consisting of five persons, of w^hom the said Superintend- 
ent shall be one, Avho shall constitute an executive committee for 
the care, management and government of the said school under 
the rules and regulations prescribed as aforesaid, whose duty it 
shall be, from time to time, to make full and detailed reports to 
the State Superintendent and Regents, and among other things to 
recommend the rules and regulations which they deem necessary 
and proper for the said school. 

§ 4. The Superintendent and Regents shall annually transmit to 
the Legislature a full account of their proceedings and expendi- 
tures of money under this act, together with a detailed report by 
said executive committee of the progress, condition and prospects 
of the school. 



268 Albany Koemal School. 

CHAP. 318. 

AlSr ACT for the Permanent Establishment of the Normal School. 
Passed April 12, 1848 ; three-fiftlis being present. 

The People of the State of New York^ represented in Senate 
and Assembly, do enact as folloios : 

Section 1. The Treasurer shall pay, on the warrant of the 
Comptroller, to the order of the State Superintendent of Common 
Schools, from the general fund, a sum not exceeding fifteen thou- 
sand dollars, to be expended in the erection of a suitable building 
for the accommodation of the State normal school for the instruc- 
tion and practice of teachers of common schools in the science of 
education and the art of teaching. 

§ 2. The said building shall be erected, under the direction of 
the executive committee of the school, upon the ground owned by 
the State, and lying in the rear of the Geological rooms. 

§ 3. The said school shall be, as heretofore, under the super- 
Tision, management and government of the State Superintendent 
of Common Schools and the Regents of the University. The said 
Superintendent and Regents shall, from time to time, make all 
needful rules and regulations to fix the number and compensation 
of teachers and others to be employed therein ; to prescribe the 
preliminary examination and the terms and conditions on which 
pupils shall be received and instructed therein, the number of 
pupils from the respective counties conforming as nearly as may 
be to the ratio of population ; and to provide in all things for the 
good government and management of the said school. They 
shall appoint a board consisting of five persons, of whom the said 
Superintendent shall be one, who shall constitute an executive 
committee for the care, management and government of said 
school, under the rales and regulations prescribed as aforesaid, 
whose duty it shall be, from time to time, to make full and detailed 
reports to the said Superintendent and Regents, and, among other 
things, to recommend the rules and regulations which they 
deem necessary and proper for the said school. 

§ 4. The Superintendent and Regents shall annually transmit to 
the Legislature a full account of their proceedings, and of the 
expenditures of money under this and previous acts, together with 
a detailed report of the progress, condition and prospects of the 
school. 



Oswego Training School. 269 

CHAP*. 4:18. 

AN ACT for the Support of a Training School for Primary- 
Teachers. 
Passed May 4, 1863 ; three-fiftlis being present. 

The People of the State of JSFeio York^ represeiited in Senate and 
Assembly^ do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The Treasurer shall pay annually, for two years, ou 
the warrant of the Comptroller, to the order of the Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, the sum of three thousand dollars for the 
support of a training school, in the city of Oswego, for the prepa- 
ration of primary teachers for the common schools of this State ; 
provided that the citizens or the board of education in said city 
shall, within one year from the passage of this act, provide the 
necessary buildings, grounds, and other accommodations and 
appliances for such school, as directed by the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction ; and provided, further, that there shall be 
instructed in said school, for a period of at least forty weeks in 
each year, not less than fifty teachers designing to teach in the 
common schools of this State ; and provided, further, that each of 
the several Senatorial districts of this State shall respectively be 
entitled to send annually to said training school two first-class 
teachers, each to be appointed by the State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, after they have been duly recommended by 
two county school commissioners or by a city superintendent of 
schools, residing in the district for which the appointment is to be 
made ; and all teachers thus appointed to said training school 
may "receive instruction and training in every thing that is taught 
in said school, free of charge for tuition. 

§ 2. The said school shall be subject to the supervision and 
general direction of the Superintendent of Public Instruction ; 
and the board of education of the city of Oswego and the secre- 
tary of said board shall constitute an executive committee for the 
immediate care, management and government of said school, with 
power to make all needful and proper rules and regulations con- 
cerning the same, subject to the approval of the Superintendent 
of Public Instruction. 

§ 3. The executive committee, as above constituted, shall annu- 
ally transmit to the Legislature, through the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, a report of their transactions under this act, 



270 Oswego Teaixixg School. 

including a statement in detail of the expenditure of all moneys, 
together with a statement of the progress and prospects of the 
school, which report shall first be approved by the Superintendent 
of Public Instruction. 

§ 4. The first year of said school shall be deemed to commence 
on the day which the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall 
certify to the Comptroller as the day on which the requirements 
of the first section of this act, relative to providing the buildings 
and other appliances for the school, shall have been complied with. 

§ 5. If less than fifty teachers are instructed in said school, as 
provided in the first section of this act, there shall be paid only a 
corresponding portion of the sum appropriated by this act. 

§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAF*. 4r4=5. 

AN" ACT to amend "An Act for the Support of a Training School 
for Primary Teachers," passed May fourth, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three. 

Passed April 14, 1865 ; three-fiftlis being present. 

The People of the State of Neio YorJc^ represented in Senate 
and Assembly^ do enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section one of chapter four hundred and eighteen 
of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-three, entitled " An act 
for the support of a training school for primary teachers," is here- 
by amended so as to read as follows : 

§ 1. The Treasurer shall pay annually for two years, except as 
hereinafter provided, on the warrant of the Comptroller, to the 
order of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the sum of six 
thousand dollars for the support of a normal school in the city 
of Oswego, for the preji^aration of teachers for the common schools 
in this State, provided that the citizens, or the board of education 
in said city, shall, within one year from the passage of this act, 
provide the necessary buildings, grounds and other accommoda- 
tions for such school, as shall be directed by the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction; and provided, further, that each of the several 
counties shall respectively be entitled to send annually to said 
school as many pupil teachers as it has representatives in the 



Oswego Training School. 271 

Assembly, each to be appointed by the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, on the recommendation of the school commissioner or 
commissioners of such county, or on the recommendation of the 
city superintendent of schools and such commissioners (in coun- 
ties in which there is a city), or on the recommendation of the city 
superintendent of schools of the city of J^ew York. The times 
and places of selecting candidates for such recommendation shall 
be prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and all 
pupil teachers thus recommended and appointed to said school 
shall receive instruction in all the branches which shall be taught 
therein free of charge for tuition. 

§ 2. The fifth section of said act is hereby amended so as to 
read as follows : 

§ 5. If the said school officers of any county shall fail to nomi- 
nate candidates for admission to said school, or if candidates duly 
recommended and appointed shall fail to attend said school, then 
the said Superintendent may appoint pupil teachers of other coun- 
ties to fill such vacancies, and such appointees shall be entitled to 
all the privileges of the school free of charge for tuition. 



CHAF. 170. 

AN ACT in regard to the Normal and Training School of the 
City of Oswego. 
Passed March 37, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 
The People of the State of JVeio York^ represented in Senate 
and Assembly/, do enact as folloics : 

Section 1. The normal school building, with the grounds and 
appurtenances in the city of Oswego, are hereby accepted as the 
necessary buildings, grounds and other accommodations within 
the requirements of the act passed April fourteenth, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-five, entitled " An act to amend an act for the 
support of a training school for primary teachers," passed May 
fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. And the common coun- 
cil of the city of Oswego may, on or before the first day of May, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, convey to the State of New 
York the said buildings with the grounds, apparatus, books, furni- 
ture and appurtenances now occupied and used by the normal 



212 Normal Schools. 

and training school, to hold, use, occupy and possess the same, 
while they shall be used for the purposes of such school. And 
such conversance shall be deemed a full compliance with the 
requirements of the act first aforesaid. 

§ 2. The said normal and training school of the city of Oswego 
shall thereupon be fully admitted to like privileges and appropria- 
tions with the normal schools created by the act entitled "An 
act in regard to normal schools," passed April seventh, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-six, and the provisions of said last named act, 
after that requiring the acceptance by the commissioners therein 
specified, shall apply to the said normal school of the city of 
Oswego. 



CHAP. 4.QQ. 

AN ACT in regard to Normal Schools. 

Passed April 7, 1866 ; tliree-fifths being present. 
The People of the State of JSfew Yorh^ represented in Senate 
and Assembly^ do enact as folloios : 

Section 1. The Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor, the Secre- 
tary of State, the Comptroller, the State Treasurer, the Attor- 
ney-General and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall 
constitute a commission to receive proposals in writing in regard 
to the establishment of normal and training schools for the 
education and discipline of teachers for the common schools of 
this State from the board of supervisors of any county in this 
State ; from the corporate authority of any city or village ; from 
the board of trustees of any college or academy, and from one or 
more individuals. Such commission shall have power to accept 
or refuse such proposals, but the number accepted shall not exceed 
four. Such proposals shall contain specifications for the purchase 
of lands and the erection thereon of suitable buildings for such 
schools, or, for the appropriation of land and buildings to such use, 
and also the furnishing of such schools with furniture, apparatus, 
books, and every thing necessary to their support and management. 
Such proposals may have in view, either the grant and conveyance 
of such land and premises to the State, or the use of the same for 
a limited time, and for the gift to the State of furniture, apparatus, 
books and other things necessary to conduct such schools. 



Normal Schools. 273 

§ 2. If tlie proposals made by any board of supervisors, or by 
the corporate authorities of any city or village shall be accepted, 
said board or corporate authorities shall have power to raise, by 
tax, and expend, the money necessary to carry the same into effect ; 
and if in their judgment it shall be deemed expedient, they shall 
have power to borrow money for such purpose, for any time not 
exceeding ten years, and at a rate of interest not exceeding seven 
per cent, and issue the corporate bonds of said county, city or 
village therefor. 

§ 3. When the said commission shall have accepted proposals 
and determined the location of any one of such schools, and when 
suitable grounds and buildings have been set apart and appro- 
priated for such schools, and all needful preparations made for 
opening the same in accordance with the proposals accepted, the 
commission shall certify the same in writing, and then their power 
under this act in relation to such school shall cease, and there- 
upon the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall appoint a 
local board, consisting of not less than three persons, who shall 
respectively hold their offices until removed by the concurrent 
action of the Chancellor of the University and the Superintendent 
of the Public Instruction, and who shall have the immediate 
supervision and management of such school, subject, however, to 
his general supervision and to his direction in all things pertaining 
to the school. Such local board shall have power to appoint one 
of their number chairman, and another secretary of the board. 
Two-thirds of each of said boards shall form a quorum for the 
transaction of business, and in the absence of any officer of the 
board another member may be appointed pro temjjore to fill his 
place and perform his duties. It shall be the duty of such board 
to make and establish, and, from time to time, to alter and amend 
such rules and regulations for the government of such schools under 
their charge respectively, as they shall deem best, which shall be 
subject to the approval of the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion. They shall also severally transmit through him, and subject 
to his approval, a report to the Legislature on the first day of 
January in each year, showing the condition of the school under 
their charge during the year next preceding, and which report 
shall be in such form, and contain such an account of their acts 
and doings as the Superintendent shall direct, including especially, 
35 



274 Normal Schools. 

ail account in detail of their receipts and expenditures, which shall 
be duly verified by the oath or affirmation of their chairman and 
secretary. 

§ 4. It shall be the duty of the local board, subject to the 
approval of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to prescribe 
the course of study to be pursued in each of said schools. It 
shall be the duty of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to 
determine what number of teachers shall be employed in each 
school, and their Avages, whose employment shall also be subject to 
his approval ; to order, in his discretion, that one or more of said 
schools shall be composed exclusively of males, and one or more 
of females ; to decide upon the number of pupils to be admitted 
to each of said schools, and to prescribe the time and manner of 
their selection, but he shall take care in such selection to provide 
that every part of the State shall have its proportionate represent- 
ation in such school, as near as may be, according to population ; • 
but if any school commissioner district or any city shall not, for 
any cause, be fully represented in either of said schools, then the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction may cause the maximum 
number of such pupils to be supplied from any part of the State, 
giving preference, however, to those living in the county, city or 
village where such school is situated. 

§ 5. All applicants shall be subject, before admission, to a pre- 
liminary examination before such of the teachers of the school as 
shall be designated by the local board for that purpose, and those 
who pass such examination shall be admitted to all the privileges 
of the school, free from all charges for tuition or for the use of 
books or apparatus, but every pupil shall pay for books lost by 
him, and for any damage of books in his possession; any pupil 
may be dismissed from the school by the local board for immoral 
or disorderly conduct, or for neglect or inability to perform his 
duties. 

§ 6. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare 
suitable diplomas to be granted to the students of such school 
who shall have completed one or more of the courses of study and 
discipline prescribed ; and a diploma signed by him, the chairman 
and secretary of the local board, and the principal of the school, 
shall be of itself a certificate of qualification to teach common 
schools ; but such diploma may be annulled for the immoral con- 



Potsdam ISTokmal School. . 275 

duct of its holder, in like manner as provided for the annulment 
of a diploma of State normal school, in title two, chapter five 
hundred and fifty-five of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty- 
four. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to the 
Oswego normal training school. 

§ 7. The sum of twelve thousand dollars shall be annually, and 
is hereby appropriated for the support of each of said normal 
and training schools to be organized under this act, payable out 
of the income of the common school fund, to be paid by the 
Treasurer, on the warrant of the Comptroller, upon the certificate 
of the Superintendent of Public Instruction afiixed to the proper 
accounts, verified by the oath or afiirmation of the local board of 
each school ; but none of the money hereby appropriated shall be 
paid for the purchase of any ground, site or buildings, for the use 
of such schools. 



CHAP. 6. 

AN ACT in relation to the Normal School located at Potsdam, in 
the County of St. Lawrence, pursuant to chapter four hundred 
and sixty-six. Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and to 
levy taxes for the purposes thereof 

Passed January 23, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 
The People of the State of JSfew York^ represented m Senate 

and Assembly^ do enact as folloios : 

Section 1. The board of supervisors of the county of St. Law- 
rence is hereby directed and required to levy and collect, upon the 
taxable property of said county, in the manner provided by law 
for the collection of taxes, the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, 
together with interest, at seven per cent per annum, as hereinafter 
provided, to be so levied and collected in five equal annual install- 
ments ; the first installment, with interest on the full sum remain- 
ing unpaid, to be included in the tax for the present year, and one 
of the remaining installments, with interest as aforesaid, to be 
included in the tax for each and every year thereafter until the 
full sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, with interest as aforesaid, 
is levied and collected, the said moneys to be expended as herein- 
after provided. 



276 Potsdam Normal School. 

§ 2. And the said board of supervisors are hereby directed and 
required to levy and collect, upon the taxable property of the town 
of Potsdam, in the manner provided by law for the collection of 
taxes, the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars, together with inter- 
est, at seven per centum per annum, as hereinafter provided to be 
so levied and collected, in five equal annual installments ; the first 
installment, with interest on the full sum remaining unpaid, to be 
included in the tax for the present year, and one of the remaining 
installments, with interest, as aforesaid, to be included in the tax 
for each and every year thereafter, until the full sum of thirty-five 
thousand dollars, with interest as aforesaid, is levied and collected, 
the moneys to be expended as hereinafter provided. 

§ 3. The board of trustees of the village of Potsdam are hereby 
directed and required to levy and collect upon the taxable prop- 
erty of said village, in the manner provided by law for the collec- 
tion of taxes therein, the sum of ten thousand dollars, together 
with interest, at seven per centum per annum, as hereinafter pro- 
vided, to be so levied and collected in five equal annual install- 
ments ; the first installment, with interest on the full sum remain- 
ing unpaid, to be included in the tax in said village for the present 
year, and one of the remaining installments, with interest as afore- 
said, to be included in the tax therein for each and every year 
thereafter, until the full sum of ten thousand dollars, with interest, 
as aforesaid, is levied and collected, the said moneys to be expended 
as hereinafter provided. 

§ 4. The said moneys so to be levied and. collected upon said 
county, town and village, or so much thereof as shall be necessary 
for that purpose, shall be expended to prepare a site and to pro- 
vide suitable buildings, to furnish apparatus, books and furniture, 
for a normal and training school for the education and discipline 
of the common school teachers of this State, said buildings to be 
located upon the land and premises situate in the village of Pots- 
dam, described in the proposition of the trustees of St. Lawrence 
academy, accepted by the commission appointed by chapter four 
hundred and sixty-six. Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, 
entitled " An act in regard to normal schools." 

§ 5. Bloomfield Usher, T. Stratfield Clarkson, 2d, Hiram H. 
Peck, Henry Watkins, Erasmus D. Brooks and Charles Cox, are 
hereby appointed a commission to prepare and improve the said 



Potsdam Normal School. 277 

lands and premises, and provide suitable buildings thereon, and to 
furnish pi'oper apparatus, books and furniture for the said normal 
and training school at Potsdam, a majority of whom shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. Such commission 
shall have power to appoint from their number a chairman, secre- 
tary and treasurer of said commission, and in the absence of any 
officer of such commission, another member may be appointed, ji:>ro 
tempore^ to fill his place and perform his duty, and such commis- 
sion may appoint such committee, and establish, and, from time 
to time, alter and amend, such rules and regulations for its govern- 
ment, in the discharge of its duties, as it shall deem best. In case 
of the death, refusal to act, resignation, or removal from the county 
of St. Lawrence, of any member of such commission, his successor 
shall be appointed by a majority of the remaining members of such 
commission. The Governor of the State may accept the resigna- 
tion of any member of said commission upon the recommendation 
of a majority of said commission, for good and sufficient cause. 
Before entering upon the discharge of their duties, the members 
of said commission hereby appointed, or a majority of them, shall 
unite in joint and several bonds, with sufficient sureties to be 
approved by the county judge of St. Lawrence county, one of said 
bonds to the board of supervisors of St. Lawrence county, in the 
penal sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ; one of said bonds to 
the town of Potsdam, in the penal sum of thirty-five thousand 
dollars ; one of said bonds to " the village of Potsdam," in the 
penal sum often thousand dollars; each bond conditioned that 
each and every of the said commissioners so executing the said 
bond, and each and every of their successors to be appointed pur- 
suant to this act, shall in all things faithfully discharge his duties, 
and faithfully account for all moneys and securities received by 
him as such commissioner. Upon filing the said bond to the 
county of St. Lawrence with the treasurer of said county, and 
upon filing the said bond to the town of Potsdam with the town 
clerk of said town, and upon filing the said bond to the village 
of Potsdam with the clerk of the board of trustees of said village, 
the said commissioners so uniting in said bonds shall be duly qual- 
ified to act as such commissioners, and, in case a majority of the 
persons herein named shall so qualify, they shall constitute such 
commission, and shall proceed to appoint other commissioners in 



218 Potsdam Normal School. 

the place and stead of those herein named, who shall not have 
united in said bonds. The obligors upon said bonds respectively 
shall be liable for the acts and omissions of each and every of the 
commissioners appointed, or who may be appointed, pursuant to 
this act. And the said commission, before making an appoint- 
ment of any commissioner, may require of him such security for 
the faithful performance of his duty as it may deem proper. The 
said commission shall be known as the commission to aid in the 
establishment of a normal and training school at Potsdam, and, as 
such, may enter into contracts, take security from "members to 
be appointed by it, and sue and be sued in the courts of this State ; 
and executions may be issued upon any judgment obtained against 
such commission, against the property of any or all of the persons 
constituting such commission, or who may have constituted such 
commission, leave to that effect being first obtained from the court 
in which such judgment was rendered. 

§ 6. The treasurer of the county of St. Lawrence is hereby 
directed and required to procure suitable blanks, and the said 
treasurer, and the chairman of the board of supervisors of said 
county, or in case of a vacancy in said chairmanship, then the 
said treasurer and the county judge of said county are hereby 
directed and required to issue the bonds of said county, with 
interest coupons attached, in the form to be adopted by the said 
treasurer and chairman, or, in case of a vacancy in the said chair- 
manship, then by the said treasurer and the said county judge, for 
the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, the same to bear interest 
at seven per centum per annum from date, such bonds for one- 
fifth of said last mentioned sum to be payable with interest on 
the first day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and one- 
fifth of said sum of twenty-five thousand dollars to be payable on 
the first day of March, each year thereafter, until the full sum is 
paid; all of said bonds, except those due on the first day of March, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, to bear coupons for annual 
interest, except for the interest falling due when such bonds are 
payable, to be payable on the first day of March each year. 

§ 7. The town clerk of the town of Potsdam is hereby directed 
and required to procure suitable blanks, and the supervisor and 
town clerk of said town are hereby directed and required to issue 
the bonds of said town, with interest coupons attached in the form 



Potsdam Normal School. 279 

to be adopted by them, for the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars, 
the same to bear interest at seven per centum per annum from 
date ; such bonds for one-fifth of such last-mentioned sum, to be 
payable with interest on the first day of January, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-eight, and one-fifth of the said thirty-five thousand 
dollars to be payable on the first day of January each year there- 
after, until the fall sum is paid. All of said bonds, except those 
due on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, 
to bear coupons for annual interest, except for the interest falling 
due when such bonds are payable, to be payable on the first day 
of January each year. 

§ 8. The president of the board of trustees of the village of 
Potsdam is hereby directed and required to procure suitable 
blanks, and the president and clerk of said board of trustees are 
hereby directed and required to issue the bonds of said village of 
Potsdam, with interest coupons attached, in the form to be 
adopted by them, for the sum of eight thousand dollars, the same 
to bear interest at seven per centum per annum from date, said 
bonds for one-fourth of said sum of eight thousand dollars, to be 
payable with interest on the first day of April, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-eight, and one-fourth of said sum of eight thousand dol- 
lars to be payable on the first day of April each year thereafter, 
until the full sum is paid; all of said bonds to bear coupons for 
annual interest, except for the interest falling due when such bonds 
are payable, to be payable on the first day of April each year. 

§ 9. The said taxes in this act directed to be levied and col- 
lected upon the county of St. Lawrence shall be paid to the 
treasurer of said county, and applied by him to the payment of 
the bonds of said county herein directed to be issued, and the 
interest thereon, as the same shall become due and payable ; and 
the said taxes in this act directed to be levied and collected upon 
the town of Potsdam shall be paid to the supervisor of said town, 
and by him be applied to the payment of the bonds of said town 
herein directed to be issued, and the interest thereon, as the same 
shall become due and payable ; and the said taxes in this act 
directed to be levied and collected upon the village of Potsdam 
shall be paid to the treasurer of said village ; and the tax for the 
present year shall be paid by said treasurer to the said commission, 
after the members thereof have qualified as herein directed ; and 



280 Potsdam Normal School. 

the remainder of said tax shall, each year, be paid to said treas- 
urer, and by him be applied to the payment of the bonds of said 
village herein directed to be issued, and the interest thereon, as 
the same shall become due and payable. And immediately after 
the commission constituted by this act shall have qualified as 
herein provided, the said county, town and village authorities 
herein directed to issue bonds in behalf of said county, town and 
village, shall respectively deliver the said bonds so to be issued, 
as aforesaid, to the said commission herein constituted ; to be, by 
the said commission, used and negotiated at not less than the par 
value thereof, and the avails thereof applied by the said commis- 
sion to prepare and improve the said land and premises, described 
in the said proposition of the board of trustees of St. Lawrence 
academy, to the said commission constituted by the said act, enti- 
tled an act in regard to normal schools, to provide thereon suitable 
buildings and to furnish aj)parattus, books, and furniture for one 
of said normal schools at Potsdam ; provided that no building 
shall be repaired or erected upon said land and premises until the 
Attorney-General of this State shall certify in writing to such 
commission, that the use of the said lands and premises, and the 
buildings and erections thereon, so long as the same shall be used 
for the purpose of a normal and training school, as contemplated 
by the said act, in regard to normal schools, has been properly 
secured to this State ; all which the Attorney-General of this State 
is hereby required to certify in writing, to the commission consti- 
tuted by tliis act, when such use of such lands and premises has 
been properly secured to this State, according to the true intent 
and meaning of this act. In preparing and improving the said 
lands and premises, and providing such buildings, the said com- 
mission may tear down, remove, repair, reconstruct, or rebuild any 
structure or building now on the said premises, and use the mate- 
rials of which any of such buildings are composed in the construc- 
tion of other buildings upon said lands and premises ; and they 
may also incorporate any of the buildings upon said lands and 
premises in additional buildings to be constructed thereon ; and 
the said commission shall pay, to be applied upon the purchase- 
money of the property included in said proposition of the board 
of trustees of St. Lawrence academy, and known as the Presby- 
terian church property, such sum, not exceeding ten thousand dol- 



Potsdam Normal School. 281 

lars, as the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall certify the 
said materials and buildings upon said premises to be worth, to be 
used in providing the aforesaid buildings. The plans and specifi- 
cations for the said buildings shall be approved by the said com- 
mission constituted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six, Laws 
of eighteen hundred and sixty-six. The commission constituted 
by this act shall proceed diligently in the discharge of their duties, 
under this act, and when the said buildings, and the furniture, 
apparatus and books, provided for by this act, have been accej^ted 
by said commission, so appointed by said chapter four hundred 
and sixty-six, Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, as provided 
by said act, or within two years after the passage of this act, the 
said commission hereby constituted shall account to the board of 
supervisors of said county for the moneys and securities received 
from the county of St. Lawrence, which board, upon such account- 
ing, shall have power, upon examination of the accounts of such 
commission, to approve of the same and discharge the said com- 
mission from further liability, upon their said bond to said county. 
And said commission shall account to the board of town audit, of 
the town of Potsdam, for the moneys and securities received from 
the town of Potsdam, which board, upon such accounting, shall 
have power to approve of the account so to be rendered, and dis- 
charge said commission from further liability, upon their said bond 
to said town. And said commission shall account to the board of 
trustees of the village of Potsdam for the moneys and securities 
received from said village, which board of trustees, upon such 
accounting, shall have power to approve of the account so to be 
rendered, and discharge such commission from further liability, 
upon their said bond to said village. 

§ 10. The amount in this act provided to be paid by the said 
county, town and village, for the purposes in this act declared, 
shall apply on the amount that shall be paid by the said county in 
satisfaction of the proposition made by said board of supervisors 
of said county to the said commission constituted by said act in 
regard to normal schools, by resolution of said board of super- 
visors, dated December eighteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
six, and the amount that shall be paid by the said town and vil- 
lage of Potsdam, shall apply upon and toward the satisfaction 
of the propositions of the board of trustees of said village to 
36 



282 Beockpoet Normal School. 

said commission constituted by said act in regard to normal 
schools. 

§11. Authority is hereby given to the board of supervisors of 
the county of St. Lawrence, at any annual meeting thereof, to 
repay to the town of Potsdam such portion of the tax hereby 
imposed upon said town as such board of supervisors shall deter- 
mine to be just and proper. And in case the moneys to be raised 
as in this act provided shall be insufficient to complete such build- 
ings and furnish such apparatus, books and furniture as herein 
intended, the said board of supervisors, to supply such deficiency, 
may raise upon said county and pay over to the commission by 
this act created a further sum, not exceeding ten thousand dollars; 
and for such purpose said board of supervisors may levy and col- 
lect a tax upon said county, and issue county bonds representing 
the same, as said board may determine necessary to carry out the 
powers in this section given. 

§ 12. The* Superintendent of Public Instruction may, if, in his 
opinion, suitable buildings and rooms are provided at the village 
of Potsdam for the accommodation of teachers and pupils of a 
normal school, immediately after the commission by this act 
created shall have become duly qualified, open and put in opera- 
tion a normal and training school at said village, in pursuance of 
this act, and of chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the Laws 
of eighteen hundred and sixty-six. 



CHAP. 21. 

AN" ACT in relation to the Establishment of a Normal and Train 
ing School in the Village of Brockport. 

Passed February 2, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of JSFeio YorJc^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly^ do enact as follov:is : 

Section 1. The trustees of the village of Brockport are hereby 
authorized to levy from time to time, upon all the taxable property 
in said village, taxes, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of 
fifty thousand dollars, in the same manner as other village taxes are 
levied, for the purpose of aiding in the establishment of a normal 
and training school in said village, and collect the same as other 



Brockport Normal School. 283 

village taxes are collected, and to use and disburse the moneys 
thus obtnined for the purpose above mentioned ; and the said 
trustees shall have power, if they deem the same advisable, to 
borrow money on the credit of said village and issue bonds there- 
for, bearing interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum, the 
aggregate amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars, which shall 
not be sold or disposed of at less than their par value, for the 
purchase of real estate and the assumption of any incumbrances 
thereon, and to make contracts and incur liabilities in their corpo- 
rate capacity, for the purpose aforesaid ; but the aggregate of all 
such bonds, contracts and liabilities, together w4th the amount of 
taxes levied and collected under the provisions of this act, shall 
not exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars. 

§ 2. The collector of said village shall execute such additional 
bond as the said trustees shall determine for the faithful discharge 
of his duties, in view of the increased responsibility arising under 
this act, and the treasurer of said village, or other "person into 
whose custody or under whose control the said funds shall come, 
shall, before receiving the same, also in like manner give bonds for 
the faithful discharge of his duties. 

§ 3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may, if in his 
opinion suitable buildings and rooms are provided at the village 
of Brockport, for the accommodation of teachers and pupils of a 
normal school, open and put in operation immediately a normal 
and training school' at said village, in pursuance of chapter four 
hundred and sixty-six of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty- 
six ; but such power and discretion shall cease on the first day of 
October, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight. 



28 i Beockpoet Noemal School. 

CHAF*. 96 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled " An Act in . relation to the 
Establishment of a Normal and Training School in the Village of 
Brockport," passed February second, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-seven. 

Passed March 19, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 
The People of the State of New York^ represented in Senate 

and Assembly^ do enact asfoUoics: 

Section 1. The first section of an act entitled "An act to amend 
an act entitled ' An act in relation to the establishment of a nor- 
mal and training school in the village of Brockport,' " passed Feb- 
ruary second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, is hereby amended 
so as to read as follows ; 

§ 1 . The trustees of the village of Brockport having made pro- 
posals to the commission appointed by chapter four hundred and 
sixty-six of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, for the 
establishment of a normal and training school in the village of 
Brockport in the county of Monroe, pursuant to said act, which 
proposals have been accepted by said commission, the said trustees 
of the village of Brockport are hereby authorized, directed and 
empowered to carry said proposals into effect, and raise the moneys 
necessary for that purpose ; and to that end to levy and collect 
taxes from time to time as they shall deem necessary, and assess 
or cause the same to be assessed to and upon the persons and 
property subject to taxation in said village, but not exceeding the 
sum of fifty thousand, dollars in the aggregate, and to make con- 
tracts and incur liabilities in their corporate capacity ; and also, if 
in their judgment it shall be deemed expedient, to borrow money, 
for any time not exceeding ten years, on the credit of said village, 
and issue the corporate bonds therefor; and to issue'such bonds 
for the purchase of real estate "and the assumption of any incum- 
brances thereon, or for any liabilities incurred in their corporate 
capacity, for the aforesaid purpose; but such bonds shall not be 
disposed of at less than their par value; the rate of interest 
thereon shall not exceed seven per cent ; and the aggregate of all 
Buch bonds and liabilities shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars. 
Whenever the said trustees shall levy any tax for any of the pur- 
poses aforesaid, the same shall be assessed and apportioned by 



BrOCKPORT ISTORMAL ScHOOL. 285 

tlieni to and upon the persons and property subject to taxation in 
said village, according to the valuations of such property in the 
last completed assessment roll of said village, made prior to the 
levying of such tax, as the same shall be corrected and revised by 
such trustees ; and they shall correct and revise the same, as near 
as may be, according to the facts, as often as they shall levy any 
such tax. And all taxes levied and assessed under the provisions 
of this act, shall be collected in the same manner as other taxes in 
said village ; shall be a lien in the like cases and in like manner, 
and the trustees and collector for the time being shall respectively 
have all the powers in relation thereto and for the collection of 
the same which are given for the collection of taxes by the act 
entitled " An act to condense and amend the several acts relating 
to the village of Brockport," jDassed April ninth, eighteen hundred 
and fifty-two. 



CHAP. 571. 

AN ACT to provide for raising Money to aid in the Establishment 
of a Normal School at Brockport. 

Passed April 23, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 
The People of the State of New YorJc^ represented in Senate 
and Assembly^ do enact as follows: 

SECTioisr 1. The supervisors of the county of Monroe are hereby 
authorized to appropriate moneys to aid in the establishment of a 
normal and training school at Brockport, in said county, and levy 
and collect the same by tax, in the same manner as other county 
taxes are levied and collected. 

§ 2. Any of the towns in said county, by a vote of a majority 
of the electors thereof present at any annual or special town 
meeting therein, duly called by tha town board of said town for 
that purpose, may appropriate moneys to aid in the establishment 
of such normal and training school, and the same shall thereupon 
be added, by the supervisors of the county, to the tax of such 
town, for that year, or that and subsequent years, by installment, 
and collected in the same manner as other town taxes. 



286 Geneseo Normal School. 

CHAP. 195. 

AN" ACT in relation to the Establishment of a ]N"ormal and Train- 
ing School in the Village of Geneseo, to be called " The Wads- 
worth Normal and Training School." 

Passed March 29, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of N'eio Yorh^ represented in Senate 
and Assembli/, do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The electors of the town of Geneseo, in the county 
of Livingston, are hereby authorized to vote, at the next annual 
town meeting held therein, or at a special town meeting called for 
the purpose, in the manner now provided by law for holding 
special town meetings, on the question of raising money (not 
exceeding one hundred thousand dollars), by assessing the real 
and personal property of the inhabitants of said town, by the board 
of supervisors of said county, to aid in the erection and furnish- 
ing of normal and training school building or buildings, in said 
town of Geneseo, to be called " The Wadsworth normal and train- 
ing school," and the supervisor of the town of Geneseo is hereby 
authorized to borrow money on the credit of said town, and issue 
bonds for such sums as shall have been voted to be raised, bearing 
interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum, payable annually, 
the aorsrreojate amount of said bonds not to exceed the sum Avhich 
shall have been so voted, and which shall not be sold or disposed 
of at less than their par value, which said bonds shall become due 
and payable in ten equal annual mstallments, the last of said 
installments to become so due and payable within ten years after 
the passage of this act. 

§ 2. It shall be the duty of the board of town auditors of the 
town of Geneseo, at their annual meeting in the fall of each year, 
to include in their certificate of their town audit, the same as any 
other town charge or liability, so much of the sum which shall have 
been so voted, and interest thereon, as shall become due within 
one year next thereafter ; and the same shall be levied by the 
board of supervisors of said county, upon the taxable property 
of said town and collected in the same manner as other town 
expenses. 

§ 3. It shall be the duty of the supervisor of the said town of 
Geneseo, before doing any act hereby authorized, to execute his 



Geneseo Noemal School. 287 

bond with one or more sureties, to be approved by the county 
clerk and filed with him, conditioned for the faithful discharge of 
his duties in relation to said moneys so raised for such normal and 
training school, and that he will pay the same over to the person 
or persons legally entitled thereto, and duly account for the same 
as for other town moneys received by him as supervisor. 

§ 4. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may, if in his 
opinion suitable temporary buildings and rooms are provided in 
the village of Geneseo for the accommodation of teachers and 
pupils of a normal school, put in operation a normal and training 
school in such temporary buildings in said village, to be called 
"The Wadsworth normal and training school," and for such 
purpose he may appoint a local supervising board for such school, 
who shall have all the powers and be subject to the same restric- 
tions as the local boards appointed for the normal schools located 
by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the Laws of eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-six. 

§ 5. This act shall be taken and construed as locating and 
authorizing the establishment of a normal and training school at 
the village of Geneseo, to be called "The Wadsworth normal and 
training school," which school shall have all the rights, appropri-' 
ations of money and privileges of either of the normal and training 
schools authorized by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the 
Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and to be subject to the 
same control and supervision, rules and regulations ; and the pro- 
visions of said chapter four hundred and sixty-six, so far as the 
same are consistent with this act, and the provisions thereof, are 
hereby applied to the normal and training school hereby author- 
ized and located. 

§ 6. The following three persons, namely, Craig W. Wadsworth, 
John Rorbach and Lockwood L. Doty, are hereby constituted and 
appointed a commission, and are hereby authorized to locate and 
procure the site for, and to procure to be erected and furnish the 
buildings, fixtures and appurtenances necessary and proper for 
such normal and training school, and said commissioners, or a 
majority of them, are hereby authorized to give and make, or 
cause to be given and made, any and all necessary transfer of 
property to the State for the use and benefit of such normal and 
training school, which may be required by law ; and upon their 



288 Fredonia Normal School. 

order, or upon the order of a majority of said commission, the 
said supervisor is hereby authorized and required to pay over the 
moneys which he may have received for the purposes of such 
normal and training school. 

§ 7. The board of supervisors of the county of Livingston are 
hereby authorized, by resolution or otherwise, to cause to be 
raised, levied and collected upon the taxable property of such 
county, such sum or sums of money, not exceeding one hundred 
thousand dollars, as such board may deem proper, to aid in paying 
the necessary charges and expenses incurred in the establishment 
of such normal and training school at Geneseo. 

§ 8. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAF*. 223. 

AN ACT in relation to the Establishment of a Normal and Train- 
ing School in the Village of Fredonia, Chautauqua county. 
Passed March 30, 1867 ; tliree-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New YorJc^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The trustees of the village of Fredonia are hereby 
authorized to assess and collect from time to time, upon all the 
taxable property in said village, taxes not exceeding in the aggre- 
gate one hundred thousand dollars, in the same manner as other 
village taxes are assessed and collected, for the purpose of estab- 
lishing a normal and training school in said village, and to use 
and disburse the money thus obtained for the purpose above men- 
tioned ; and the trustees shall have power, if they deem the same 
advisable, to borrow money on the credit of said village, and issue 
bonds therefor, bearing interest at the rate of seven per cent per 
annum, the aggregate amount not to exceed one hundred thou- 
sand dollars, and which shall not be sold for less than their par 
value, for the purchase and improvement of the site, and for erect- 
ing school buildings thereon for said normal and training school, 
with departments for academical, experimental and practicing 
schools, and for furnishing the same with all needful school furni- 
ture, apparatus and books, and to make contracts and incur 
liabilities in their corporate capacity, for the purposes aforesaid. 



CORTLANDVILLE NOEMAL ScHOOL. 289 

But the aggregate of all such bonds, contracts and liabilities, 
together with the amount of taxes assessed and collected under 
the provisions of this act, shall not exceed the sum of one hundred 
thousand dollars. 

§ 2. The collector of said village shall execute such additional 
bonds as the said trustees shall approve, and in a sum of double 
the amount, to be collected in any one year, for the faithful dis- 
charge of his duties in view of the increased responsibility arising 
under this act. And the treasurer of said village, or other person 
into Avhose custody, or under whose control, the said funds shall 
com'e, shall, before receiving the same, in like manner and amount, 
give bonds for the faithful performance of his duties. 

§ 3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may, if in his 
opinion suitable buildings and rooms are provided at the village 
of Fredonia, for the accommodation of teachers and pupils of a 
normal school, prior to the completion of the buildings aforesaid, 
open and put in operation at any time a normal and training 
school at said village, in pursuance of chapter four hundred and 
sixty-six, of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and for 
this purpose he may appoint the local board to take charge of such 
school, provided for in said act, at any time. 

§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAF*. 199. 

AN ACT in relation to raising Moneys in the Town of Cortland- 
ville, in the County of Cortland, for the Purpose of aiding in the 
Erection and Furnishing of a Normal School Building in said 
Town. 

Passed March 30, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly^ do enact as follows : 

Sectiox 1. The electors of the town of Cortlandville, in the 
county of Cortland, are hereby authorized to vote at the next 
annual town meeting held therein, or at a special town meeting, 
called for the purpose, in the manner now provided by law for 
holding special town meetings, on the question of raising money 
(not exceeding fifty thousand dollars in amount), by assessing the 
37 



290 CORTLAJfDYILLE KOEMAL ScHOOL. 

real and personal property of the inhabitants of said town, by 
the board of supervisors of the county of Cortland, to aid in the 
erection and furnishing of a normal school building in said town 
of Cortlandville, as located by the commissioners, under chapter 
four hundred and sixty-six of the Laws of eighteen hundred and 
sixty-six. 

§ 2. The board of supervisors of the county of Cortland are 
hereby directed and required to levy and collect upon the taxable 
property of the said town of Cortlandville, in the manner provided 
by law for the collection of taxes, the sum which shall have been 
voted to be raised by the electors of said town, under the first 
section of this act, which sum shall be so levied and collected in 
such installments and at such times as shall be determined upon 
by the electors of said town, at said annual or special town meet- 
ing, to be expressed by a resolution passed at such meeting. 

§ 3. The supervisor of the town of Cortlandville is hereby 
directed and required to procure suitable blanks, and to issue the 
bonds of said town, signed by the supervisor thereof, with interest 
coupons attached, in the form to be adopted by him, for the sum 
w^hich shall have been voted as aforesaid to be raised, bearing 
interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum, from the date 
thereof; such bonds to be issued in such separate sums and 
payable at such times as shall be determined upon by the electors 
of said town, by a resolution passed at the town meeting aforesaid. 

§ 4. The taxes in this act directed to be levied and collected 
shall be paid to the treasurer of the corporation of Cortland 
village, and by him be applied to the payment of the bonds of 
said town, herein directed to be issued, and the interest thereon, 
as the same shall become due and payable. 

§ 5. The supervisor of said town shall deliver the bonds to be 
issued as aforesaid, to the board of trustees of Cortland village 
aforesaid, to be by them used and negotiated at not less than the 
par value thereof, and the avails applied by them toward the 
erection of said normal school building, and to supply the same 
with the necessary apparatus, books and furniture, and which 
trustees shall give security to be approved by the county judge, 
for the faithful application of the avails of said bonds, pursuant to 
this act. 

§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately. 



Buffalo Normal School. 291 

CHAP. 583. 

AN ACT to amend the Act entitled "An Act in regard to Norraal 
Schools," passed April seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, 
and providing for a Normal and Training School in the City of 
Buffalo. 

Passed April 23, 1867 ; three-fifths being present. 
The People of the State of New York^ represented in Senate 
and Assembly^ do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The commissioners named in the first section of the 
act entitled "An act in regard to normal schools," passed April 
seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and of which this act is 
an amendment, shall be and they are hereby authorized, in their 
discretion, to accept the proposals which were made to them under 
the provisions of the said act, for the location of a normal and 
training school in the city of Buffalo, or any additional or other 
proposals which may be made in respect thereto; and, upon the 
acceptance of such proposals, all and every of the provisions of 
the said act shall apply to said normal and training school, and the 
location, establishment, conduct and maintenance thereof, and shall 
have full force and effect in respect thereto and to all matters con- 
nected therewith, in the same manner and with the like effect, as 
though the said proposals had been duly accepted according to and 
under the provisions of said act ; and all acts, resolutions and pro- 
ceedings of the common council of the city of Buffalo, and of the 
board of supervisors of the county of Erie, in respect to the loca- 
tion or establishment of a normal and training school in said 
city, are hereby confirmed and made effectual for the purposes 
intended, in the same manner, and with the like effect, as if a nor- 
mal and training school had been duly located in said city by the 
acceptance of proposals therefor under the provisions of said act. 
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



292 Indigent Deaf Mutes. 

CHAP. 725. 

AN ACT to increase the Compensation authorized by the Act 
entitled " An Act to provide for the Care and Education of 
Indigent Deaf Mutes under the Age of Twelve Years," passed 
April twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. 

Passed April 24, 1867. 
The People of the State of New York^ represented in Senate and 
Assembly^ do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The expenses for the board, tuition and clothing of 
the children under the age of twelve years, placed in the New 
York institution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, pursu- 
ant to the provisions of the third and fourth sections of chapter 
three hundred and twenty-five. Laws of eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three, shall, until otherwise directed by law, be estimated at 
the rate of two hundred and thirty dollars per capita, instead 
of the amount therein provided. 

§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of September, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven. 



DIGEST OF DECISIONS 



STATE SUPERINTENDENTS. 



APPEALS. 

It is a rule of this department, that all acts of school district officers will be regarded as 
regular unless duly appealed from. 

Tills appeal is brought from tlie proceedings of a special meeting held in 
district No. 9, Preble and Scott, August 5, 1848, for the purpose of receiving 
the report of Elam Dunbar, as trustee of said district, the said Dunbar having 
resigned his office in December, 1847. 

It is immaterial whether the meeting of August 5, 1848, which received and 
accepted the report of Mr. Dunbar, was regular or not. His report and the 
complaints made against him were of acts previous to the meeting of Decem- 
ber, 1847, at which he resigned, and at which his report should have been 
made and accepted. 

It is a rule of this department, that all acts and proceedings of school officers 
will be regarded regular unless duly appealed from. Whatever, therefore, 
may have been the neglect of duty of Mr. Dunbar while in office, provided he 
has not rendered himself liable by squandering or losing moneys belonging to 
the district, he will be regarded as having discharged his duties faithfully. 

Appeal dismissed. Per Morgan, January 24, 1849. 

It is the policy of the department to discourage the bringing of appeals for light and trifling 

causes. 

It is the policy of the department to discourage the bringing hither of appeals 
for light and trifling causes. There should be some real grievance, some posi- 
tive and serious injury sustained, to justify a resort to this department for 
redress. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, February 15, 1859. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction will not entertain appeals in relation to fines and 
penalties. The imposition of fines and penalties belongs to the courts of law. 

This appeal is brought for the purpose of fixing upon the school commis- 
sioner the responsibility for the loss, by the district, of the public moneys 
to which they would have been entitled had twenty-eight weeks' school been 
taught therein by a duly qualified teacher, and to compel said commissioner 
to make good such loss to the district, in accordance with the provisions of sec- 
tion 1 of title 13 of the general school law. The Superintendent has invari- 
ably refused to assume jurisdiction of cases in the nature of a prosecution for 
the recovery of a fine or penalty, and he will not vary his rule in the present 
instance. If, by Mr. Tozer's neglect, the district has lost money Avhich they 
otherwise would have received, ample redress will be given by the courts of 



294 Appeals. 

law liaving jurisdiction of tlie case. The Superintendent "has no power to 
direct the payment by any person of money other than the public money, or 
that belonging to the district ; consequently it belongs to the regular courts 
of law to enforce the payment of fines and penalties, and hence this appeal 
must be and hereby is dismissed. Per V. M. Rice, June 6, 1866. 

Appeals from tax lists must be brought by the party considering himself aggrieved, imme- 
diately upon becoming apprised of the existence of such tax list. A delay until collection 
is enforced by levy and sale will be fatal. 

On the appeal of J, S. B., one of the trustees, from the action of his associate 
trustees in the matter of the levy and sale of the appellant's property to satisfy 
a tax levied against him, the facts go to show that the tax list upon the appel* 
lant was assessed, and the warrant under which his property was sold, were 
made out by the two trustees without consultation with the appellant. 

The appellant occupies a relation to this question which no other inhabitant 
does. He was one of the trustees, and as such, was bound to counsel with 
and advise his associates of any error in their proceedings as soon as apprised 
of it, and if they refused to accept or act upon his advice, then he should seek 
to bring the matter in dispute to the earliest and simplest possible adjudication. 
If he fails to do this, he may be found to have acquiesced m the proceedings, 
and to have waived his personal rights in the matter. 

Had he refused to waive his rights, and brought an appeal from the proceed- 
ing of his associates at a time when the proper order could have been made for 
revision and correction of the tax list, the Superintendent would have felt 
bound to make such an order. But he neglected the equitable remedy, and 
waited until his property had been sold, and until the proper remedy for him 
was a legal remedy, and then asks for the equitable interference of the Super- 
intendent. In my judgment it is too late. The appellant has himself suffered 
his cause to go beyond the jurisdiction of the Superintendent, and must, there- 
fore, abide by the result of his neglect. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superin- 
tendent, May 18, 1864. 

Appeal disregarded for vagueness of statement. 

The appellants are unfortunate in so expressing themselves as to leave all 
the material facts which they seek to establish, to be inferred only. There ia 
hardly a distinct, emphatic assertion from the beginning to the end of the 
appeal. Their diagrams give me no idea of the situation of the district, or of 
the property set off — and generally their statements, or what they claim and 
intend as such, are vaguely and indefinitely hinted. 

For these reasons I am unable to know and understand, still less to consider 
the merits involved, and the appeal must, therefore, be dismissed. Per E. W. 
Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, August 2, 1864. 

Appeals to this department will not be considered unless they are legible and intelligible in 

statement. 

It is iijidispensable that appeals to the Superintendent should be legible and 
intelligible. A man is not to be blamed for his inability to prepare an appeal 
in such form that it will answer these conditions ; it is only his misfortune, 
and he is thereby compelled to procure the assistance of some one who is able 
to express himself with some measure of clearness. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy 
Superintendent, April 24, 1864. 

The department will not entertain questions of controversy that are at issue before the 

civil courts. 

Where the questions at issue in a matter of appeal to this Department were 
before the civil courts for adjudication, held, that it would be altogether 
improper for this department to seek to forestall the action and j adgment of 
the court, when it has knowledge of the pendency of the action before that 
tribunal. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, December 1, 1863. 



Appeals. 295 

Equitable relief cannot be afforded where the same is contrary to law. 

On an appeal from the refusal of the trustees to pay a portion of the public 
money to one B., who taught the district school during a portion of the winter, 
it appears that two of the trustees, against the advice and without the consent 
of the third, hired one J. P. to teach the district school during the winter term. 
The said J. P. having proved incompetent to teach, the school was closed, and 
the majority of the trustees refused to hire another teacher unless the inhabit- 
ants would agree to become responsible for his wages. This they refused to 
do, and, at their request, the third trustee, without consultation with his 
associates, hired the said B. to teach the school the remainder of the term. He 
taught according to agreement, but the majority of the trustees refuse to 
acknowledge the legality of this proceeding, or to pay any part of the wages 
thus earned. 

The action of the trustees in refusing to pay B. cannot be impeached. 
Whatever wrong they may have done, the said B. was illegally hired, and has 
no claim upon tliem. Even though, under the circumstances, the department 
should find that the justice and equity of the case were with the appellants, 
still eqmtable relief can be afforded only when there is some legal claim. 
Equity follows law ; it cannot be enforced in opposition to law. Here there is 
no legal claim upon which equitable action can be predicated. The department 
has no power to compel the trustees to do what the law does not require them 
to do. Per V. M, Rice, Superintendent, June 10, 1863. 

If commissioners withhold assent to raise a tax for building a school-house larger than 
$400 ($1000),* their refusal is subject to review upon appeal. 

The inhabitants of the village of Cuba had been united in one district by 
the consolidation of two others. They had been offered a site for a school- 
house, in a central and commodious location, upon the sole consideration that 
they should erect upon it a house worth $800. They unanimously voted to 
accept the site and raise the tax, and applied to the school commissioners for 
consent to levy that sum. Consent was refuse 1 on the ground that the con- 
solidation of the districts would be the means of breaking up the select school 
hitherto maintained in the district, and, further, that the inhabitants were 
unable to bear the increased burdens of such an organization. 

The commissioners have a discretionary power to grant or refuse their con- 
sent. But in this case it was not wisely exercised. They were bound to have 
a stronger interest in the improvement of the common schools than in the wel- 
fare of a private select school. The inhabitants, who ought to understand 
their own interests, and know their pecuniary resources, had unanimously 
resolved to raise the tax and shoulder the burden of the new organization. 
The commissioners ought not to assume that they had overestimated their 
ability. 

The majority of the inhabitants of a district may consist of persons destitute 
themselves of pecuniary resources, and desirous to avail themselves of the 
property of the minority to build an unnecessarily costly school-house for the 
district. The check, which the commissioners possess, to abuses like this, is 
wise and salutary, and that check was undoubtedly conferred with a view to 
the possible happening of cases of this description. 

The discretion exercised in this case, like that of granting or refusing a cer- 
tificate to a teacher, is the subject of appeal. The authority of the Superin- 
tendent upon appeal extends to all matters arising under the school laws. His 
decisions hav^e laeen treated as conclusive by the courts, and acqu.iesced in by 
the Legislature and the people. 

The commissioners were ordered to give their consent to the tax of $800. 
Per Spencer, July 19, 1841. 

* The amount which a district might vote for the purchase of a site was first fixed at 
$400, subsequently raised to $800, and is now $1000. 



296 Appeals. 

Subsequently the same case came up a second time, on tlie refusal of tlie 
commissioners to obey the order of the Superintendent. The pre^^ous decision 
Avas sustained and enforced in an elaborate opinion, from which we take the 
portions treating of discretionary powers, and the appellant jurisdiction of the 
school department. 

" The discretion of public oflBcers is a legai one, to be governed by sound 
principles, and not by the capricious whim of the individual, and the instances 
are frequent where courts of law regulate and direct the exercise of discre- 
tionary power by oflBcers, where third persons have an interest in such exer- 
cise. The only discretion which courts do not undertake to control is that 
which, according to Justice Sutherland (5 Wendell, 125), ' is not and cannot be 
governed by any fixed principles and rules.' Few matters would seem more 
susceptible of the application of fixed rules than the size of a school-house 
necessary to accommodate properly a given number of children, the amount 
of money required for its construction, and the ability of a district to raise a 
given sum. So that, even upon any of the ordinary processes of law, this 
would be a case where the discretionary power of commissioners could be reg- 
ulated and controlled. But when we consider that a tribunal has been erected 
for the express purpose of supervising all the officers engaged in the adminis- 
tration of the common school system ; that there is scarcely an act to be per- 
formed by them which does not involve more or less discretion, and that an 
appeal is given from all these acts in the most comprehensive terms ; we see 
at once that the rules which would govern legal proceedings on common law 
process are not the proper guides, and that we must recur to broader and more 
enlarged principles. 

" The word ' appeal ' comes from the civil law, and its nature and office is to 
substitute the appellate tribunal for that whose acts are examined ; and, if the 
case be one invohdng discretion, then the appeal invokes that very discretion 
in the superior, in the same manner and to the same extent that it was pos- 
sessed by the inferior. ' The cause is in the appellate court,' says the supreme 
court of the United States, in 1 Wheatun 112, 'as if it were in the inferior 
court.' 

" The great majority of cases decided in this department are those involving 
more or less discretionary power. 

" The statute itself enumerates many cases that are entirely of a discre- 
tionary character. The decisions of district school meetings upon any subject 
upon which they are competent to act, such as the designation of the site of a 
school-house, the amount of money to be raised by tax, and the omission to 
levy taxes, involve large discretion, but are nevertheless subject to appeal by 
the express words of the law. The formation and alteration of school districts 
must be guided by a sound judgment upon various facts and circumstances, 
such as the number of children,, the amount of taxable property, the extent of 
territory, and the convenience of the inhabitants. Some fixed rules may be 
applied, but in many cases the decision must depend on general ideas of the 
propriety and fitness of things. 

" Among cases not enumerated, and which fall within the fourth subdivision 
of the section conferring the right of appeal, the following are of daily occur- 
rence, viz. : The granting or refusing a license to a teacher ; the valuations of 
scliooj -houses or other property on the formation of new districts ; the refusal 
of trustees to call special meetings, to employ teachers, or to keep the schools 
open, and the employment and dismissal of teachers ; the government of the 
school ; the admittance and expulsion of scholars, etc. Indeed it would be 
difficult to specify a single act which any officer concerned in the administra- 
tion of the system may perform, that has not been the subject of appeal. 

" The present case presents less opportunity for the exercise of discretion 
than many of those above enumerated. The expense of a school-house must 
depend upon its size and materials. Its size, the number of rooms, and the 
proper conveniences, will depend upon the number of children in the district 
of the proper age to occupy it. The only other element for consideration is 



Appeals. 297 

tlie ability of the district, a fact easily ascertained from the assessment roll. 
There is, therefore, nothinp: in the nature of the decision to be made, to prevent 
its being reviewed and examined upon fixed and settled principles. 

" So far as our laws aiford any analog-y in cases of appeal, there does not 
appear to be any distinction between discretionary and 'other cases. Thus, 
appeals to county judges from commissioners of highways, respecting the 
opening, altering and discontinuing of highways, necessarily involve that 
discretion which depends on private judgment. 

" Upon the most mature deliberation, then, I cannot doubt that the granting 
or refusing of a certificate, that a larger sum than $400 should be raised for 
building a school-house, is necessarily the subject of an appeal to the Superin- 
tendent. And as, in all cases of appeal, the statute declares his opinion to bo 
'final,' there must be some mode of giving it effect. In the present case, 
the commissioners decline obedience to the order directing them to grant the 
required certificate. From that refusal an appeal has been made, and the 
commissioners have answered. The whole system must be very defective if 
there be no power to have an act performed which the competent tribunal has 
determined to be legal and proper. Perhaps the appellants may enforce the 
order of the Superintendent, by an application to the supreme court for a man 
damns. 

" But, if there be a more direct, simple and less expensive remedy, I am 
bound to pursue the policy of the statute in erecting this tribunal, by furnish- 
ing it. I think there is. It is a universal principle, recognized in England 
and in tliis country, that the court to which a writ of error or an appeal is 
brought is bound to render the judgment which the inferior tribunal should 
have rendered. Upon this principle, this department may authorize the inhab- 
itants of the district, at a lawful meeting, to raise the additional sum neces- 
sary for building a new school-house, that being the judgment or decision 
which, in the opinion of the Superintendent, the commissioners should have 
made. I find an order of my immediate predecessor, founded on this principle, 
and analogous to the one proposed to be made on this appeal, in the case of the 
trustees of scliool district No. 30, in Johnstown, in Common School Decmons, 
page 161. The inhabitants of the district had authorized the trustees to make 
such repairs to the school-house as they should think necessary and proper, 
and, in pursuance of such authority, they had contracted with a workman to 
make the repairs, and agreed to pay him $30. But the district refused to vote 
more than $25. On appeal, the Superintendent, Mr. Dix, held that the district 
was bound to indemnify the trustees ; and he ordered that the trustees should 
make out a tax list for the whole amount and collect it." 

In pursuance of this opinion, the district was authorized to raise a tax of 
$400, over and above the $400 which the district could otherwise raise, and 
the trustees were empowered to levy and collect it. Per Spencer, September 
18, 1841. 

What questions are to be decided by the department in reviewing the action of local boards 
altering the boundaries of districts. 

In reviewing the action of local boards in altering the boundaries of dis- 
tricts, the department cannot" treat the questions as though it had original 
jurisdiction. The question is not "Wliat would the department have done, 
had it been called originally to act ? " but, rather, " Has the action of the local 
board been so far a departure from what is legal, consistent or just, as to 
demand a reversal of its proceedings ? " This only is the department called 
upon to decide. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, May 31, 1861. 

An appeal from corrections in a tax list made at the PU2;,geption and desire of the appellant 
will not be sustained. Tax lists must be made out from the last assessment roll, other- 
wise they are not valid. 

This is an appeal from the acts of the trustees in making out two tax lists, 
and in proceeding to enforce the collection of the same. 

38 



298 Appeals. 

The objection to the first of these tax lists is insufficient to establish its 
invalidity. The complaint that the trustees corrected it upon his suggestion 
and at his desire comes with poor grace from the man in Avhose behalf the 
corrections were made. The department, therefore, now justifies and approves 
the amendments complained of. 

The objection to the second tax list is that it was made from the assessment 
rolls of 18o9, though at the time the assessment of 1860 was complete, and 
had been delivered to the supervisor. 

This fact, being admitted by the trustees, is fatal to the validity of the tax 
list, though the trustees acted iguorantly or in good faith. That does not 
change the question. The statute invests them with no authority to use any 
other than the last assessment roll, and this department has no power to con- 
travene the ])ro%-isions of the law. Per H. H Van Dvck, Superintendent, 
February 16, 1861. 

Appeals should be brought promptly, or it may be too late to apply a remedy. 

If it were not that these proceedings had become confirmed by the subse 
quent action of the trustees, the department would be disposed to exercise its 
equitable power to prevent their consummation. But by the indiscietion of 
the appellant in neglecting to bring his appeal at once, the act of that meeting 
became confirmed, and there is noiu no sufficient justification for interierenco 
by this department. Per H. H. Van Dvck, Superintendent, July 26, 1860. 

Appeal dismissed on account of defective affidavit. 

The e\'idence to substantiate the allegation in tliis appeal — that of illegal 
voting — is far from conclusive. The affidavit offered in evidence is to the 
effect that the facts stated are true, as far as they are stated within the 
knowledge of the appellant. But there is nowhere any indication as to what 
facts are stated upon knowledge, and what upon information and belief, so that 
1 have no guide by which to estimate the value of the testimony. 

On this ground the appeal must be dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Super- 
intendent, March 20, 1860. 

Appeal dismissed on ground of vagueness of statemimt. 

The various complaints, and defenses thereto, in this appeal, form a most com- 
plicated tissue of crimination and recrimination, without connection, depend- 
ence, or logical beginning or sequence. The most I can make of it is that 
there is an " irrepressible conflict " between two of the trustees on one side, 
and one trustee and a portion of the inhabitants on the other. After a careful 
perusal of the many and various documents submitted to this department, 
designed to give a true exposition of affairs, I am wholly at a loss to gather 
from them any idea as to the real merits of the controversy, I can do nothing 
till a clear, connected, and conclusive statement of the facts out of which the 
controversv grew is made, and the present appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Per 
H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 9, 1860. 

An appeal from a tax list, on whatever grounds, must be brought before a levy and sale is 
made, to justify interference of this department. 

The facts stated by the appellant and admitted by the trustees constitute a 
proper ground of appeal, had such action been taken at the proper time. It 
devolved upon the appellant, as soon as he came to the knowledge of the errors 
in the tax list set forth by him, to bring his appeal, in order that the trustees 
might be directed to amend their tax list. Instead of this, he delayed action 
until the collection of his tax was enforced by levy and sale of his property. 
For this action, if wrongfully done, there is no remedy but by civil suit. The 
appellant, by delay, has precluded himself from equity redress. 

Had the appeal been brought in due time, the errors complained of would 
have been corrected ; but, as it is, I find no occasion for interference, and the 



Appeals. 299 

appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Per E. W, Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, 
March 6, 1860. 

Real parties in interest will be heard upon appeal. 

It is ever the policy of this department to arrive at the facts of any case pre- 
sented before it on ap])eal, and to decide the same according to the merits 
involved, as appearing from tlie facts so presented ; and, to promote this, tlie 
real parties in interest will ever be heard, whetiier in the petition or appeal 
they are represented or not. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, May 13, 
1859. 

Appellants must state their case clearly and prove it conclusively in order to justify inter- 
ference. 

On an appeal from various proceedings of the trustees and collector of the 
district, the only charge made that is, under the circumstances, at all subject 
to the cognizance of this department, relates to the correctness of the assess- 
ment roll or tax list. 

The roll in question may be right, or may be wrong. Certainly very little 
light is thrown upon the subject by the evidence on either side. It is not the 
business of the department to investigate and determine what may he the facts, 
when the evidence is insufficient to indicate them. It is the duty of parties 
bringing an appeal to make out a case in some clear and definite form, so that 
it can be distinctly seen Avhat is and what is not proven. In this case, the 
appellants have failed to do that, and the appeal must, therefore, be dismissed. 
Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 3, 1859. 

An appeal will be dismissed for obscurity of statement. 

The facts and circumstances of the transaction are so vaguely and clumsily 
set forth in this appeal that it is impossible to get at the merits of the case. 

In bringing appeals to this department, no material facts should be left to 
be inferred or conjectured. 

The liresent appeal is hereby dismissed for obscurity of statement. Per E. 
W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 2, 1859. 

Power of the department to grant rehearings in matters of appeal considered. 

This is an appeal asking for a rehearing of all matters in controversy in the 
district that have been brought before this department since March 24, 1857. 

The main purpose of this appeal is to secure a rehearing upon the merits of 
those facts and arguments presented in an appeal to this department which 
was dismissed December 19, 1857, and by restoring, as far as may be, the con- 
dition of things existing at that time, to aflbrd the appellants the relief at 
that time sought. 

At this point we are met by the position of the counsel for the respondents, 
that this department has no power to grant a rehearing of any matter of 
appeal, and that, the order of this department dismissing the appeal having 
been issued, no further action upon the matters embraced in that appeal can 
be taken. 

It would be doing injustice to the able, ingenious and plausible argument 
of the counsel upon this point, for the department to controvert it simply in 
action, by granting the rehearing, without any statement of the grounds 
upon which its conclusions respecting the extent of its rights and powers are 
based. 

First, upon this particular case, it may justly be said that tlie decision of the 
department upon it was expressed or rendered in the communication to 
Commissioner Boyce, that embodied the conclusions at which the department 
had arrived from an examination of the evidence adduced ; it is, to all intents 
and purposes, the decision of the questions at that time pending, and it was 
proposed, when certain conditions should be reached by the further acts of the 
Liarties themselves, to issue an order adapted to the circumstances of the case 



300 Appeals. 

at that future time. On information, supposed to be reliable, that tlie condi- 
tions stated bad been readied, tlie order was issued dismissing the appeal ; 
this being done for tbe sole purpose of enforcing the decision already rendered. 
The dismissal of the appeal, therefore, was not tlie decision of the case, as appears 
by its terms, in which it especially disclaims to act upon the questions raised 
in the controversy, they having been disposed of (as was supposed), according 
to the terms of the decision rendered by the department. . If it be objected 
that this decision was not in form and under seal, it is sufficient to answer that 
the statute does not prescribe the manner or form in which these decisions 
shall be expressed. That is left to the judgment of the department itself. 
The seal, or other forms commonly attending the rendering of a decision, are 
proper as evidences to third parties of the authenticity of the proceedings. 
But they are of no importance to the department itself, which is cognizant, at 
all times, of its own decisions. 

An order of the department may be antecedent or supplementary to a deci- 
sion, and hence may be continued in force, or vacated at the pleasure of the 
department. Thus, on an appeal, by inhabitants, from the proceedings of 
trustees in the matter of paying public moneys to a teacher, it might be neces- 
sary to issue an order to the supervisor, directing him to withhold the payment 
of the moneys of that district until otherwise directed. It will not be held 
that this order is fixed and cannot be vacated. So, where an order is issued 
supplementary to a decision, and with a view, or for the purpose, of enforcing 
its conclusions, if the department shall afterward find that such order is insuS 
ficient to accomplish the enforcement of the decision, or, o^ving to any circum- 
stances of which the department was unaware, is calculated to thwart the ends 
proposed by the decision to be reached, it is absurd to maintain that such order 
may not be modified or vacated, and such other order be issued as will conform 
to the doctrines of the decision rendered. 

I come now to a review of the power of the department to grant a rehearing 
of a case upon its merits, after a decision has once been rendered. 

The argument of the counsel was chiefly confined to two points : First, that 
the power to rehear a matter of appeal, after decision rendered, could only exist 
by express legislative provision, and, no such power having been conferred by 
the statute, it, of course, did not exist. Secondly, that the words of the statute, 
which declare that the " decisions of the department shall be final and conclu- 
sive," expressly prohibited the exercise of any such power as is asked by the 
appellants. 

In the decisions referred to by the counsel, I fail to find any cases where the 
power to rehear a cause upon the merits has been denied, that are at all analo- 
gous to the one now presented. In denoting the distinction between a superior 
and an inferior court — that is, one competent to grant a new trial and one 
incompetent — the courts say : " We think that a superior court of general j uris- 
diction must have full cognizance of one at least of the principal departments of the 
law throughout the State, and must be free, in its primary action, from the con- 
trol of any other tribunal." 

I can conceive of no langua-ge that should more clearly describe and desig- 
nate this department than that above quoted. I can, therefore, draw no other 
conclusion than that this department is a superior court of general jurisdic- 
tion, and hence that to it the decisions relative to the powers of inferior courts 
do not apply. 

But again, in 1 Johnson's Cases, 119, which the counsel cited in support of his 
position, I find the following language: "The power of granting new trials 
can only be applied in a manner which precludes the possibility of its exercise 
being reviewed in this or any other court." These are just the circumstances 
under which this department always exercises this power. And, further, in 
the same decision, the court says : " Indeed, no inferior jurisdiction can possess 
this power without express authority," plainly implying that courts of superior 
or general jurisdiction may, in the very nature of their organization, possess this 
power of granting new trials. 



Collector. 301 

It is my conviction, therefore, that the power to grant a new trial of any 
cause brought before this department on appeal may exist without special legis- 
lative designation, being involved in the powers distinctly conferred, and the 
purposes and objects sought to be accomplished in the organization of this tri- 
. bunal. 

I pass now to consider the second point in the argument of the counsel upon 
this question of the power of the department to grant a new trial, which is 
based upon the restrictive terms of the statute itself, which says that " the 
decision of the State Superintendent shall be final and conclusive." 

This language has ever been interpreted as characterizing the exclusiveness 
of the jurisdiction of tliis department in matters brought before it for deter- 
mination, and not as limiting the department itself to a single examination of 
any cause before it. It was designed as a check against the interference of 
other authorities with the decisions here rendered, and not as defining or cir- 
cumscribing the powers of the department itself. 

The nature of the trust committed to this department, and the form of pro- 
cedure necessary for the proper exercise of its powers, preclude the presump- 
tion that the Legislature ever intended that the terms " final and conclusive " 
should bear the construction put upon them by the counsel in this case. 

The indication of the exercise of this power by this department to grant new 
trials is made not essentially to meet the present case, but to meet and put at 
rest, so far as it can be done here, the general issue so strongly raised ; and I 
must and shall assume that the practice of this department, in granting new 
trials for causes satisfactory to itself, is a legitimate and necessary exercise of 
powers with which, in the nature of its organization, it is invested. Per H. H. 
Van Dyck, Superintendent, April 18, 1859. 



COLLECTOR. 



The law has not specified any time within which a warrant for the collection of a tax shall 
■ be delivered to the collector. 

^"NTiere a tax was voted in June, 1841, and the tax list was made out within 
the time and in the mode required by law, but the warrant for collection was 
not issued till January 31st, the delay was held not to affect its legality or 
validity. Per Young, March 21, 1843. 

A school district collector's bond requires an internal revenue stamp of one 
dollar. The collector must file this bond and pay the necessary expense of 
procuring the bond and stamp. Per V. M, Rice, Superintendent, December, 
6, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 638.) 

Jurisdiction of collector. 

The jurisdiction of a collector in collecting any tax list delivered to him 
extends to any part of the county in which his district is situated. {See sec. 85, 
title 7, chap. 555, Laivs of 1864.) 

Collector must execute to trustees a hond before he can legally enforce the collection of any 
tax list placed in his hands. He need not give notice to the inhabitaats that he has 
received the warrant from the trustees. 

The law makes it the duty of the collector to execute to the trustees a bond 
before receiving the first warrant for the collection of money. Until he has 
done this, he cannot legally enforce the collection of any tax placed in his 
hands, and would render himself liable as a trespasser if he undertook to 
enforce a collection by levy and sale. The collector is not bound to give 
notice to the inhabitants that he has received the warrant from the trustees. 
Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent of Public Instruction, November 13, 1865. 
{Letters, vol. 4, p. 503.) 



'802 COLLECTOK. 

If a person wlio is ineligible to the oflace has been appointed collector, and 
the tax payers refuse to pay him, he cannot, without rendering himself a tres- 
passer, proceed to collect of such tax payers by levy and sale. A district col- 
lector cannot perform his official duties by deputy. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy 
Superintendent, October 17, 1865. {Letters, vol., 4, p. 356.) 

The collector by law has no right to pay over moneys except upon the order 
of trustees. He is, in fact, the treasurer of tlie district. Per S. D. Barr^ 
Deputy Superintendent, September 5, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 233.) 

Collector vacates his office whenever, by leaving the district, he cannot perform collector's 

duties. 

The collector vacates his office whenever, by leaving the district, he is unable 
to discharge the duties of collector. You may, under the circumstances, regard 
the office as vacant, and appoint another ; it is not necessary to create vacancy 
that the absence should be permanent. 

If it obstructs the business of the office, it is enough. Per E. W. Keyes, 
Deputy Superintendent, June 26, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 135.) 

The collector is not required by law to give any notice whatever that he has 
a tax list ; hence, he is entitled to five per cent after he has had the warrant 
two weeks, though no notice has been given. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Super- 
intendent, December 1, 1864. {Letters, vol. 3, p. 496 ) 

The statute prescribes no limit within which the second renowal must be 
made. Hence, though three months have elapsed since the first renewal, the 
warrant is still renewable with the consent of the supervisor. Per E. W. Keyes, 
June 1, 1864. {Letters, vol. 3, p. 207.) 

Collector responsible for losses through neglect. 

A collector is responsible for all losses to the district occasioned by his neglect 
of duty, and may be prosecuted for the same at any time within six years. Per 
V. M. Rice, Superintendent, June 15, 1854. {Letters, vol. 1, p. 172.) 

Trustees not bound to indemnify collector. 

The trustees are not bound to indemnify the collector on a levy and sale of 
property on a tax list. If they do so, however, and the collector is sued, they 
are responsible for the costs, and must present their account to the board of 
supervisors (county judge) in the mode prescribed by law. 

Where money is advanced by trustees to a teacher for his wages, the amount 
so advanced may be collected in the usual form, and paid over to the trustees 
so advancing, on the order or receipt of the teacher. 

If, after due diligence on the part of the collector, a deficiency exists in the 
collection of a tax list, the trustees may advance the amount of such deficiency, 
and the district will be bound to provide for the same by tax, in the same 
manner as though no such tax had been made. Per V. M. Rice, Superin- 
tendent, May 11, 1854. {Letters, vol 1, p. 86.) 

The refusal of a district collector to serve vacates his office. 

In case of a refusal to serve, on the part of the collector, a vacancy is created 
in the office by that act, which may be filled by appointment by the trustees. 
Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, April 10, 1854. {Letters, vol. 1, p. 3.) 

Where a collector cannot perform his duties from sickness or otherwise, trustees must 

appoint. 

When a district collector is unable from illness or other cause to perform his 
duties, the trustees must appoint another in his place, who will be entitled to 
hold the office for the remainder of the school year. Per S. S. Randall, Deputy 
Superintendent, April 19, 1854. {Letters, vol. 1, p. 34.) 



School Commissioners — Clekk of District. 303 

Under no circumstances is a collector authorized to sell real estate. If ho 
cannot levy on enough personal property at one time to satisfy the warrant 
which he holds, he can keep on levying till he does obtain property enough to 
pay the tax. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, April 23, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, j). 
339.) 

Collectors the proper custodians of district moneys, and they need not pay them over to 
trustees. They should pay only on the written order of one trustee, or a majority of the 
trustees, which order should state the purpose for which the money is to be paid. 

Collectors are now the proper custodians of all the district moneys collected 
by tax, and it is not their duty to pay over such moneys to the trustee. They 
are to pay it out only on the written order of the trustee, or of a majority of 
the trustees, which order must specify for what purpose the money is to be 
■paid. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent of Public Instruction, April 12, 1866. 
(Letters, vol. 5, p. 202.) 

Trustees must require a bond of collector for the faithful discharge of his duties, etc., 
before collector receives first warrant for collection of distinct tax. If they neglect such 
requirement, said trustees are liable to district for any loss or damage resulting from their 
neglect. 

The law makes it the duty of the trustees to require the collector, before 
receiving the first warrant for the collection of a district tax, to give bonds for 
the faithful discharge of his duties, and accounting for the moneys received by 
aim by virtue of such warrant. A failure to comply with this direct require- 
ment of the law on the part of the trustees, would, in my opinion, constitute 
such a case of non-feasance as would render the trustees liable to the district 
for any loss or damage resulting from their neglect. Per V. M. Rice, Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, December 28, 1865. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 13.) 



SCHOOL COMMISSION^ERS — CLERK OF DISTRICT. 

There is no law requiring a school commissioner to be a resident of the 
district which elects him. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, October 19, 1866. 
{Letters^ vol. 5, p. 647.) 

Commissioners cannot declare void proceedings of their predecessors, though they may 
annul or rescind them. 

The town superintendents of the towns of Seneca, Gorham and Benton, 
declared illegal the proceedings of a previous board, forming district number 
thirteen, from parts of the said three towns, for an alleged want of authority. 
The district, if legally organized, might have been annulled, but they had not 
power to declare void the proceedings of their predecessors. The law confers 
no such power upon them. The question of illegality must be referred to the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, or determined by some other competent 
tribunal. Per Dix, August 19, 1837. 

Superintendent must have evidence of the appointment of a school commissioner before 
he can receive his salary. 

Before the Superintendent can certify to the State Treasurer that A. is a 
school commissioner, he must have some evidence of his appointment. He 
should have the order of the county judge appointing him filed in the office of 
the county clerk of the county, and a certificate of that fact forwarded by the 
county clerk to the Secretary of State and the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent of Public Instruction, March 29, 
1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 250.) 



304 Colored Children. 

Only two cases in which a district clerk can lawfully call a special meeting except on order 
of trustees : First, where time for annual meeting has passed without any such meeting 
being held ; and, second, where all the trustees have vacated their office. 

There are only two cases in which, a district clerk is authorized by law to 
call a special meeting except on the order of the trustees : First, where the 
time for holding the annual meeting has passed without any such meeting 
having been held ; and, secondly, where all the trustees have vacated their 
office. In these two cases the district clerk is authorized to call special meet- 
ings, and in no others. 

Where neither of these contingencies arise in a district, the clerk has no 
more legal authority for calling a special meeting, except by order of the trus- 
tees, than any other inhabitant of the district. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, November 20, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 535.) 

The clerk should keep a record of every thing that is done by a meeting, and 
his minutes should show what resolutions were rejected, as well as those that 
were carried. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, June 22, 1866. {Letters, 
vol. 5, p. 476.) 

Duty of clerk to notify every person of his election, even though he were present, Col- 
lector must give a bond, however responsible he may be. He cannot enforce collection 
without a bond. 

It is the duty of the clerk to notify every person of his election, no matter if 
he were present. 

The collector must give a lond, no matter how responsible he is. He cannot 
enforce collection without a bond. 

The trustee has no right to receive money on a tax list, and, if he does so, 
the collector is entitled to his fees upon it the same as if collected by himself. 
Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, etc., May 11, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, 
p. 76.) 



COLORED CHILDREN. 

Colored children are entitled to attend the common schools in this State, in all districts, 
except those in which, by law, provision is made for their education in separate 
schools. 

The petition of apxDeal in this case states, as the ground of appeal, that the 
trustees came to the school-house and ordered a certain colored lad commonly 
called " Dick," to leave the school. The petition alleges that said " Dick " 
was, at the time, over five and under twenty-one years of age, and was of the 
age of fourteen or fifteen years ; and that he was an actual resident of the dis- 
trict, and has for the last two years been included, by the trustees of the 
district, in the enumeration of the children made in their annual report to 
the school commissioner. These facts would give him the right to attend the 
district school, while the trustees would also have the right to expel him from 
the school for any good cause shown. The appellant alleges that " the trustees 
gave ' Dick ' no reason for his expulsion, except that, if he continued to go to 
school, the school would be broken up," and he also alleges that after the 
dismissal of " Dick " from school, the teacher said to appellant that " Dick '^ 
had been an orderly scholar, and had not disobeyed the rules or orders of th& 
school. 

The only allegations in the answer which may be considered as contradicting 
these, are, in the language of the respondent, as follows, viz. : " On the morning 
of the 1st day of December, 1865, the teacher dismissed school on account of 
disturbance caused, as the teacher declared, and as the trustees verily believe, 
on account of said colored boy being in school ; and on the 4th day of Decem 
ber, 1865, the teacher commenced school again, and the trustees dad then and 



Colored Children. 305 

there dismiss tlie said colored boy from school, and at the time did assign to 
him the reason why they so dismissed him ; and that, on the 11th day of 
December, 1865, the said colored boy went to school, and on the same day the 
above named John Skatts and William R. Parker, went to the school-house 
and dismissed the said colored boy again for the same reason, and told him 
that he could not come to school until the weather was settled ; that they dis- 
missed him because he was offensive and a laughing stock for the scholars, 
both in and out of school ; and that his presence there did annoy and disturb 
the school to such an extent that the teacher could not preserve or keep order." 

These are all the facts of any consequence alleged in the case. 

It is, therefore, admitted by the respondents, that " Dick " was primarily 
entitled to attend the school, being a resident and of school age ; and that he 
was expelled because " his presence did annoy and disturb the school to such 
an extent that the teacher could not preserve or keep order." I know no law 
of this State, or decision, excluding a pupil from a public school merely 
because his presence annoys and disturbs the school. If he had the small-pox, 
or some other dangerous and contagious disease, the presence of such disease 
would be dangerous to the school, and the disease might legally be removed 
by remo^ang the pupil. But no such complaint is made of "Dick," and the 
presumption is that he is a strong, healthy, intelligent boy. 

But the respondents allege that he " was offensive and a laughing stock for 
the scholars." It is not alleged that he actively engaged in any offensive 
operations at school, to the injury of the scholars. Therefore, the cause of his 
offense, if there was any cause, must have been that he was " colored," or in 
some other respect, was not by his Creator so made as to be adapted to the 
tastes of his school-fellows, or that his tailor was at fault. The offense was 
committed by those who made sport of him. They ought to have been taught 
better manners. The mere fact that " Dick " was " a laiighing stock for the 
scholars" is not a just ground of punishment or censure to be visited upon 
him, but may be the result of the highest virtues, the noblest purposes, and 
the most commendable action in him. 

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, such is presumed to have been 
the case, in view of the allegations of the appellant, " that, when the colored 
lad returned to school on the 11th day of December, other boys in school hours 
annoyed him yith opprobrious looks and actions." There is no allegation in 
the answer, that " Dick " has ever, on any occasion, in school or out of school, 
acted in a manner unbecoming a high-minded, earnest boy. For such boys this 
great State has, by the labors and the money of a willing people, organized 
and sustained a beneficent common school system, and has designed thus to 
extend a protecting and guiding hand to them, and by these means to bless, 
and exalt all her children. 

The trustees of said school district number twenty-one and eleven, in the 
towns of Darien and Alexander , in the comity of Genesee, are, therefore, 
hereby ordered forthwith to admit said colored lad " Dick " to all the privileges 
of said district school. Per V. M. Rice, December 21, 1865. 

Colored children cannot be excluded from the common schools unless a separate school 
for their education has been organized by the district. 

The law provides that the " common schools in the several school districts 
in this State shall be free to all persons over five and under twenty-one years 
of age residing in the district." 

The only restrictions to this provision are in the case of Indian children 
residing in the district, y^ho are admissible only by authority of the Superin- 
tendent, and in such cities and union free school districts as have made pro- 
vision for the maintenance and support of separate schools for colored children. 

It would manifestly be a great inj ustice to exclude from the common schools 
a class of children merely on account of their color, without having made ade- 
quate provision for their education elsewhere. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, December 7, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 647.) 

39 



306 Election of Officees. 

Negro children should he admitted to district schools, where no separate school for them 
has been established by district. 

Negro cliildren are entitled to all tlie advantages of education provided by 
the State the same as white children. Cities and union free school districts, 
incorporated by special act of the Legislature, have it in their power to establish 
separate schools for colored children ; but, in all other districts, and in those 
mentioned where no separate school has been established, colored children 
should be admitted to the district school. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
November 23, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 553.) 

Trustees have no right nor authority by law to exclude colored children from district 
school, except they maintain a " school for colored children." 

The trustees have no right or power under authority of any law, even though 
they have been so instructed by a district school meeting, to exclude colored 
children from the district school, unless they maintain a " school for colored 
children." Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintenden^t, September 27, 1865. {Let- 
ters, vol. 4, p. 281.) 



ELECTION" OF OFFICERS. 

An adjourned meeting cannot rescind an election of district officers. Per 
Dix, November 18, 1837. 

Nor can an officer, once elected, be displaced by vote of district. Per Dix, 
November 9, 1838. 

Any district meeting may elect an officer to fill an existing vacancy, although thirty days 
may have elapsed since its occurrence. 

The appeal was served June 11, 1856, upon R. S. Scott, town superintendent, 
and no answer has been made. It appears that Alexander Fenton, a trustee 
in joint district No. 9, in Middletown and Shandaken, removed therefrom 
about the first of April, 1856. On the twenty-eighth day of May, 1856, a 
special meeting was held, at which William Jones was chosen to fill the 
vacancy. The town superintendent, ^vith a full knowledge of such election, 
appointed John Newton to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of Fenton. 

The inhabitants, when lawfully assembled at any district meeting, may 
choose district officers to fill vacancies. {Sec. 62, chap. 480. Luivs o/1847.) 

By section 77, it is provided that in case a vacancy shall not be supplied by 
a district meeting within one month thereafter, the superintendent of the 
town may appoint any person residing in such district to supply such vacancy. 
This provision does not, however, in any way affect the right of the district to 
supply such vacancy by election, at any period prior to an appointment made 
by the town superintendent. 

In this case, Mr. William Jones having been elected at a special meeting of 
the inhabitants of the district, previous to the appointment of Mr. Newton, the 
action must be considered legal. 

The order of the town superintendent of district No. 9, Middletown and 
Shandaken, is therefore void. Per V. M. Rice, July 31, 1856. 

School district officers cannot be elected by a plurality vote. The statute requires a 

majority to elect. 

The statute does not authorize an election by a plurality vote, but expressly 
names a majority as essential. This removes it from the power of the district 
even to make valid an election by a plurality. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Super- 
intendent, December 2, 1858. 



Election of Officers. 307 

Evidence of a mere possibility of an election having been carried "by illegal votes will not 

vitiate the election. 

On an appeal from an election for a member of board of education, it appears 
that 585 votes were cast at said election, of which J. S. received the greater 
number, and was declared duly elected. The appellant alleges that of the 
votes cast, 133 were illegal, thus reducing the whole number to 452, of which 
he produces affidavits to show that he received 253, and is therefore entitled to 
the office. 

Of the 133 votes claimed to be illegal, it is claimed that ten had not the requi- 
site property qualification ; seven appear upon the poll books as having voted 
twice ; one voted as proxy for another voter, and eleven were aliens, and not 
entitled to hold lands in this State. The remainder, 104, it is alleged, were 
non-residents of the district at the time of the election. 

Counter affidavits are introduced that prove the allegations concerning the 
property qualifications, the duplicate voters and the aliens, to be, in some 
instances, erroneous. This tends, of cou.rse, greatly to cast discredit upon the 
affidavits not controverted, where those affidavits are general and indefinitely 
stated on knowledge or belief. 

But the burden of testimony is that relating to the 104 voters claimed as 
non-residents. The nature of the evidence to prove the non-residence of these 
voters is far from being satisfactory. An old resident and late collector of the 
district makes out a list of all those in said district whom he regards as voters. 
From this list the 104 persons referred to are excluded as not known to the 
deponent as residents of the district. Two others swear, on information and 
belief, to the accuracy of said list, as embracing all the legal voters in said 
district. 

This testimony certainly casts a suspicion upon the validity of the votes cast 
by those persons ; but it is only a suspicion after all ; it is not conclusive. The 
appellant has only proved the possibility that the election was carried by illegal 
votes. 

I cannot but regard the evidence as to the illegality of these votes as incon- 
clusive, and the result of the election, as declared by the inspectors, is not 
thereby impaired. 

The appeal is therefore dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dvck, Superintendent, 
December 3, 1860. 

Legality of proceedings in certain elections for trustees considered and decided. 

At the annual meeting in 1859 it was resolved to elect three trustees for the 
district. The meeting proceeded to elect R. H. as trustee, but without desig- 
nating liis term. Before proceeding to elect the other trustees, the meeting 
adjourned. 

The said R. H., acting under color of an election as trustee, ordered a special 
meeting for the purpose of filling vacancies in the district. The meeting was 
held and proceeded to vote for a trustee for three years, and a ballot was had, 
in which J. K. received a majority of the votes. Before proceeding to the elec- 
tion of other officers, the meeting again adjovirned. Another special meeting 
was called to fill the vacancy still existing, at which G. H. was elected for one 
year, T. R. for two years and the said R. H. for three years. 

The proceeding of the first special meeting to vote for a trustee for three 
years I must regard as a substantial compliance with the statute, and therefore 
declare the election of J. K. as trustee for three years to be legal and valid. 

The election of R. H. for three years at tlie second special meeting was void 
under the decision already given, there being, at the time, no such vacancy. 
His election at the annual meeting I hold void for uncertainty, the time for 
which he was elected not being specified. 

The election of Gr. H. for one year, and T. R. for two years, at the second 
special meeting, was valid. Per H. H. Van Dvck, Superintendent, February 
9, 1860. 



308 FOEMATIOX AXD ALTERATION OF DiSTEICTS. 

Conditions and tenure of office of trustees elected at meetings not called or held according 
to law, commented upon. 

By an act of tlie Leg-islature, the first Tuesday in May was designated as the 
day for holding the annual meeting of the school district, and the meetings 
■were held on this day for about thirty years. In 1851, a resolution was passed 
at the annual meeting, changing the time of holding the annual meeting of 
the trustees and inhabitants of such school district, from the first Tuesday in 
May to the first Tuesday in September of each year. 

This action of the district I must regard as wholly unauthorized and void, it 
not being among the powers conferred upon the inhabitants of that district, 
but expressly taken from them by the provisions of their charter, which 
designated the first Tuesday in May as the time for holding such annual meet- 
ing. It follows, therefore, that no legal annual meeting has been held in that 
district since the time of holding the meeting was changed to the first Tuesday 
in September, by vote of the inhabitants. 

The important question hereupon arises : Does this informality render all the 
proceedings in the said district void ? To reply affirmatively would be to utter 
a most disastrous and sweeping decree, nuUifpng nearly all that has been 
done in the way of raising and applying money for school purposes since 1851. 
The district might thus be shown to be destitute of a site, or of a house, and 
that all that had. been done in the assessment and collection of taxes for school 
purposes, had been done in derogation of the rights of the inhabitants — 
ha\'ing been done without authority and against law. But, aside from the 
consequences of such a decision, there is nothing in the nature of things, nor 
in the just rules applicable to such cases, to lead to such a conclusion. 

The meetings held on the first Tuesday of September in each year were 
informal, being, in point of fact, special meetings, held under insuflScient notice. 
The special meetings called by the trustees of the district were legal, and any 
business transacted at them must be considered valid. The informality attend- 
ing the so-called annual meetings would have this effect, that the proceedings 
would all be voidable ; that they might be set aside on appeal, or a subsequent 
annual meeting held in May, agreeably to the statute, might disregard them 
in so far as they assumed the prerogatives belonging to itself. But until 
such action has been held, whereby the powers of those meetings have been 
brought into question, and their proceedings superseded by competent and 
legal authority, their action must be approved. 

The efiect of the informality practiced in this district, upon the tenure of 
those now holding office by virtue of an election at any of the annual or 
special meetings I am now considering, appears to be this : That those elected 
at any such alleged annual meeting are liable to be displaced and superseded 
at any subsequent regular and legal annual or special meeting, while those 
elected at any special meeting, for terms clearly defined, and for vacancies 
which the district were competent to fill at the time, could not be superseded at 
any subsequent meeting pre\ious to the expiration of the term for which they 
were elected. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, December 21, 1858. 



FORMATION A:N'D ALTERATION OF DISTRICTS. 

A conditional consent to the alteration of a district cannot be given. The 
trustees must either give or withhold their consent. They can annex no con- 
ditions. Per Spencer, April 12, 1841. 

The department of Public Instruction, in the formation and alteration of 
school districts, acts upon one uniform rule, never (except in certain special 
cases and for the most urgent reasons) to permit new districts to be formed 
with a less number of children between the ages of five and sixteen years 
than from thirtv-five to fortv, and never to countenance or sanction changes or 



FORMATIOX AND AlTEEATIOX OF DISTRICTS. 309 

alterations of districts wliicli shall reduce the number of school children in a 
district below what has been found, from practical experience, wou.ld afford an 
average attendance sufficient to give full employment to a competent teacher. 
Per N. S. Benton, June 80, 1847. 

The establishment of a district by a decision upon appeal to the aepartment 
is final and conclusive; and the district is not subject to alteration by the 
local authorities while the circumstances remain imchanged. But it is absurd 
to contend that, when the circumstances under which a decision is pronounced 
have materially changed, and after the districts, or either of them, have 
increased or diminished in territory, number or valuation, the local authorities 
are precluded from interference, by the conclusive operation of a decision 
founded on an entirely different state of facts. Such a doctrine would be 
entirely inconsistent with reason and good sense. Per Spencer, September 24, 
1840. 

The dissolution or annulling of a district is not an alteration. 

When an alteration is made, the presumption arises that something of the 
original remains. Its total destruction precludes such a presumption. 

Under the Constitution of 1822, the Legislature could not pass any law 
creating, continuing, altering or renewing any body politic or corporate without 
a vote of two-thirds in its favor. 

The Legislature repeatedly passed laws repealing charters, on the ground 
that a repeal was not an alteration, and that such repeal did not come -vsithin 
the spirit of the provision, any more than it did within its letter. Per Spencer, 
July 26, 1839. 

A supervisor and town clerk cannot act in the formation or alteration of a school district 
without the presence of the town superintendent (school commissioner). 

The appellants in this case seek to set aside an order made at a meeting of 
the town superintendent of Jefferson, and the supervisors and town clerks 
of Blenheim and Jefferson, on the 30th day of April last, forming a new dis- 
trict, to be composed of parts of districts No. 6, Jefferson, and No. 3, Blenheim. 

From an examination of the papers, I am of the opinion there is a fatal 
objection to this order. 

It appears that the town superintendent of Blenheim was not present at the 
meeting of the board, and did not participate in making the order. The super- 
visor and town clerk of that town were members of the board, but they had 
no authority to act ^vlthout the presence of the town superintendent. The 
statute authorizes them to be associated with him in forming or altering school 
districts. In no case, however, does it authorize them to act Avithout him. 
The board, therefore, had no power to alter any district located in that town. 

The order, therefore, is hereby set aside. Per H. S. Randall, August 18, 1853, 

A school district cannot he formed out of the central portion of another district, leaving 
the territory of the latter disconnected. 

This is an appeal from the order of the town superintendent of Fremont, 
Sullivan county, creating a new district (No. 6) from territory now known as 
district No. 5 of said town. 

The appellants raise the following point : 

Said order of the town superintendent erects a new district (No. 6) in the 
central portion of district No. 5, thus disjoining the parts of said district No. 5. 

The question to be considered is : Can a district be formed out of the central 
portion of another district, lea\ing the former disjointed? The answer is 
clearly in the negative, as has been the uniform ruling of this department. (See 
Common School decisions, p. 109.) In the case there cited. Superintendent Dix 
properly remarks that school districts must be formed of contiguous farms. If 
the example of forming them of farms not adjacent to each other should be 
sanctioned, it is difficult to foresee what disorder and confusion it might not 
create, besides opening a door to unequal and unjust organizations. 



310 FoR:irATiON and Alter atiox of Districts. 

It is, therefore, decided tliat tlie order of tlie town superintendent, as lierein- 
before recited, is illegal, and the same is hereby set aside. Per V. M. Rice, 
September 18, 1854. 

It is the settled policy of tlie Department of Public Instruction to favor the consolidation 
of weak and inefficient districts. 

The town superintendent of Independence, Allegany county, had consolidated 
two weak and inelficient districts, Nos. 7 and 11. Upon an appeal to the county 
superinterfdent, he reversed the order of the town superintendent, upon the 
Bole ground that it was, apparently, the only means of putting an end to the 
quarrels and dissensions that had unhappily arisen in the consolidated district. 
The county superintendent, at the same time, admitted that the organization, 
as made by the town superintendent, was " the most judicious one that could 
be entered into under existing circumstances," and that, although not perfect, 
" it was the best that could be made until the population of the neighborhood 
becomes more dense." 

The State Superintendent reversed the decision of the county superintendent 
and confirmed the order of the town superintendent, strongly reprehending 
the bad policy of re-establishing two weak and inefficient districts, obviously 
incapable of maintaining an adequate organization. Per Young, December 20, 
1844. 

Where inhabitants have been properly set off from one district to another, and the town 
clerk has omitted to record the order, they will be regarded as inhabitants of the district 
to which they have been annexed after it has been acquiesced in for five years. 

This is an appeal from the proceedings of a specal meeting held on the 28th 
of March last, authorizing the trustees to levy a tax on the district to defray 
the expense of moving the school-house to the new site or to let the job of 
moving the same to the lowest bidder. 

The appellants, in support of the appeal, allege that seven persons, who 
attended the meeting and voted, were not inhabitants of and legal voters in 
said district, having been annexed in 1839 to joint district Xo. 1, Blenheim and 
Fulton, and there being no record in the town clerk's office of either of said 
towns of their subsequent transfer, either to district No. 5 or any other district. 

In reply to this allegation, the affidavits of the town superintendents of 
Fulton and Blenheim for the year 1849 are produced, showing that the indi- 
viduals referred to and their property were, in the spring of that year, trans- 
ferred by them from joint district No. 1 to district No. 5, and that the order 
made by them to that effect was transmitted or delivered to the town clerks of 
their respective towns for record. It also appears, from the affidavit of the 
appellants that, from that period to the present, the persons so transferred 
have acted in and been regarded as inhabitants of district No. 5, and their 
children enumerated therein. Under these circumstances, and after an acqui- 
escence of five years, the proof of such transfer must be regarded as sufficient, 
notwithstanding the omission of the town clerks to record the same. Per V. 
M. Rice, May 12, 1854. 

An order, issued by a commissioner, altering a district, which does not recite 
the consent or refusal of the trustees of the affected district, is absolutely void, 
ab initio. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superiiitendent, etc., Jime 27, 1866. {Letters, 
vol 5, p. 483.) 

Town superintendents (school commissioners) should always give notice to the trustees of 
their intention to consider any proposed alteration of their district, so that they may have 
an opportunity of associating with them the supervisor and town clerk. 

On the fourth day of April, 1855, the appellees made an order for altering 
the district by setting off all that portion situated in the town of Independ- 
ence, without obtaining the consent, or giving notice to, the trustees. The 
original order stated that it was to take effect on the first day of May, but in 
the copy served on the appellant this provision was omitted. 



FORMATIOX AND ALTERATION OF DiSTEICTS. oil 

The district was established upon an appeal by the State Superintendent in 
1844, and no permission was obtained for its alteration. No answer is put in 
by the town superintendent. 

Without considering the expediency of the order, it is sufficient for the 
decision of the case that the proceedings are entirely irregular. The order 
could not take effect until three months after service of notice thereof upon the 
trustees of the several districts aifected by the same, except by their assent 
duly obtained to its provisions. 

The appellant is correct in believing that town superintendents should 
always give notice of their intention to consider a proposed alteration, so 
that the trustees may have the opportunity of associating the supervisor and 
town clerk in the proceedings, and of urging their own objections ; Super- 
intendent Benton declares that an omission in this respect renders the order 
void. 

The appeal is, therefore, sustained, and the order of the town superintendent 
vacated. Per V. M. Rice, May 28, 1855. 



The statute authorises the association of the town clerk and supervisor with the town 
superintendent (school commissioner), upon the application of the trustees of any district 
to be affected by their action. 

If only one trustee make such application, such board does not obtiiin jurisdiction of the 
subject-matter; the application of a majority or all of such trustees is necessary. 

In this case, districts situated in both towns being affected by the proposed 
order, a single trustee of district No. 2, in Halfmoon, and of joint districts Nos. 
8 and 18, in Halfmoon and Waterford, applied to the supervisors and town 
clerks of the two towns to be associated with the superintendents in their 
deliberations. The order was made by this board, thus assembled, and the 
answer sustaining and defending it is signed by every member. 

The appellants insist that the board was entirely destitute of jurisdiction. 
The statute authorizes the association of the town clerks and supervisors with 
the town superintendents only upon application of the trustees of any district 
to be affected by the proposed action. If a majority of the trustees of any one 
district make the application, it cannot be doubted that jurisdiction is given as 
to all ; in this case, however, a majority of the trustees of no district made the 
application, and the supervisors and town clerks, composing a majority of the 
board, had no authority whatever in the premises. 

Considerable research has failed to discover any adjudged case in which the 
precise point here presented has been determined. It is, however, believed to 
be impossil^le, in accordance with general principles, to sustain an order made 
by a tribunal which, in its constitution as a whole, has no jurisdiction, although 
including persons, as in the case of the two town superintendents, who, acting 
alone by themselves, would have possessed the requisite authority, and, 
although these persons all concur in the order, and nothing appears showing 
that their judgment was in any degree controlled, or their deliberations affected, 
by the presence of third parties. 

Tlie difficulty is, that it must always be practically impossible to ascertain 
whether the decision is, in fact, the unbiased judgment of those to whom the 
duty of making it has been committed by law. It may be said that a judicial 
officer is not only blameless but praiseworthy for seeking to enlighten his own 
mind by the suggestions of disinterested and intelligent advisers. There is a 
manifest difference, however, between his voluntary application, which is con* 
sistent with that judicial independence which it is so important to preserve, 
and his being subjected to the influence of persons claiming to deliberate with 
him as a matter of right. It is, moreover, an element in tlie policy of the law, 
that all persons required to exercise judgment for the public good should be 
held to an indi\T.dual responsibility, and not be permitted to diminish it by dis- 
tributing a part of the burden among others. 

The appeal is sustained. Per V. M. Rice, July 14, 1855. 



812 Formation and Alteration of Districts. 

Town superintendents (school commissioners) have no authority to alter the boundaries of 
a school district, if the same have been established by this department upon appeal, 
until after the lapse of three years from the time they were so established, wilhout 
express permission of the State Superintendent. 

The appellants, in making tlieir annual report, enumerated, among tlie 
children of their district, the five children of Mr. William Ravnor. In making 
his apportionment, the town superintendent deducted these children from the 
enumeration of district No. 22, on the gromid that they and their father were 
residents of the adjoining district, No. 21. The trustees of the latter district 
answer the appeal. 

It appears from the evidence that the farm of Mr. Eaynor was taken from 
district No. 22, some five or six years since, and annexed to district No. 21, by 
an order of the town superintendent, that officer not being aware that the line 
between the said districts had been established in 1830, by the State Superin- 
tendent, upon appeal. 

It has been held that town superintendents have no power to alter the 
boundaries of a school district, if the same have been established by this 
department, upon appeal, unless consent shall have been previously given by 
the State Superintendent for such alteration. This rule Avas established to 
prevent the decisions of the department from being deprived of any practical 
effect, as might be the case if, immediately after the decision, a new order 
could be made precisely or substantially similar to the one which has been set 
aside. 

This reason fails, however, when lapse of time and a consequent change of 
circumstances may have made the reasons no longer applicable which controlled 
the decision. As tliis is a subject of regulation, it will hereafter be held that, 
after a lapse of three years from the time when the boundary of a district shall 
have been established by this department, upon appeal, it shall no longer be 
requisite to apply for express permission of the State Superintendent to 
authorize a local officer to make an alteration of the same. 

In the case under consideration, the appeal should be sustained, without 
reference to the above mentioned objection. It is the duty of the town super- 
intendent to apportion the public money according to the number of cliildren 
in the several districts " as the same shall have appeared from the last annual 
reports of the trustees," and not otherwise. If he deems the report incorrect, 
it is proper for him to call upon the trustees to correct it, and if they refuse to 
do so, they may, perhaps, render themselves liable to the penalty imposed for 
willfully signing a false report, with the intention of causing the town supei'- 
intendent to apportion and pay to their district a larger sum than its just 
proportion of the school moneys of the town. The report, however, is conclu- 
sive until it shall be amended by the trustees, or the question be determined 
on appeal. Per V. M. Rice, May 12, 1855. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction will reverse an order of a town superintendent 
(school commissioner) annexing one district to another, where the inhabitants of either 
are opposed to the union, and have sufficient means for the support of a school, it being 
an abuse of his discretion. 

This is an appeal from an order of the county superintendent of Greene 
county, who confirmed the proceedings of a town superintendent of the 28th 
June last, uniting districts Nos. 2 and 19 of the town of Catskill. The county 
superintendent sustained the order of the town superintendent and dismissed 
the appeal. From this decision this appeal is brought. 

From a careful examination of the papers in the case, the superintendent is 
compelled to differ in opinion v^dth the county superintendent and town board, 
by whose order the union of districts Nos. 2 and 19 has been effected. It appears 
that sufficient importance has not been given to the facts that the inhabitants 
of district No. 2 almost unanimously remonstrated against the proposed union ; 
that they have every necessary facility within themselves, as at present organ- 
ized, to sustain a good school ; that, for several years past, they have done so, 
and that they do not need any accession of territory, taxable property or inhab- 



Formation and Alteration of Districts. 313 

itants ; tliat district No. 19, so far as wealtli and children of the proper age to 
attend school are concerned, is far more able to keep up an efficient organiza- 
tion than district No. 2 ; and that the failure of the inhabitants in district 19, 
under such circumstances, even to procure a school-house, so far from entitling 
them to special consideration, ouzht, upon every principle, to operate adversely 
to their claim. Doubtless the union of two districts contiguously situated, and 
together occupying a small area, would prove mutually advantageous, provided 
such union could be effected by the general consent and co-operation of the 
inhabitants interested. But, in the absence of such consent, and especially 
in the face of a determined and unanimous opposition to such an arrange- 
ment on the part of one of the districts proposed to be united, a consolida- 
tion could, in the judgment of the department, only prove detrimental to 
the cause of education, and subversive of the best interests of all concerned. 
No good reason can be perceived why the inhabitants of district No. 19 should 
not promptly avail themselves of the ample means at their command, to organ- 
ize and efficiently sustain a school of the highest grade of excellence, instead 
of permitting their territory to be parceled out into private and select schools. 
They do not need the aid of district No. 2, in order to the accomplishment of 
this object. The decision of the county superintendent is hereby reversed. 
Per Young, August, 1843. 

Trustees cannot give notice for themselves, and receive it for the district as trustees, of an 
application to be set off to another district, and assent to being set off in their official 
capacity. They cannot act in a twofold capacity. 

The appellants state that two of the trustees of their district made applica- 
tion to the town superintendent, without giving notice to their colleague, that 
their own lands might be set off to district No. 5, and that upon that applica- 
tion, without consent of the other trustee, the order was made setting off one 
of them, Mr. Southworth. It does not appear, although it may be surmised, 
that Mr. Ellis is the other trustee thus applying. If such was the fact, there 
would be no notice, in a proper sense, to any trustee of the district. When 
they applied to be separated, it was in their individvial capacity and not in 
their official character.. 

They were acting jjrima facie, not in behalf of but against the district ; 
applying as private individuals to be set off, and assenting to being set off in 
the capacity of representatives of a constituency that may, if the practice 
should be tolerated, be without an opportunity of opposing. It follows, there- 
fore, that notice to them has no effect whatever upon the rights of the district. 
There is no e^ddence in this case that any written notice of the order has been 
served upon the third trustee, or in fact upon any trustee. The contrary is to 
be presumed, from the fact that one of the answers sets up their application 
and consent as dispensing with such notice. The order, then, has not taken 
effect. 

There exists a manifest objection to impairing the resources of a feeble 
district to swell those of one relatively stronger, and it is against the settled 
ruling of this department. 

The appeal is, therefore, sustained. Per E, P. Smith, Deputy Superin- 
tendent, July 19, 1855. 

The tovra clerk and supervisor have no power to review an order to alter a school district. 

The town superintendent of Bolton had divided district No. 5, in said town, 
without the consent of the trustees. The latter applied to the town clerk and 
supervisor to review the order for such division, and from their refusal brought 
an appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

The supervisor and town clerk were correct in holding that they had no 
jurisdiction to review an order made by the town superintendent. The statute 
provides that these officers may, upon application of the trustees, associate 
themselves with the superintendent in determining upon a proposed alteration 
of a school district. It is implied, from this pro%'ision, that the trustees ought 

40 



314 FORMATIOX AND AlTEEATIOX OF DiSTEICTS. 

to have sucli notice of a contemplated alteration as would enable them to 
exercise tlieir right in this respect. The statute, however, does not prescribe 
such notice or regulate the manner in which it shall be given ; in fact, the 
trustees might themselves desire an alteration which they knew the super- 
intendent to regard as inexpedient, and it is obvious that, in such case, it 
would devolve upon them to give notice to him and not to expect one. The 
spirit of the statute is satisfied whenever it appears in any way that the 
trustees have had the opportunity of availing themselves of the counsel of 
the supervisor and clerk, instead of trusting the matter to the unaided judg- 
ment of the superintendent. 

In this case it clearly appears, indeed, it is not denied, that, previous to the 
making of the order in question, the supervisor, town clerk and superintendent 
were assembled upon an informal call of the inhabitants to consider the subject 
of an alteration ; that the trustees were present and had their attention dis- 
tinctly called to the fact that the town clerk and supervisor could act only on 
their application, and that they stood mute. The objection comes with an 
exceedingly bad grace from them, that they have been deprived of the oppor- 
tunity to do that which they had refused to do when it was in their power. 
It is entitled to no weight whatever. Per V. M. Eice, December 1, 1855. 

A commissioner lia\ing made an order altering a district, and the trustees dissenting, and 
asking the town clerk and supervisor to be associated with the commissioner, in a review 
of the case two adjournments were had, and the commissioner made an order confirming, 
his first order, without waiting for the second meeting : held^ that his order was void. 

On the thirtieth of November, 1866, the commissioner issued an order chang- 
ing the boundary lines of school districts Xos. 2 and 3, of the town of Kinder- 
hook, by setting otf the farm owned and occupied by Edward Ponkman from 
said district Xo. 2, to said district No. 3. The trustees of district Xo. 2 dissented, 
and the commissioner directed that the order should not take effect until March 
15, and appointed a day when he would meet with the dissenting trustees, 
and hear and determine their objections to said order, the trustees requesting 
the town clerk and super^-isor to associate themselves T\ith the commissioner 
on such hearing. On the day appointed, as above stated, only the commis- 
sioner and town clerk were present, whereupon, without hearing or deciding 
the matter, an adjournment was effected to the twenty-fourth of December. On 
the twenty-fourth of December the boards again met, all the members being 
present. After hearing the statements of both parties, the supervisor and 
town clerk voted to adjourn to the twenty-ninth of December, for the purpose 
of taking measurements, etc. Immediately after this resolution to adjourn, the 
commissioner, vvithout further consultation with the supervisor or town clerk, 
issued an order confirming the previous order, the supervisor and town clerk 
protesting against his action. It is evident that if the board had power to 
adjourn in the first instance, it had also power, by the vote of a majority of its 
members, to adjourn the second time. Granting, for the sake of argument, 
that the board has power to adjourn, then the order issued by the commis- 
sioner after an adjournment had been effected, confirming his previous order, 
was void. But if these boards have no power to adjourn, then the commis- 
sioner's order is void, because it was not issued on the day appointed, in the 
first instance, for hearing and determining objections to the original order. 

Whichever view of the case is taken, it is clear that the commissioner's 
order is invalid. 

On examining the affidavits of the trustees of district Xo. 2, and of the 
supervisor and town clerk of Kinderhook, as well as the map of the two dis- 
tricts submitted with the appeal, I am satisfied that this order, aside from any 
technical irregularities, ought not to stand. For the reasons and on account 
of the irregularities first mentioned, it is hereby decided that the order issued 
h^ the said school commissioner on the twenty-fourth day of December, 1866, 
as aforesaid, altering the boundaries of school districts Xos. 2 and 3. of said 
town is void and of no effect whatever. Per V. M. Rice, March 11, 1867. 



Formation and Alteration of Districts. 315 

A commissioner havin? fixed the date when an order for the alteration of a district shall 
take efiect, cannot, by a subsequent order, extend the time. 

\^nien a commissioner appoints a meeting of the supervisor and town clerk 
for the purpose of conferring- or rejecting an order to alter a district for a day 
subsequent to the date fixed for said order to take eifect, and, on said subse- 
quent day, confirms his first order, his last order and all his proceedings are 
null and void. 

On the first day of December, 1866, the commissioner issued an order 
making alterations in district No. 11, and certain other school districts 
mentioned therein, directing that the same should not take effect as to 
dissenting school districts (among which was said district No. 11) until 
March 1, and giving notice to the trustees of affected districts of a time 
and place when and where he would hear and determine objections to said 
order. 

At the appointed time and place the appellant was present, but the commis- 
sioner failed to appear. Subsequently he served upon appellant a notice 
appointing another day for the purposes above mentioned, but upon that day, 
as upon the day previously appointed, the commissioner did not appear, 
although said trustee was present. Supposing that, from his failure to appear, 
the commissioner had determined to let the matter drop, the inhabitants of 
said district, at a special meeting held January 7, 1867, voted to build a new 
school-house ; and, according to instructions, said trustee contracted for the 
building of such school-house, made out his tax list, warrant, etc., and placed 
them in the collector's hands. 

In th,e latter part of February the commissioner gave to said trustee notice 
of a meeting to be held March 5, at which he would hear and determine objec- 
tions to the order issued as aforesaid, and at the same time extended the time 
at which such order should go into effect. 

On the appointed day the commissioner was present, and, after due con- 
sideration, issued an order confirming that made December 1, as aforesaid. 

The respondent submits an affidavit that he was prevented, by the bad state 
of the roads, and by the inclemency of the weather, from meeting said trustee 
at the time first appointed. He shows that he made an attempt to reach the 
designated place at the time appointed, and that it was through no fault of 
his own that he was not present according to notice. 

There are two reasons why this answer is insufi^cient to excuse the irregu- 
larity complained of. In the first place the final meeting was held, not before 
the first of March, the day upon w^hich the original order was to have taken 
effect, but upon the Qth of March. No valid action having meanwhile been 
taken to confirm the original order, which, in consequence, expired on the 
day when, had it been properly confirmed, it would have taken effect. 
There was, consequently, no foundation for the confirmatory order issued 
March 5. The action of the commissioner in extending the time for the 
taking effect of said original order imparted no lengthened ^^tality thereto, 
it being a general rule of law that courts of inferior jurisdiction cannot 
alter or review. their own judgments, and in these cases of altering district 
boundaries the school commissioner acts as a court having inferior juris- 
diction. 

Again, if the order for extending the time beyond the three months, and 
appointing a new meeting with the trustees for the purpose of hearing objec- 
tions to the proposed changes, be considered as a proceeding de iiovo, then his 
action is void, because the order, as confirmed, took effect within three months 
from the date of the notice of such meeting, contrary to the provisions of 
section 3, title 6, of the General School Act. 

The appeal is sustained, and the said orders issued by Comndssioner Miller 
on the 1st of December, 1866, and the oth of March, 1867, so far as they affect 
school district No. 11, of the town of Harmony, are hereby declared void. Per 
V. M. Rice, July 12, 1867. 



316 FOEMATION AND AlTEEATION OF DiSTEICTS. 

A commissioner cannot appoint a day for hearins: objections to an order for the alteration 
of a district subsequent to the date fixed for it to take eflfect. A confirmatory order made 
on such subsequent day is void. 

On the twenty-first day of November, 1866, tlie school commissioner issued 
an order consolidating school districts Nos. 3, 7 and 8, of the town of Clymer, 
and No. 3, of the town of French Creek, and also annexing to said consolidated 
district portions of district No. 6, of Clymer, and joint district No. 5, of 
Clymer and French Creek. Said order, so far as it affected district No. 3, 
of Clymer, and. No. 3, of French Creek, took effect immediately, the consent of 
the trustees ha%'ing been given. So far as the other districts above mentioned 
were affected, said order was not to take effect till the twenty-first day of 
February, 1867. Said commissioner also gave notice, to the trustees dissenting 
from said order, of a time and place when and where he would meet them, 
and hear and determine objections to said order. Said trustees were present 
at the time and place appointed, but the commissioner failed to meet them. 

Another notice was served upon said trustees by said commissioner, appoint- 
ing another day on which the meeting above mentioned would be held, and 
the before mentioned objections considered. Again the said trustees were 
present at the specified time and place, and again the commissioner failed to 
meet them. 

A third notice, in substance the same as the others, appointing the tenth, 
of March as the time when he would meet said trustees for the purposes above 
mentioned, was served by said commissioner. The dissenting trustees again 
presented themselves, and were this time met by the commissioner, who, after 
listening to their objections, determined to confirm his previous order, and 
did so confirm it, by a writing, under his hand, directing that the same should 
take effect March 29, 1867. The trustees of said district No. 8 now appeal 
from said order, and ask that so much of it as relates to the school district be 
declared void and set aside for the following reasons : 

1. On account of the failure of said commissioner to meet said trustees at the 
time first appointed, or within the time required by law ; 

2. Because the distance to the school-house of the consolidated district is so 
great tliat it will be impossible to send children to school ; 

3. Because it will make additional and unnecessary expense for the inhabi- 
tants of 'said district No. 8 ; 

4. Because of the influences around the village of Clymer, where the school- 
house of the consolidated district is to be situated, are bad. 

Under the second point, the appellant states that the point in said district 
No. 8, nearest the village of Clymer, is three-quarters of a mile distant, and the 
farthest point therein is distant from said village two and three-quarter miles ; 
that tlie inhabitant of said district living nearest said village is distant one 
mile and a quarter, and that the farthest inhabitant thereof is distant two 
and one-half miles therefrom. In support of the third point, the said trustee 
claims that the said district has now a comfortable, though old-fashioned 
school-house, and further claims that the district has passed a resolution to 
build a new school-house during the present season. 

To support his fourth point, appellant alleges that there are in said village 
a liquor tavern, grocery store, etc., where the scholars can obtain liquor, and. 
where, so far from their homes, the children would be likely to learn profanity 
and drunkenness. It is also claimed by the appellant that fourteen out of the 
eighteen legal voters of said district are opposed to said consolidation, and that 
they have signed a remonstrance against the same. 

The answer to the appeal shows, in explanation of the failure of the commis- 
sioner to be present at the time and place first appointed for the purpose of 
hearing and deciding objections to said order, that " the snow was so deep and. 
so badly drifted that it was impossible and even absurd to attempt traveling at 
the time." This answer is not as complete as I could ^vish. It does not show- 
that any attempt was made by the commissioner to keep his engagement. The 
appeal papers show that the trustees were able to travel from their respective 
]iomes to the place designated by the commissioner, and that they were at the 



FOEMATION AND ALTERATION OF DISTRICTS. 317 

aprjointed place at the appointed time. Why, then, was it impossible for the 
commissioner to reach the designated place at the proper time? It might 
have been argued that the commissioner had a greater distance to travel, and 
that the roads over which he would have been obliged to pass were in worse 
condition than those over which the trustees traveled ; but such a defense is 
not set up in the answer, nor is it claimed therein that the commissioner made 
an attempt to reach the place at the appointed time, and that he was forced 
back by the bad condition of the roads or the inclemency of the weather. 

It will be remembered that, by the terms of the first order, the altera+ion, so 
far as it affected the dissenting districts, was to take effect some time between 
the 20tli day of February and the 1st day of March. But, before such order 
could take effect as to these districts, it was necessary that a hearing should be 
granted to their trustees, and a subsequent order is issued confirming the first 
order. It has been held in this department time and again that, unless this 
subsequent confirmatory order shall be issued, the first order, so far as it affects 
dissenting districts, falls to the ground, expiring on the day originally fixed for 
its taking effect. 

In this case, the confirmatory order was not issued till March 6. Before 
that date, the time fixed upon for the taking effect of the first order had 
elapsed, and such order was, therefore, according to the rule above quoted, 
dead. Being dead, the confirmatory order could not resuscitate it, and this 
latter order having, therefore, no foundation upon which to stand, also falls. 
There is no doubt in my mind but that a commissioner, where prevented from 
meeting the disssnting trustees at the time appointed, by circumstances over 
which he had no control, may designate some other time and place, by giving 
the notice prescribed by law. But such time must be before the expiration of 
the time mentioned in the first order for the taking effect thereof. 

For the reasons above set forth, I feel bound to sustain this appeal, and said 
order issued by the said commissioner on the 21st of November, 1866, as afore- 
said, so far as it affects district No. 8, of the town Cn Clymer, a,nd all other 
school districts, the trustees of which did not consent to such order, is hereby 
declared void, together v:ith the subsequent confirmatory order issued March 6, 
1867. Per V. M. Rice, July 12, 1867. 

A school commissioner has no power to declare illegal a meeting held to decide upon the 
formation of a union free school district, and to authorize another meeting. 

It appears from the testimony submitted in this case, that a special meeting 
was duly called and held in said district about the 10th of November, 1866, for 
the purpose of deciding whether a union free school should be established 
therein. The vote on the question was taken by ballot ; twenty-six votes were 
cast, of which seventeen were in favor of organizing such free school, and nine 
against the same. The proposition, not having received the assent of two- 
thirds of the legal voters present and voting, was declared lost. Subsequently, 
by order of the school commissioner of the second district of Chautauqua 
county, another special meeting was held on the 29th of December, 1866, 
Baid commissioner having decided that the meeting held on the 10th of 
November, as aforesaid, was void on account of certain irregularities specified 
by him. This second meeting also proceeded to ballot on the question of 
organizing a free school in said district ; sixteen ballots were cast which had 
written on them " For Union Free School," and ten were cast which had writ- 
ten on them, "Against." In counting the ballots, the chairman rejected all 
those having written on them the word " Against," and declared the vote in 
favor of a union free school unanimous. All those who deposited the ballots 
on which were written the word " Against," make affidavit that they are 
legally entitled to vote at school district meetings in said district, and that by 
the word " Against," they intended against a union free school. 

All the proceedings in the matter of organizing a union free school in this 
district since the meeting held on the 10th of November, as aforesaid, are void. 
In the first place the school commissioner had no jiuisdiction to pronounce the 



318 Formation axd Alteeatiox of Disteicts. 

proceedings of that meeting void, nor to order another special meeting to be 
held for the purpose of voting upon the question decided at that meeting. 
The Superintendent of Public Instruction is the only school officer authorized, 
by law, to assume jurisdiction over that class of questions. But, even if the 
second meeting had been legally held, I should still be obliged to decide that 
the motion to organize a free school in said district "was lost, because less than 
two-thirds of those present and voting cast their ballots in favor of such 
proposition. The appeal is hereby sustained, and the proceedings of the meet- 
ing held in said district, December 29, 1866, are pronoimced void. Per V. M. 
Rice, March 11, 1867. 

A district i? not anunlled Tiiiless all its part? are annexed to adjoining districts, so that 

nothing of the original district remains. 
Unless the commissioner's order for the alteration of a district recites the refusal or consent 

of the trustees, it is miU and roid. 

Xo answer to this appeal having been filed in this department, the state- 
ments made by the appellants mitst be taken as true, and decision be rendered 
accordingly. It appears that on or about the third of August, 1866, the said 
commissioner, by an order filed with the tOT\'n clerk of Westville, divided dis- 
trict ZSTo. 2 of said town into two portions, calling the south part of the old 
district Xo. 8, and the north part Xo. 2. By the terms of the order the old dis- 
trict is dissolved: but, as one of the new districts formed consists entirely of 
territory formerly comprised within the limits of old district Xo. 2, it is plain 
that it was not a dissolution, but an alteration, of said district, that was ejffected, 
A district is annulled only when all its parts are annexed to other districts, so 
that nothing of the original district remains. If any of it remains as a dis- 
tinct district, though designated by a new name and number, it is not a case 
of " annulling." Xow, in every case of alteration, when the consent of the 
trustees of the district to be aiFected is not obtained, it becomes necessary for 
the commissioner, in making his order, to recite the refusal of the trustees and 
to direct that said order shall not take effect, as to such dissenting district, 
until a day therein named, and not less than three months after notice to the 
dissenting trustees of the time and place when and where their objections 
will be heard. {Sections 3 and 4, titled, General School Load 0/1864:.) But the 
order above referred to does not recite either the assent or refusal of the 
trustees, but directs that the order shall take effect October 1, 1866 — less than 
two months from the time of making said order. 

Very plain and clear provisions of the law have thus been altogether disre- 
garded by the commissioner, and the Superintendent cannot sustain his action. 

The appeal is hereby sustained, and said order, made by said commissioner, 
as aforesaid, and filed with the to-\vn clerk of Westville, is hereby declared 
null and void. Per T. M. Pace, September 29, 1866. 

It is only after a school commissioner has granted an order for the alteration of a school 
district, that the supervisor and town clerk can be associated with him to review his 
proceedings. 

It appears that some time during the school year closing with September 
30, 1865, application was made to the school commissioner for the second com- 
missioner district of Franklin county, for division of school district Xo. 2, in 
the town of Westville. The commissioner decided not to divide. It appears 
that subseqtiently, on the eleventh day of August, 1865, the supers'isor and 
town clerk of the town were associated with the commissioner, and the three, 
acting as a board, rendered a decision in terms reversing the order of the com- 
missioner and dividing the district. The supervisor and town clerk have no* 
jurisdiction in the alteration of school districts, except in cases where the com- 
missioner has granted an order making an alteration. This is not such a case. 
Therefore, the order made by the school commissioner for the second commis- 
sioner district of Franklin county, and the supervisors and town clerk of the 
town of AVest\ulle, in said county, on or about the fourth day of August, 1865, 
dividing school district Xo, 2, of said town, was, and is herebv declared, null 
and void. Per V. M. Rice, March 80, 1866. 



F0EMATI0]S- AND ALTERATION OF DISTRICTS. 319 

A school commissioner has no jurisdiction to alter a school district nntil the trustees 

thereof have been asked and have given or refused to give their consent. 
The order for the formation of a district must contain a recital of such consent or refusal. 

Under section 3 of title 6 of tlie consolidated scliool act of 1864 the school 
commissioner has no jurisdiction to make an order altering a school dis- 
trict until after the trustees have been asked and have refused to consent to 
the proposed alteration. These appellants, three in number, all swear that 
their consent to this alteration had not been asked subsequently to the deci- 
sion of the appeals brought to this department from this same district last year. 
There is no allegation in any paper submitted to the Superintendent by the 
respondent claiming that any such request had been made pre\'ious to making 
the order bearing date June 8. 1865, altering the boundaries of said district. 

Therefore, I must hold that no such consent was asked or refused. Hence, 
the order made by the school commissioner was void for want of jurisdiction. 
But the section above referred to provides, also, that the commissioner may 
make and file with the town clerk his order making the alteration, but reciting 
the refusal, etc. The order made in this case recites no such refusal, and hence 
the commissioner, having failed to comply with the plain requirement of the 
statute, and to recite in the order the fact gi\dng him jui'isdiction to make it, 
the order is void. 

The appeal is, therefore, sustained, and said order, made by said Orrin R. 
Bouton, school commissioner, and the confirmation thereof referred to in the 
said appeal, are hereby declared null and void. Per S. D. Barr, Depvity Super- 
intendent, December i6, 1865. 

A district cannot be compelled to rebuild where school-house has been destroyed ; but, 
where it for a long time refuses to do so, may be annulled and attached to others 
adjoining. 

There is no law by which a district can be compelled to rebuild, where the 
school-house has been destroyed ; but a trustee is empowered to hire rooms 
temporarily, for the accommodation of the children, whenever he shall deem 
it necessary. This he can do without a vote of the district. If the district 
refuses to build for an anreasonable length of time, the school commissioner 
of the district will examine into the' case, and report as to the expediency of 
annulling the district and attaching it to those adjoining. Per V. M. Rice, 
Superintendent, February 7, 1868. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 130.) 

Scliool commissioners not to form new districts until boundaries are defined by inhabitants. 

School commissioners should not make any order forming a new school 

district until after the inhabitants shall have properly defined the boundaries 

of the proposed district. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, March 26, 1866. 

{Letters, vol. 5, p. 243.) 

School commissioners may, at any time, amend the records of district boundaries. 
An amended record of the boundaries of school districts may be made, or 
caused to be made by school commissioners, by virtue of subdivision 1, section 
13, title 2 of the general school law as amended by section 2, chapter 547, 
Laws of 1865, at any time, w^hether between the first days of April and October, 
or not. Of course this does not give them the power to alter districts, by 
taking from or adding thereto property, the exact location of which has been 
before definitely ascertained and understood between April 1 and October 1 ; 
but it does give them the power to settle disputes in regard to district bounda- 
ries at anv time. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent of Public Instruction, April 
5, 1866. (Letters, vol. 5, p. 266.) 

Commissioners only have power to form and alter school districts. 
The law gives to inhabitants of school districts no powder to dissolve or annul 
their school district. This power is vested in school commissioners only, and 
can be exercised by them only under certain restrictions. Per S. D. Ban, 
Deputy Superintendent, October 11, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 616.) 



320 Formation axd Alteration of Districts. 

Boards of supervisors have no power to alter school commissioner districts. 

The commissioner districts, as organized under existing laws, and as recog- 
nized in the election of school commissioners in 1863, must continue to be 
held and regarded as the school commissioner districts of your county, until 
expressly altered or modified by the Legislature. 

Boards of supervisors have no power to alter school commissioner districts, 
(See sections 2, 3, and 6, of title 2, cJiap. 555 of the Laics of 1864.) Per V. M. Rice, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, October 9, 1866. {Letters, vol 5, p. 614.) 

Apportionment of property of dissolved district. 

Where a district is annulled, and a sale and apportionment of its property 
made in a legal manner, and any inhabitant of the dissolved district refuses or 
neglects to receive the share apportioned to him, the supervisor, on an affidavit 
of the facts, will be authorized to pay over such share to the trustees of the 
district of which such inhabitant is a member, to be applied by them in the 
reduction of any tax which may thereafter be imposed on him for distinct pur- 
poses. Per S. S. Randall, Deputy Superintendent, April 28, 1854. {Letters, vol. 
1, p. 54.) 

Districts, how consolidated or annulled. 

A school district is consolidated when formed of two or more districts united. 
It is annulled by annexing the several portions of its territory to adjoining - 
districts. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent of Public Instruction, November 13, 
1854, {Letters, vol 1, p. 376.) 

Annulment of a district rests with school commissioner. 

The annulment of a district rests with the school commissioner. This 
department cannot interfere to prevent the act being done ; but it can set it 
aside afterward on appeal, if it is made to appear that the dissolution ought 
not to have been effected. Per E. W. Keves, Deputy Superintendent, April 16, 
1864. {Letteo-s, vol d, p. 107.) 

The personal convenience of one or two inhabitants will not he pei-mitted to control in the 
alteration of districts, where such alteration would detach property from a weak district 
and attach it to one much stronger. 

On an appeal from an order of a school commissioner altering a certain 
district, it was held, that whatever private convenience might be subserved, it 
would be at a sacrifice of settled principles of public policy to carry into effect 
an alteration, the apparent consequence of which would be to exaggerate the 
disparity of districts already existing, and that such alteration, therefore, 
would not be allowed. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, March 9, 1857. 

Where an order for the alteration of a district is alleged to have been made, hut no such 
order is found recorded hy the town clerk, other evidence in proof of the fact of 
such order being made will be received. 

Where no record of an alleged order altering certain school districts can be 
found, the affidavit of the town superintendent at the time of the making of 
the alleged order, that he actually made the order, will be received in e\ddence, 
and it will be assumed that the order was actually made at the time alleged. 
Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, March 31, 1857. 

A school commissioner has no power to adjudicate upon the validity of an order made by 

his predecessor. 

On an appeal from an order made by a school commissioner, annulling the 
proceedings by which certain territory was organized into a school district, it 
was held, that the declaration of his opinion, hovrever correct, as to the validity 
of an act by his predecessor, has no greater force than that of any other citizen. 
Per V. IM. Rice, Superintendent, February 7, 1857. 



FORMATIOX AXD ALTERATION OP DISTRICTS. 321 

The department will not sanction the setting off of a person from a weak district to a 
strong one, on account of a difficulty which he may have in the district where he 
resides. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of the local officers in setting off from a 
weak district the farm and residence of one of the inhabitants of said district, 
the local officers, in justification of their course, set forth that a difficulty of 
long standing exists between the inhabitant set off and the district of which 
he is a resident, and that, in consequence of this difficulty, he has not for some 
time sent to the school in his district. They, therefore, felt that the cause of 
education would be more effectually promoted by setting him off to another 
district. 

While I concede that the motives of the local officers were just and worthy 
in themselves, I cannot find in the circumstances that surround the case a good 
reason for the conclusion arrived at. The precedent established is a dangerous 
one, which, though, if it could be localized, might not be very unfortunate, 
yet, if sanctioned by the department, and thus made of general application 
throughout the State, Avould prove a source of unending contention and strife. 
To secure a change from one district to another would then only require the 
party desiring such removal to get into some difficulty with the district. 

For the reasons above set forth, the order ^vill be set aside. Per E. W. 
Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, October 13, 1859. 

An alteration of a school district, lying partly in the districts of two commissioners, can- 
not be effected without the joint action of the commissioners. Consent of trustees to an 
alteration of district should recite the fact of a meeting and consultation. 

The principle which this department has always recognized is that, when 
any district, affected by a proposed alteration, lies partly within the jurisdic- 
tion of two or more commissioners, their joint action is indispensable to give 
jurisdiction of the subject-matter. It is not enough that the new district 
formed lies wholly within the jurisdiction of one commissioner. The fact that 
other districts, whose boundaries are thereby changed, are wholly or in part 
within the limits of another commissioner's district, gives him a rightful voice 
in determining to what alterations, if any, such district shall be subjected. 

The consent given by the trustees to the proposed alteration of their district 
must show Tipon its face that there has been a meeting of the trustees to con- 
sider and act upon the question of alteration. Where such is not the case, the 
consent is of no account. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, April 17, 1863 

Where a new district has been erected to settle a controversy, the inhabitants of such dis- 
trict protesting that they were able to maintain a school, it should not subsequently be 
enlarged at the expense of surrounding districts. 

Where a new district has been erected as a means of settling a district con- 
troversy, the inhabitants forming the new district earnestly protesting that 
they were abundantly able to maintain a school, and that they would not, at 
any future day, ask for an increase of territory, held, that it is opposed to all 
sound and just policy to grant the formation of a new district to pacify an 
unhappy strife ; and, a fev*^ years after, to suffer the weakness and inefficiency 
of such a district to plead in behalf of its further enlargement, and the conse- 
quent reduction of surrounding districts. Such a policy is practically offering 
a premium for contention and strife ; and, whenever any order for the altera- 
tion of a district appears, to this department, to favor such a policy, it will be 
annulled upon that ground. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, Decem- 
ber 5, 1861. 

Local boards for the alteration of districts cannot act upon districts lying outside their own 

town. 

Where a local board, composed of the school commissioner and the supervi 
sor and town clerk of the town of M., proceeded to act upon a question of set- 
ting off portions of a district lying in the town of N., held, that the board so 

41 



322 FORilATIOX AND ALTERATION OF DiSTEICTS. 

composed had no jurisdiction over tlie question, and that the order made by 
them was absolutely void. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, Decem- 
ber 5, 1861. 

A commissioner has no power to clivide a union free school district. 

This is an appeal from the refusal of the school commissioner to divide the 
district. 

Aside from the merits of this case, I think there is a fatal objection to over- 
ruling the decision of the commissioner, found in the fact that this appears to 
be a union free school district, and, as such, it is my conviction that the school 
commissioner has no power to divide it. If it were held that he had power to 
divide it, many perplexing questions would arise. 

In my opinion, therefore, there is no authority, short of the Legislature, 
competent to effect the contemplated di-\dsion. 

The appeal is therefore dismissed. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintend- 
ent, December 5, 1861. 

The department will not set aside a consolidation proper in it?elf, because of the existence 
of new elements of opposition that have arisen since the consolidation was effected. 

The local board, consisting of the school commissioner, the supervisor and 
the town clerk, by an order duly made, and in accordance with the policy 
advocated by this department, consolidated two districts. The consolidation 
of these districts had been favorably discussed by the inhabitants of each for 
some time previously, but the basis of the consolidation is a matter of differ- 
ence, owing to certain pecuniary irregularities in the two districts, and, conse- 
quently, an appeal is brought from the action of the board. 

To reverse the action of the board now, because of conditions which they 
could not anticipate, and for which they are not responsible, would, to my 
mind, be an imjust reflection upon their official integrity and wisdom, and 
would, practically, offer a premium to disaffection and discontent. I am by no 
means insensible to the suggestion that a nominal union is of little value 
where the spirit of union is not found. It may even be of positive disadvantage. 
The utmost, however, that I am willing to do, is to refer the matter back to 
the local authorities, empowering them to reverse their action if the circum- 
stances of the case seem to demand it. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintend- 
ent, June 4, 1861. 

The supervisor and tOAvn clerk cannot act with the commissioner in altering the boundaries 
of districts unless so requested. 

This appeal alleges that the town clerk and supervisor were present and 
acted v^thout authority, at a meeting to alter the boundaries of certain dis- 
tricts, not having been requested to act with tlie connuissioncr by tlie tnislers 
of either district affected. This sufficiently disposes of the order, for llie town 
officers could not acquire jurisdiction without the request of tlie trustees, 
and, without jurisdiction, their action is void. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superin- 
tendent, December 15, 1860. 

The consent of trn?teep to an alteration of their district requires a mcetinix, and the fact of 
a meeting should be set forth in the written consent given'. 

This is an appeal from the order of the school commissioner altering the 
boundaries of the district. 

The order is issued upon the application of two parties interested, and upon 
the written consent of two of the trustees, one of whom is a party, desiring to 
be set off by said order to another district. 

Section 7, of chapter 151, Laws of 1858, provides as follows: "Any two 
trustees of any school district may make any order or transact any busine.ss in 
execution of the powers conferred upon said board of trustees by law ; provided 
it shall appear in the order of proceeding filed by them, that all the trustees of 



Formation and Alteration of Districts. 323 

the district met and deliberated on the subjects embraced in each order or pro- 
ceeding, or were duly notified to attend a meeting of the trustees for the 
purpose of deliberating thereon." 

No such meeting or notice appears upon the face of the proceedings in the 
present instance. There was, therefore, no evidence before the commissioner 
sufficient to authorize him to make the order of alteration. The commissioner 
acted under a misap])rehension and the consent of the trustees, which he sup- 
posed genuine and valid, lacks every requisite that could make it binding upon 
him. The order is, therefore, set aside. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
August 27, 1860. 

Order altering? district boundaries will be set aside when the new boundaries are not 
defined by other lines than farms described by the names of the occupants. 

An objection to the order appealed from is that the boundaries are not 
properly defined. I regard the objection as well taken. Boundaries should 
be defined by known established monuments and marks, that survive the 
chances and changes that transpire in the ownership of the soil. Boundaries 
by men's farms or other transitory and jDerishable lines, however significant 
and clearly understood at the time, are perpetually subject to the changes and 
vicissitudes of life, and the ro\dng and commercial spirit of our age, and in a 
few years become vague and uncertain, as the memory of men and the title 
to their possessions pass away. This vagueness and uncertainty concerning 
the actual boundaries of districts whose lines have been run to coincide Avith 
farms that have afterward been cut up into smaller lots, or consolidated with 
other farms, whereby the original boundaries have become obliterated, is a 
fruitful source of contention, strife and litigation in school districts. This 
department has, therefore, acted upon the policy of setting aside the action of 
school officers, in the alteration of districts, where this principle of defining 
boundaries by proper monuments and prominent landmarks is disregarded. 
Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, January 31, 1860. 

An order, defining the boundaries of a district, not intended as an alteration, and made 
under an evident or probable misapprehension of facts, will be vacated. 

As in matters of this kind, where the interests of individuals are considera- 
bly involved, it is but simple justice that they be preserved from the conse- 
quences of error, or doubt, or misapprehension ; and finding, as I do, from 
the evidence, a liability, not to say a strong probability, of such a misap- 
prehension on the part of the board, I am disposed to give the appellant the 
benefit of the doubt there may be of the correctness of the conclusions arrived 
at, and the order of the board for the alteration of the district is hereby 
vacated, and the matter is referred again to the proper officers, to take such 
further and future action as may be deemed expedient. Per E. W. Keyes, 
Deputy Superintendent, July 29, 1859. 

Where it is proved that notice of an alteration has not been given, and the same has not 
been recognized or acted upon, the order for such alteration will be vacated. 

It appears that in 1850, the town superintendent re-organized the districts, 
and, in so doing, changed the boundaries of districts Xo. 9 and No. 15. The 
trustees of No. 9, in the year 1850, swear positively that no notice was ever 
served upon them of any such alteration, and it is further shown that both 
districts have ever acted in ignorance of such alteration. 

The giving notice of any alteration is indispensable to its completeness. As 
the evidence here is conclusive that no notice ever was given, the order referred 
to is hereby vacated. 

Had the alteration made in 1850 been recognized and acted upon, this would, 
of itself, have been regarded as sufficientlv conclusive evidence of notice. Per 
H, H, Van Dyck, Superintendent, July 28," 1859, 



324 Formation a.nd Alteration of Districts. 

Commissioner justified in offering the alternative to a district, to build a new school-house 

or be annulled. 

It is represented that the commissioner, in an early visitatidn of the district, 
suggested the necessity of their building a new school-house, the old one being 
altogether unsuitable for a school. So important was it esteemed by him, that 
he assured them that unless they would build a house, he would annul the 
district. That was equivalent to saying that if they possessed too little 
vitality — too little interest in school matters — or were too poor and feeble to 
furnish a good school-house, it was evidence conclusive to his mind that the 
district ought to be annulled. 

In this position the commissioner was right. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superin- 
tendent, May 13, 1S59. 

Absence of the record of the formation of a district is rot material when such formation 
is otherwise conclusively established. 

On an appeal by the trustees of district No. 28, from the proceedings of the 
trustees of district No. 6 adjoining, the following facts appear: That district 
No. 28 was organized by act of the school commissioners in 1843, being formed 
in part from district No. 6. Ample evidence is adduced to show that the 
district was duly formed by the proper officers, and with the consent of the 
trustees of the districts from which it was taken. By some mischance, 
the order forming the said district was never recorded in the town clerk's 
office, and the trustees of district No. 6, in making out their tax lists, had 
assessed the property belonging to their district, as defined by the record, 
thereby, of course, including the territory and inhabitants set off to No. 28. 
From this action the trustees of district No. 28 appeal. 

The record not being a part of the act itself, but only evidence of it, its 
absence is not material when the act can be proved by other conclusive or 
satisfactory evidence. Such being the case in the present instance, the evi- 
dence of the formation of district No. 28, is conclusive in the absence of the 
record. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 6, 1859. 

An order consolidating districts will not be set aside on the ground that the inhabitants of 
one of the districts are nearly unanimously opposed to it. 

This is an appeal from an order of the school commissioner consolidating 
district No. 8 with joint district No. 6. The principal grounds upon which 
the appellants claim a reversal of the order are that a large majority of the 
inhabitants of the new district are opposed to consolidation. 

The wishes and convenience of the inhabitants of a school district should 
not be wantonly or unnecessarily opposed. Still, it is a popular and prevalent 
misapprehension that, in the organization or alteration of school districts, the 
voice of a majority of those interested or affected must necessarily prevail. 
Only upon the supposition of one or the other of the following conditions 
would the pursuance of such a policy be safe or just : First, that the district is a 
community supporting its school wholly with its own means ; or, second, that 
the promotion of the wishes of the inhabitants shall be perfectly compatible 
with the conservation of a just and liberal policy, embracing in its operation 
all the districts in the State. The first of these conditions is, of course, never 
realized in our system, and the evidence is such as to show that the second 
condition is not realized in the second case. 

The appeal for a reversal of the order of the commissioner cannot, therefore, 
be favorably entertained ; and the order must be, and hereby is, affirrned. 

The principle here involved, of sanctioning the consolidation of districts 
whenever their separate existence must be maintained at an undue public sac- 
rifice, except in those isolated instances where the sparseness of population and 
limited assessed valuation render them proper objects of public charity, is of 
general application, and may be regarded as a precedent which the depart- 
ment will follow whenever similar issues are presented. Per H. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, February 24, 1859. 



Formation and Alteration of Districts. 325 

■Where certain duties are requirod of public officers, their performance will be presumed, 
unless the contrary is shown. 

The general doctrine, tliat, where certain duties are required of public officers, 
their performance will be presumed unless the contrary is shown, is too well 
established to admit of question. 

In the decision of Superintendent Spencer, as found on page 8, old Code of 
Public Instruction, he excepts from this doctrine, in general terms, those cases 
in which the duty enjoined is a subsequent or final act, designed to give 
validity to certain iprimary proceedings. He says, to quote his own words, that, 
" The doctrine of presumption applies only to those cases where the act in 
question should have been performed in the regular and ordinary course 
previous to the final act, and was necessarily incidental to it ; as, after a sale 
upon execution, a levy will be presumed," etc. 

Now, with how much soever force and pertinence and justice this construc- 
tion of the doctrine of presumption may have been applied in the particular 
case under consideration, by the Hon. Superintendent at that time, I must 
dissent from it as of general utility and propriety, and as not sanctioned by 
the uniform ruling of the highest judicial authority in England and this 
country. In a somewhat extended review of the cases in which this doctrine 
is applied, I have been unable to find anywhere the distinction above referred 
to, and here sought to be made paramount. 

In 3 East., 192, the doctrine of presumption in favor of the discharge of duty, 
on the part of a public officer, is fully discussed ; and, in that case, the duty to 
be performed was a final act, indeed, a single act only the performance of which 
would make certain parties responsible for any neglect. Here it was presumed 
that the officer, whose duty it was to give a certain notice, had given such 
notice ; and it was held that the parties interested in overcoming this pre- 
sumption must produce the proof positive that the' notice required had not 
been given, or else the doctrine of presumption must prevail. 

This case is continually referred to by our courts as standard authority 
upon the doctrine of presumption, and it appears to me so sweeping and con- 
clusive, as to leave to the opinion of Mr. Spencer very little force as the asser- 
tion of an essential and prevalent legal principle. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Super- 
intendent, February 21, 1859. 

Where the trustees have given their consent to an order annulling a district, there 13 
nothing in the proceedings which can be stayed by an appeal. 

On an appeal from an order of the commissioner annulling a certain district 
and annexing it to others, it was held that there was nothing in the proceed- 
ings to be stayed by the appeal, for the order of the commissioner had already 
taken effect, and the only question was not whether it should be prevented 
from taking effect, as it would have been if the trustees had not given their 
consent, but whether the order should be reversed and the former condition of 
things restored. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, January 17, 1859. 

Where an order has once been made by a town superintendent annulling a certain school 
district, which said order has never been enforced, though duly recorded, it may be 
enforced upon the demand of competent authority. 

In the year 1855 an order was issued by the town superintendent (school 
commissioner) annulling district No. 4 of that town, which order was duly 
recorded in the town clerk's office. He failed, however, to complete the work 
commenced, by annexing the territory of the late district to those immediately 
surrounding. 

Disregarding this incomplete action of the town superintendent, the inhab- 
itants of No. 4 still continued to act as a district, kept up a school, reported 
pupils, drew public money, and, by the local officers and by this department, 
were recognized as a district down to the present time. The order of the 
town superintendent, before alluded to, has been held in abeyance, been sus- 
pended, by the subsequent action of the district and the local officers ; but it 



326 Formation and Alteration of Districts. 

has not been revoked thereby, but still remains vital, to be enforced upon the 
demand of the competent authority. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintend- 
ent, January 22, 1859. 

Where the presumption is in favor of the regularity of proceedings in the alteration of dis- 
trict boundaries, the order making such alterations will be sustained. 

On appeal from an order of the town superintendent defining and altering 
the boundaries of the district, it was held, that " only upon the presumption of 
a doubt concerning the legal validity of the order appealed from can the ques- 
tion, as an original issue, be entertained by this department." In the present 
case the record is found duly made in the town clerk's office, and upon a map 
prepared under the direction of the town authorities the boimdaries, as 
described in said record, are properly delineated. The testimony is, therefore, 
60 strong as to be nearly conclusive, and the evidence to the contrary, being 
only negative, is entirely insufficient to rebut the presumption already estab- 
lished. 

The orders of the town superintendent are, therefore, declared valid, and the 
appeal dismissed. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, August 27, 1858. 

Where trustees were misinformed as to the extent of the powers of town officers in a 
proceeding for the alteration of the boundaries of a school district, and, consequently, 
neglected to exercise those powers, the order of the commissioner in the proceeding 
will be set aside. 

It appears that, owing to the opinion expressed by the commissioner that 
each town of a joint district had but one vote on the question of alteration, the 
trustees neglected to notify the town clerks of their respective towns to meet 
with the super^dsor and commissioner in acting upon the subject. They 
therefore claim that, being misled by this expression of opinion, the question 
has not been fairly adjudicated, and request that it be referred back for review 
by a full board. 

The department is disposed to concur in the views of the trustees. Labor- 
ing under a misapprehension naturally and honestly entertained, and failing 
to avail themselves of all the advantages which the statute confers, I conceive 
that they are entitled to the interposition of this department in their behalf. 

The matter is, therefore, referred back to the commissioner, with directions 
to give notice of a meeting for the purpose of reconsidering the order already 
made. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, July 21, 1858. 

Where a contract has been made, under authority of the district, to build a school-house, 
and a subsequent meeting votes to change and build on a new site, directing the trustees 
to pay any damages claimed by the contractor on account of the change in location, 
such action confers dangerous powers on the trustees, and is, therefore, unlawful. 

A special meeting voted to build on the old site, and a tax of $300 was voted 
and the trustees directed to prosecute the work. At a meeting of the trustees, 
pursuant to public notice, for the purpose of considering proposals for building 
the school-house, a petition was presented to the trustees, signed by a respect- 
able number of inhabitants, asking that a special meeting be called for the 
purpose of changing the site. The trustees, not feeling at liberty to deny the 
petition, called a meeting. In the mean time, however, under the instruction 
of the previous meeting, they entered into a contract for the building of the 
house on the old site. 

At the subsequent meeting, the trustees remonstrated against any action 
being had on the subject of removing the site, for the reason that a contract to 
build on the old site had already been made. But the meeting voted to change 
the site, and, at the same time, voted to raise a sufficient tax to indemnify the 
contractor against all damages sustained by him in modifying the terms of his 
contract. 

Held, that, in thus directing the trustees to indemnify the contractor, the 
district conferred unauthorized and dangerous powers upon the trustees, 
whereby the rights and interests of the district were imperiled. 



Formation and Alteration of Districts. 327 

The power to levy a tax for imaginary expenses, to incur liabilities to an 
indefinite extent, is not among those which the statute confers on district 
meetings ; still less can such power be delegated to trustees. 

I must, therefore, pronounce the action of the meeting upon a change of site 
void. Per H, H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, May 29, 1858. 

Regularity of notice to trustees of intention to define boundaries of district. 
Power of arbitrators over alterations of districts. 

It has been decided by this department that an arbitration between iho 
trustees of a school district and a person having a claim against it is proper 
and legal, and the award binding on both parties. ( Old Code of Public Instruc- 
tion, page 22.) It cannot be supposed that this decision was intended to confer 
upon arbitrators higher powers than the law confers upon trustees or upon the 
district, nor to bring, within the jurisdiction of the former, questions upon which 
the latter are incompetent to pass. They are competent to determine individ- 
ual cases of controversy relative to matters which, if no disputes were to arise, 
the trustees or the district would be authorized to decide or adjust ; but they 
cannot be invested with general powers to make awards that shall control 
future action ; they canno't establish, precedents of binding obligation, still less 
can they usurp powers specially conferred upon a particular class of olficers, 
and render ultimate decisions which are wholly and only within the purview 
of other authorities. The law has defined how and by whom the boundaries 
of districts are to be fixed, determined or altered. The judgment of an arbi- 
tration, upon y. collateral issue, may assume what are the boundaries of a dis- 
trict, but it canaot establish them as such, except for the purpose of the partic- 
ular issue presented. It cannot reach forward into the futm-e and determine 
other issues by the same assumptions. 

The notice of a meeting of commissioners to establish or define the bounda- 
ries of a district, when served upon the trustees of the district affected, must 
be signed by the commissioners themselves. It is not good if signed by the 
trustees of another district- Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, May 4, 1858. 

Ae order for the alteration of a school district, made by a board of local officers convened 
for that purpose, should be signed by a majority of such board. Otherwise it is irregular 
upon its lace, not showing jurisdiction. 

Exception is taken to an order altering the boundaries of the school district, 
which is signed by only half of the board convened for the purpose of making 
such alteration. 

The irregularity is ^ross and palpable. The half of a board cannot issue 
an order, and justify their action by a vote of the majority, as was done in the 
present case, but the majority must issue the order. The vote is but a means 
to determine the will of the board ; the order is the act whereby the alteration 
is effected, and must carry upon its face conclusive evidence of its authority. 
Such is not the case in the present instance. I cannot approve the irregulari- 
ties attending the proceedings, and feel, therefore, compelled to annul the 
order. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 22, 1858. 

Individual opposition to a measure of public utility should be duly considered, but should 
be allowed to have weight only as it has a sabstantial foundation in reason and justice. 

That due regard should be paid to the wishes and convenience of the inhab- 
itants to be affected by the alteration or consolidation of districts, will be admit- 
ted without argument. That the wishes, the conve::.ience and the interests, 
pecuniary and general, of individuals and of the minority, must occasionally 
give place to higher considerations of public convenience and general good, is 
equally true and obvious. Wliile, therefore, individual opposition to measures 
of public utility should be duly considered, that opposition should be allowed 
to have weight only as it has a substantial foundation in reason and justice. 
A merely factious opposition, a dogged and persistent obstinacy, founded on 



328 LiBB ART — Meetings. 

Belfisliness or feeling or willfulness or some fancied illusion, cannot be success- 
fully urged to defeat any public purpose, good and desirable in itself. It is not 
the fact of opposition, but tbe occasion for it, that is to be considered. Per H. 
H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 5, 1858. 



LIBRARY. 

That part of the district library purchased with money raised by tax upon 
the district may be sold. Per Spencer, September 17, 1839. 

Trustees may exchange old library books for new ones. 
Trustees of districts may legally exchange old books belonging to the dis- 
trict library for new, paying the difference, if any, in price, from the library 
money. Per S. S. Randall, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, April 
20 1854. {Letters, vol 1, p. 34.) 

In regard to exchanging library books. 
No objection might be raised, if a district so determine by unanimous vote, to 
the exchanging of books in a library for others more appropriate to the wants 
of the people. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, September 8, 1854. {Letters, 
vol. 1, p, 2^1.) 

A part of a district set off to another is not entitled to a share of the library. 
Where a portion of a district is set off to another district, the portion thus 
set off has no claim to a proportionate share of the library of the old district, 
unless there was a special agreement to that effect. Per V. M. Rice, Superin- 
tendent, January 13, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 64.) 

District librarian is, by lav/, entitled to no compensation for his services. 
The district librarian is, by law, entitled to no compensation for his services, 
and the district has no authority of law for voting at the annual meeting a tax 
to pay for such services. (See section 16, title 7, chapter 555, Laws of 1864.) 
Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, September 22, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 267.) 

That part of district library vsrhich was purchased by a tax on property of district belongs 
to district, and may be disposed of by its voters, as they shall direct. But that part 
bought with public money belongs to the State, and the district cannot sell it. 

That part of the district library which has been purchased by a tax upon the 
property of the district belongs unqualifiedly to the district, and may be dis- 
posed of by the voters thereof, as they may see fit to direct. But, in that which 
has been purchased "with the public money apportioned to the district, it has 
only a qualified property. This portion of the library really belongs to the 
State, and the district is the bailee and not the owner of it. As such bailee, it 
has no power to sell or otherwise dispose of the library. Per V. M. Rice, Super- 
intendent, November 23, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 552.) 



MEETINGS. 

Verbal notice to clerk to call a district meeting is sufficient. A trustee who 
attends cannot object that he did not authorize the call. Per Dix, November 
24, 1838. 

Notice of meetings should specify the objects for which they are called ; but 
omission is not fatal. An aggrieved party may a^jpeal. Per Spencer, March 
7, 1840. 



Meetings. 329 

A notice given by the district clerk for a meeting is legal, though the directions of tho 
trustees to the clerk to give such notice were verbal. 

A special meeting was held in district No. 5, Lisbon, St. Lawrence county, 
December 30, 1848, pursuant to a notice given by tlie clerk for the purpose, and 
the site of the school-house was voted to be changed. 

The appellants object to the proceedings of the meeting, because the notices of 
the meeting by the district clerk were upon the verbal direction of the trustees. 

If the district clerk gives the proper notices for a special meeting, the pro- 
ceedings of that meeting will not be held to be illegal, although the trustees 
may have given the clerk only a verbal direction to give the notices. 

The proceedings of the meeting, therefore, are legal and regular. 

Appeal dismissed. Per Morgan, March 6, 1849. 

The clerk of a district has no power to authorize any person to give notices for a district, 
or to do any other act. 

The trustees of district No. 14, Lockport, called a special meeting, to be held 
on the 22d day of March, 1849, and directed the clerk of the district to give the 
proper notices. 

Most of the notices were given by a son of the clerk. The meeting held in 
pursuance of such notice is alleged to be illegal. 

It is the duty of the district clerk to give all notices for school meetings in 
his district, and in case of his refusal or of a vacancy in the office of clerk a 
trustee may give them. 

But the clerk of the district has no power to authorize any other person to 
give the notices or to perform any other duties of his office. 

The appeal is sustained, and the proceedings of the meeting are declared 
illegal and void. Per Morgan, April 7, 1849. 

Where there is a deliberate omission to notify any taxable inhabitant of a special district 
meeting, at which a tax is voted to change site and build a new school-house, this depart- 
ment will hold the tax list inoperative as to those so omitted to be notified. 

The appellants were set off to district No. 8 on the 17th of January last, by 
an order, to take efiect on the 1st day of May instant. After the making of 
this order, several meetings were held in district No. 4, of which the appellants 
had no notice, and which they did not attend, under an apparent belief, on all 
haads, that they had ceased to be voters in that district. At these meetings, 
the s'te of No. 4 was changed to a point more remote from the appellants than 
its foraier situation, and a tax of $400 was authorized for building a new school- 
hoaie. On the 9th of March, three of the appellants were served with a writ- 
ten notice that a meeting of joint district No. 4, Scott and Sempronius, would 
be held on the 16th of that month, the notice not specifying the object of 
the meeting. At that meeting, resolutions were passed, reciting that doubts 
were expressed in regard to the legality of the calls of the meeting before 
referred to, and re-affirming and adopting the votes for the release of the old 
site, the location of the new one, and for a tax of $400. Under the authority 
of this last meeting, the trustees have made out a tax list, including the 
appellants, from which, and from the proceedings of such meeting, the latter 
appeal. 

The facts are presented upon an agreed statement signed by the appellants 
and trustees. There appears to have been a deliberate omission to notify the 
appellants of the meetings subsequent to January 17, and an omission to give 
them a notice of the object of the meeting of March 16, which, taken in 
connection with the manifest injustice of subjecting them to taxation for a 
school-house from which they are to receive no benefit, are sufficient grounds 
for declaring the tax list inoperative as against them. 

The appeal is, therefore, sustained, so far as the same relates to the tax list, 
and the trustees are authorized and directed to correct and amend the same by 
striking out the names of the appellants, and apportioning the amount of taxes 

42 



330 Meetings. 

assessed to them upon the remaining taxable inhabitants and property of such 
district, in proportion to the valuation thereof. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy- 
Superintendent, May 9, 1855. 



When the inhabitants of a school district, at their annual meeting, elect trustees, their pro- 
ceedings will he held legal, although such election is made by a small minority of the 
inhabitants. 

This is, in substance, an appeal from the refusal of the trustees of district 
No. 11 to grant an order upon the town superintendent for a portion of the 
public money belonging to the district, applicable to the payment of teachers' 
wages in favor of a duly qualified teacher employed by the appellants wliile 
acting as trustees under color of a legal election by the district, and who 
■taught in the school -house of the district. The annual meeting, at which both 
sets of trustees were chosen, was notified to be held on the second of October, 
1843, at six o'clock P. M., at which hour five inhabitants only were in attend- 
ance. They, however, organized and elected district oflScers in accordance 
with law. After their adjournment, but before leaving the house, the residue 
of the inhabitants came in and insisted upon a reorganization, which was 
accordingly had, without the participation, however, of the inhabitants first 
assembled, and the appellants were elected trustees. The coimty superintend- 
ent, ha\'ing been consulted, gave his opinion that the latter election was legal 
and valid ; and, in accordaiLce ^\dth this opinion, the appellants proceeded to 
employ a teacher and take upon themselves the discharge of their oflicial 
duties without opposition. The persons first elected, however, without ques- 
tioning or controverting the right of the appellants to the use of the district 
school-house and the control of the district property generally, employed a 
teacher, who taught, under their direction and in accordance with a vote of the 
inhabitants first assembled, in a private house in a part of the district remote 
from the school-house. After the termination of both schools, the question of 
the legality of the election of the officiating trustees was submitted to this 
department, and the persons first elected declared to be the only legal trustees. 
They accordingly took possession of the books, papers and other property of 
the district, gave an order for a portion of the public money in the hands of 
the town superintendent in favor of the teacher employed by them, who was 
duly qualified, and refused to recognize the teacher employed by the appel- 
lants. From this refusal to recognize the teacher employed by the appellants 
the present appeal was brought. 

The county superintendent, conceiving himself bound by the prior decision 
of the department declaring the first election valid, felt it his duty to dismiss 
the appeal and refer the rights of the parties to the department. 

Although there can be no doubt of the validity and legality of the first elec- 
tion, yet the ofiicial acts of the persons subsequently chosen, under color of a 
legal election, and who took upon themselves the oflace of trustees, ^^'ill be 
recognized and protected, for all practical purposes, as trustees, until the decis- 
ion of the department declaring their election illegal was obtained. Their 
employment of a teacher prior to such a decision was, therefore, an official act, 
and, inasmuch as the teacher contemporaneously employed by the legal 
trustees has been paid, and there still remains a balance of public money, 
applicable to the payment of teachers' wages, in the hands of the town super- 
intendent, it is the duty of the trustees, and they are hereby directed, to draw 
an order for such balance on the town superintendent, in favor of the teacher 
so employed by the appellants, while acting as trustees under a claim of a 
legal election, and to make out a rate bill and warrant, in the mode prescribed 
by law, for the residue of his wages, against the inhabitants who sent to school. 
By this disposition of the case, it is conceived substantial justice will be done 
to all parties, and the rights of none infringed. It is the misfortune of the 
appellants that they were not more punctual in their attendance upon the 
annual meeting of the district. Per S. Young, October 7, 1814:. 



Meetings. 331 

It is the duty of the trustees, when requested by a respectable number of the taxable inhab- 
itants of their district, to call a special meetin;? for the transaction of any lej^al and proper 
business which such petitioners may desire to bring before it. 

This is an appeal from the refusal of the respondents to call a special meet- 
ing of the inhabitants and legal voters of the district, for the purpose of taking 
into consideration the application and division of the public money of said dis- 
trict on the request of twenty taxable inhabitants thereof. The trustees, in 
their answer, set forth certain facts and circumstances existing in the district 
which, in their judgment, justified them in declining to call such meeting and 
in making such disposition of the public money as they should deem expedient. 

This view of the subject cannot, in the opinion of the Superintendent, be 
sustained. It is the duty of the trustees of a school district, whenever requested 
by a respectable number of inhabitants and legal voters of a district, to call a 
special meeting for the transaction of any legal and proper business which 
such inhabitants may desire to bring before it. The object of the petitioners 
in this case was unquestionably a legal and proper one. The inhabitants and 
legal voters of the district are authorized to make such disposition of the pub- 
lic money among the several terms of the school as they may judge proper, 
and it is only when they omit to act in the matter that the trustees are empow- 
ered to exercise their own discretion. If an improper disposition of the public 
money is made by the inhabitants, an adequate remedy is provided by appeal 
to this department. The circumstances, therefore, set forth by the trustees in 
their answer were insufficient to justify them in their refusal to call the special 
meeting called for. The trustees, therefore, are hereby ordered, within five 
days after the receipt of this order, to cause notices to be given for a special 
meeting of the legal voters of the district, to be held within ten days thereafter, 
for the purpose of taking into consideration the application and division of the 
public money of said district for the ensuing year, etc. Per E. W. Leaven- 
worth, February 28, 1854. 

Where an adjournment of a special district meeting? is had for a period of more than one 
month, notice of the object of such adjourned special meeting is necessary. 

The appellant in this case seeks to set aside the proceedings of an adjourned 
school meeting, held on the 2d day of July last, and the proceedings of the 
trustees in making out a tax list to collect a tax voted at said meeting. 

By the papers before me, it appears that a meeting was held on the 24th day 
of May last, for the purpose of selecting a site and voting a tax for building a 
school-house. This meeting was adjourned to the 2d day of July. It is con- 
ceded by the trustees that no notice of the adjourned meeting was given, and 
they claim that none was necessary. The omission to give this notice is one 
of the grounds of complaint in the appeal. 

By section 81 of the school law of 1847, clerks of school districts are required 
to give notice, in writing, of the time and place for any adjourned district meet- 
ing, when the same shall be adjourned for a longer period than one month. 
From this section it is manifest that notice is required in all cases where a 
meeting has been adjourned for more than one month. A failure to give such 
notice would be fatal, as a failure to give any notice of the time and place of 
holding the annual meeting. The adjournment in this case exceeded one 
month, and. therefore, notice of the meeting should have been given. As it 
was entirely omitted, the proceedings were irregular, and must be set aside. 
Per H. S. Randall, October 6, 1853. 

Notice of the object of an annual meetins: is not required by law. Every inhabitant is pre- 
sumed to know that any business affecting the interest of the district may be transacted 
without special notice thereof. 

This is an appeal from the procedings of the annual meeting of a district 
held October 7, 1851. 

At an adjourned annual meeting, held in the district April 7, 1851, a resolu- 
tion was passed to change the site of the school-house, and the necessary taxes 



832 Meetings. 

•were voted to purchase tlie site and to move the school-house. The proceed- 
iu^s of this meeting are presumed to have been legal. 

On the seventh of October, 1851. the annual meeting was held. The cus- 
tomiuy notices for an annual meeting were posted in the district, but no par- 
ticular business was specified except that officers would be elected. 

At this meeting a resolution was passed reconsidering and rescinding the 
proceedings of April 7, 1851, so far as related to the change of site for the 
school-house and the raising of taxes to defray the expenses- of the same. 

It is alleged that special notice should have been given of the intention to 
reconsider the proceedings of the meeting of April seventh to make the pro- 
ceedings binding. 

This department has always maintained the rule, and the law prescribes, 
that the object for which a special meeting of a district is called shall be speci- 
fied in the notice of such meeting. But an annual meeting is always an adjourned 
meeting. It is not necessary to give special notices, as every inhabitant of the 
district is presumed to know when it will be held, and also that any business 
which may properly come before any district meeting may be transacted at 
this. It is the meeting of the district, and every inhabitant is bound to be 
present to promote the interests of the district as well as to protect his own 
rights. 

The whole business of the meeting of April seventh was subject to review, 
and it was competent to reconsider and rescind the whole or any part thereof, 
except so far as the trustees had carried out the vote of the first meeting, or 
incurred debts or reponsibilities under it. Per Morgan, December 30, 1851. 

Trustees have no power to set aside or invalidate tbo proceedings of a district meeting 
npon the assumption tliat they were illegal. 

Though illegal votes are cast at such meeting, the trustees cannot set aside the proceed- 
ings. The remedy is by appeal. 

On the first day of October last, at an adjourned meeting of the taxable 
inhabitants of district No. 2, in Belmont, held for the purpose of locating a 
site for the school-house, a site was fixed on the land of Winkley and Smith, 
and the sum of $200 voted to build a school-house thereon. A confirmation 
and renewal of the vote fixing the site was had on the thirtieth of November 
last, at a special meeting of the district, more fully attended by the inhabit- 
ants, but no tax was voted for building the school-house. On the fourteenth 
of December a vote was adopted locating the site on lands of E. Stanton, Jr., 
and the sum of $200 directed to be raised for building. On the eleventh of 
January last, the site was again changed to the lands of Winkley and Smith, 
and the same amount voted to be raised for building the school-house thereon. 
Notwithstanding this last and final vote of the district, and in the absence of 
any appeal from the proceedings, the trustees have determined to apply the 
tax voted to build a house on Mr. Stanton's land, on the allegation that an 
illegal vote was received at the last meeting, by means of which the vote was 
invalidated and the preceding vote remained in force, and from this determina- 
ation of the trustees the present appeal is taken. 

If any of the proceedings of the meeting held on the eleventh of January 
were illegal, the appropriate remedy of the trustees or of any persons aggrieved 
was by appeal to this department. It is not within their power to set aside oi 
invalidate those proceedings on their mere assumption of such illegality. The 
money directed to be raised at that meeting, in the absence of any appeal 
within the time and in the mode prescribed by law, must be applied according 
to the vote then taken, and any other application of it will be illegal and 
invalid, and will subject the trustees to personal responsibility to the district 
for the amount so expended, and to the forfeitures and penalties prescribed 
by law. 

The allegation, moreover, of the trustees, that an illegal vote was cast at 
the meeting referred to, by which the result was changed, is wholly unsup- 
ported by the facts as they appear from the papers. 



Meetings. 333 

The proceediuf^s of Lhe meeting- of the eleventh of January are, therefore, 
hereby confirmed, and the trustees directed to apply the tax voted accordingly. 
Per Morgan, February 11, 1850. 

The inhabitants of a distriQt have no power to dissolve or annul the district. 

The first meeting in district No. 9, Lloyd, U]f*ter county, was held August 
28, 1848, at which the following proceedings wt^re had : 

A chairman and clerk pro tern, were chosen. The officers of the district were 
elected and a site for the school-house designated. During these proceedings 
some difficulties arose upon questions of order. 

A motion was made and seconded that the meeting declare the district to 
be annulled, which the chairman refused to put, when the mover called for the 
ayes and noes, and declared the motion to be carried. 

A motion was then made to adjourn, but, not being seconded, the chairman 
refused to put it to vote. 

The mover called the ayes and declared the meeting adjourned, whereupon 
many withdrew. 

The meeting continued its organization, and transacted business after the 
withdrawal of some of the inhabitants. 

The appellant desires that the proceedings of the meeting held after the 
motion to adjourn was made be declared void. 

The motion to dissolve the district was entirely out of order, as it was upon 
a question over which the district had no control. A motion to adjourn can- 
not be put to vote until it is seconded. The chairman was, therefore, correct 
in refusing to put to vote either of these motions. 

The appeal is dismissed, and the proceedings of the meeting confirmed. Per 
Morgan, December 22, 1848. 

It is not iu the power of a district meeting to control the trustees in the exercise of their 
duty of prosecuting delinquent predecessors for not rendering an annual account, or for 
not paying over a balance of money remaining iu their hands." A resolution attempting 
to limit their power in this respect is void. 

A special meeting held in district No. 18, in the town of Sodus, February 
22, 1848, 

Resolved, That a former resolution directing measures to be taken to collect 
certain arrearages alleged to be due from former trustees should be rescinded ; 
and further, that no civil proceedings should be commenced by the trustees of 
the district for school moneys not paid over by former trustees, unless by a 
special resolution of the district. 

Both resolutions mentioned in the appeal were adopted, under a misappre- 
hension of the powers and duties of the inhabitants, when assembled in school 
district meetings. 

Every trustee is bound, by law, yearly, to render an account to the district 
of the moneys received and paid out by him, and to file said account with the 
district clerk, and also, upon going out of office, to pay over any balance of 
money remaining in his hands to his successors in office. 

For any neglect or refusal to render such account, or to pay over such 
balance, the delinquent forfeits to the use and benefit of the district the sum 
of twenty-five dollars, to be sued for and recovered either by his successors in 
office or by the town superintendent. The town superintendent (supervisor) 
may also sue the trustees for unpaid balances in their hands. It requires no 
vote of the district to authorize sucli suit to be brought, and a vote directing 
such suits to be brought, or not to be brought, is a nullity. Per Morgan, 
March, 1848. 

An estimate of expenditures must be submitted to vote, item by item. 
An item "for sexton, $50 '• held to be illegal, being for an officer and purpose unknown 

to the law. 

The trustees having presented an estimate for several heads of expenditure, 
amounting in the aggregate to $1,800, and the vote having been taken 



334 Meetings. 

tliereupon by asking eacli inhabitant when he deposited his ballot for district 
officers whether he voted " tax " or " no tax," without in any other manner 
submitting the propriety of the items severally, it was held that the tax payers 
have the right, not only to fix the amount of their contributions, but to specify 
the precise object to which every part thereof shoiild be appropriated. The 
question should be submitted to them in such a form that every one may have 
the opportunity of offering amendments increasing or diminishing the amount 
to be appropriated to any of the enumerated objects, or of striking out. The 
proceedings not having been conducted in such a way as substantially to 
preserve this right, but, on the contrary, apparently to subject the voters to the 
dilemma of voting for the estimate as an entire proposition or voting against 
every part of it, they were held irregular, and were annulled. 

One of the items in the estimate being " for sexton, $50," it was held that 
the term " sexton," being unknown to the law as the designation of any district 
officer, the duties expected of him ought to have been so defined by the reso- 
lution as to show upon its face an intention to appropriate the money for 
services, like cleaning the school-house, making fires, etc., which are legitimate 
objects of taxation. It is not competent to a district meeting to create a new 
office having a salary attached to it, though it is competent to vote compensa- 
tion for services, not incumbent upon the recognized district officers, but which 
are proper objects of expenditure. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, 
October 2, 1855. 

Proceedings of district meeting set aside on account of fraud. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting, it appears that, at 
the meeting, several arrests of legal voters were made, whereby one party 
obtained an improper advantage. 

The department will never sanction proceedings tainted with such fraudu- 
lent efforts to secure an advantage. The proceedings of one of the parties are 
marred by the appearance of an effort further to gain an advantage by over- 
awing the opposition through the presence and threats of a bully and fighter. 
The department will ever exercise the full extent of its powers to protect and 
defend those, whether in a minority or majority, against whom such influences 
are arrayed. 

The proceedings of the meeting are, therefore, set aside and a new meeting 
ordered to be held. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, January 31, 1861. 

Absence from a school meeting, because it was supposed the business of electing a trustee 
was of minor importance, will not justify setting aside the proceedings of such meeting 
in voting a tax. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of a district meeting, the ground of com- 
plaint, as stated, is that, the meeting being considered of " minor importance," 
but few persons were present ; and, a small tax having been voted at said 
m.eeting to defray the expenses of a trustee in defending a suit, it is asked that 
the proceedings be set aside, the meeting having been called for the purpose 
of electing a trustee. 

Whoever looks upon the election of a trustee as of "minor importance" 
deserves to have a tax levied upon him at every meeting in the district until 
his apprehension of having the best men in the district elected to office is fully 
awakened. 

The reasons stated for setting aside the proceedings of the meeting are 
insufficient, and the appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Per V. M. Rice, Superin- 
tendent, June 16, 1862. 

The department will not interfere in a case in which an order of the department could have 
no effect to change the condition of things already established, and will not, therefore, 
interfere. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting, and from the action 
of the trustees, it appears that the school-house site, as originally granted, was 
bounded on two sides by lands dedicated to public use as a burying-ground. 



Meetings. 335 

During the past year, a new school-house was built, under the direction of the 
trustees, and the same was located so as to cover a portion of the burying- 
grounds referred to. At a special meeting, H., who formerly owned and dedi- 
cated to public use the lands in question, oifered to dedicate to public use, for 
school, purposes, a portion of the aforesaid burying-ground, so as to enlarge the 
school-house site sufficiently to embrace the grounds upon which the new 
school-house stood. This proposition was accepted by the meeting. The 
trustees, thereafter, accepted the school-house from the contractor, and made 
certain payments thereon. 

The appellants ask that the acceptance of the addition to the site be declared 
illegal and void, and that the contractor be directed to refund the money paid 
to him. 

This is one of those cases in which no relief can be afforded by this depart- 
ment. 

The simple declaration that the proceeding in relation to the site was illegal 
would have no force or effect to change in the least the condition of things 
already established by the fact of building the house upon a portion of the 
lands belonging to other parties. It is apparent upon the face of the com- 
plaint, that the action on the part of the said H. was unauthorized, and, of 
course, the acceptance by the district amounts to nothing, one way or the 
other. But there is nothing which this department can do to relieve the 
district from its embarrassment. No order from this department will be suflBl- 
ciently potent to draw the money from the pocket of the contractor, and place 
it again with the trustees. 

The issues are of a nature which only the supreme court can reach and 
affect. The parties aggrieved are those interested in the burying-ground, and 
their remedy must be sought in the courts. 

Appeal dismissed. Per V, M. Rice, Superintendent, March 10, 1862. 

A custom of delaying the orofanization of school meetino:s for one or two hours after the 
regular time has no sanction in good usage. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting, it appears that the 
meeting was called for six o'clock in the evening, and that before seven o'clock 
the meeting was organized, seventeen persons being present, and a tax of two 
himdred dollars voted. 

The appellants ask that the proceedings of the meeting be annulled, because 
the meeting was organized in less than an hour after the time for which it was 
called, it being alleged that it is customary to delay the organization for one 
or two hours. 

If the custom is as above alleged, it is well that a practice so vicious should 
be abandoned. There is no worthy justification for it. Undue haste should 
not be countenanced ; but a delay of half an hour can hardly be regarded as 
undue haste. This department can do nothing to put aside the consequences 
of a neglect so inexcusable as that of the appellants, in not attending at the 
appointed hour for meeting. 

Appeal dismissed. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, February 27, 1862. 

The department will not require trustees to call a special meeting to rescind proceedings 
of an annual meeting, on the ground that the appellants were not present at such annual 
meeting. 

On an appeal from the refusal of the trustees to call a special meeting as 
requested by certain inhabitants of the district, it appears that at the annual 
meeting a vote was taken authorizing the trustees to levy a tax for fuel, and 
to fence the school-house site. The appellants desire a special meeting called to 
rescind that vote, alleging that they were not present at the annual meeting, 
when the tax was voted. 

The objects for which this tax was voted are legitimate and proper, and it 
is not the fault of the trustees, nor of the department, that the appellants were 
not present at the annual meeting, and neither should be put to trouble or 
inconvenience because of the neglect of the appellants to attend to their duty. 



336 Meetings. 

The app3al is, therefore, dismissed. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1862. 

The proceedings of an annual meeting organized within half an hour after the time for 

meeting will not be set aside. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of an annual meeting, it appears that the 
meeting was called for six o'clock. At half-past six it was organized, four per- 
sons being present. Two more came in directly, and the business of the meet- 
ing was transacted. 

There can be no question as to the legality of the meeting, and, though it 
would have been no more than proper and just to have waited a short time 
for others to come in, I do not feel at liberty to set aside the proceedings for 
failure to do so. A sure way to prevent any such advantage being taken is 
to be at the place in time. Those who have it in their power to protect and 
preserve their own interests, and neglect to do so, should not call upon others 
to make good what their own indifference has caused them to lose. Per E. W. 
Keyes, Acting Superintendent, December 5, 1861. 

Proceedings of an annual meeting where only two persons were present is set aside. 

The regular annual district meeting was held without any previous notice, 
and evidently to the surprise of nearly all the inhabitants of the district. A 
chairman was elected, and also a clerk pro tern. Resolutions were offered and 
passed, and trustees and other school officers elected by ballot. At this meet- 
ing only two persons were present. 

By a strange mistake the notices for the annual meeting set forth that the 
same would be held on the tenth of October, instead of the second Tuesday, as 
required by law. A meeting was accordingly held on the tenth, supposed by 
those present to be the annual meeting, and the usual business of an annual 
meeting was transacted. 

This department cannot sanction the proceedings of two persons as of binding 
force and effect upon a district ; especially not, when most of the inhabitants 
were prevented from being present by a misapprehension, arising from an 
error in the published notice. 

The proceedings of both the meetings held as above stated, are declared 
invalid, and the district clerk is directed to give notice of a special meeting. 
Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, December 3, 1861. 

The election of a trustee will he set aside when opportunity for a fair expression of the 
voters was not given, whereby the result was uncertain. 

On an appeal from certain proceedings of the annual meeting, in electing a 
trustee, it appears that the meeting w^as attended by many besides those enti- 
tled to vote, and on the motion to elect A. S. trustee for the ensuing year, it 
was impossible to tell whether the voting was confined to those legally enti- 
tled. The chairman, however, decided that the said A. S. was elected. Many 
of those present doubted the correctness of the decision, and consequently this 
appeal is brought. 

It is evident to me from the proceedings that opportunity for a fair expres- 
sion of the actual voters was not afforded. The evidence of the election of the 
said A. S. is not clear and satisfactory, and I deem it but just that the inhab- 
itants should have what they asked for, an opportunity, by another trial, to put 
the matter beyond controversy. The election of the said A. S., is, therefore, set 
aside as uncertain, and a new election ordered. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting 
Superintendent, November 30, 1861. 

A meeting of three persons, at which it is voted to build a new school-house and levy a tax 

therefor, set aside. 

I cannot consider a meeting of three persons, at which a considerable tax is 
voted for building a new school-house, as a sufficiently authorized expression of 
the sense of the district upon so important a proceeding. However worthy the 



Meetings. 33V 

purpose, the means have too much the appearance of a surprise, especially in 
view of the fact that several inhabitants were waiting outside, in the belief that 
no one had yet tirrived to attend the meeting beside themselves. The proceed- 
ings are, therefore, set aside. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, July 
22, 1861. 

It does not follow of course that a, petition to the trustees for a special meeting, however 
numerously signed, is to be granted. 

On an appeal from the refusal of the trustee to call a special meeting, on the 
application of a majority of the voters of the district, it appears that the object 
of a new meeting is to rescind the action of a previous meeting changing the 
site and voting a tax to build a new house. The meeting which took this 
action was well attended, every voter in the district being present but one, and 
the vote in favor of the resolution to change the site was confirmed by 21 to 7. 

The petition to call a new meeting bears date more than two months after 
the above decisive action had been taken. Meantime, the trustees had com- 
pleted their tax list, and, at the least, had entered into negotiations concerning 
the sale of the old house and site. It is remarked by the counsel for the appel- 
lants that it would seem as though an application for a school meeting, made 
by a clear majority of the legal voters of the district, ought, upon the face of 
it, to be granted. The general principle enunciated is, doubtless, in its broad 
and unrestricted sense, true ; but, in its application to individual instances, it 
may, in a majority of cases, be found unwise and unjust, for the reason that it 
is scarcely possible to recognize, in the statement of such general principles, 
the thousand and one conditions that render it inapplicable. 

I can conceive of no good resulting from an effort at so late a day to disturb 
what has been so deliberately and fairly and decisively determined. If it is 
true that so large a number of the voters have changed their minds, it betrays 
a fickleness and instability of purpose that give little assurance that proceed- 
ings had at any future meeting will be permitted to rest. 

I regard the discretion of the trustee as judiciously exercised, and the appeal 
is, therefore, dismissed. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, June 15, 1861. 

Clerk cannot refuse to give notice of a meeting ordered hy a majority of trustees, upon the 
ground of protest or refusal of third trustee. 

This is an appeal from the refusal of the district clerk, to call a special 
meeting upon the order of a majority of the trustees. 

The justification of the clerk is insufficient. The protest of one trustee 
should not be regarded as authority against the direction of a majority. Nor 
is it the duty or the right of the clerk to judge concerning the correctness, 
competence or legality of the proceedings of the trustees. If an order is pre- 
sented to him, correct upon its face, he is to presume all preliminary proceed- 
ings to be just and legal. Any other construction of his powers and duties 
would leave the control of all district matters entirely in the hands of a sub- 
ordinate ministerial officer. 

No order seems necessary, however, compelling the clerk to act ; as one of 
the trustees may give the notice required in case of the continued refusal of 
the clerk to act, the same as in the case of his absence or inability to act. 
Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, January 2, 1861. 

A special meeting will not be ordered to act upon questions that have been deliberated and 
acted upon at successive meetings. 

This is an appeal from the neglect or refusal of the trustee to call a special 
meeting, upon the request of a respectable number of the inhabitants. 

The appellant fails to make out a case requiring the interposition of the 
department. The mere fact of a petition for a meeting, signed by a large num- 
ber of inhabitants, is insufficient to create even a presumption as'to the duty of 
the trustee to call such meeting. If it could be so regarded, then a minority, 
respectable in numbers, could always compel the trustee to call a special meet- 

43 



338 Meetings. 

ing, and could thus keep tlie district distracted and unsettled upon any impor- 
tant issue, so long as tliey might choose to demand the calling of meetings. 

It is in evidence that the meeting whose action the appellant disapproves, 
and which action he desires a special meeting to reconsider, was the third 
special meeting that had acted upon the question at issue. 

It is a principle that has been recognized by the department that, when a 
question has been deliberately acted upon at successive meetings, the trustee 
is not required to call other meetings to reconsider the question thus deter- 
mined. 

In view of the facts and principles herein disclosed it devolved upon the 
appellant to show, by obvious and well attested facts, that the action of the 
meeting was not a proper expression of the will of the district upon the ques- 
tion at issue. Failing in this, I find no sufficient occasion for subjecting the 
clerk to the trouble and labor of serving notices of another special meeting, 
so soon after a series of special meetings has been concluded. 

The appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
April 12, 1860. 

A. district meeting is not bound by strict parliamentary rales ; it makes its own. 

This is an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting. The objections 
to the proceedings are to the ruling of the chairman upon certain questions 
of order. 

The department will not overrule his decisions where it was in the power of 
the meeting to reverse such decision on appeal. The failure of the meeting 
to take any action upon the point of order, must be regarded as an acquiescence 
in the ruling of the chair. So far as the binding obligation of common par- 
liamentary rules is concerned, it must ever be held subordinate to the will of 
any organized meeting, every such assemblage being free to establish its own 
rules. As I do not find the merits at all affected by the proceedings com- 
plained of, I cannot, upon the ground of unparliamentary ruling, reverse the 
deliberate action of the meeting. Per H. H. Van Bvck, Superintendent, March 
8, 1860. 

An annual meeting, not adjourned to any particular time, called by the clerk at six o'clock, 
and organizing and transacting business before seven, is void. 

This is an appeal from the proceedings of the annual meeting. 

There is but one point made by the appellant that at all impairs the proceed- 
ings of the annual meeting. Unfortunately, however, that obj ection is material, 
and cannot be disregarded. The statute of April 12, 1858, provides, that 
" unless the hour and place of such (annual) meeting, shall be fixed by a previ- 
ous district meeting, the same shall be held at the school-house at seven o'clock 
in the evening." It is in evidence that the time and place were not fixed by a 
previous meeting, but that the meeting was notified by the clerk to be held at 
six o'clock, that it was organized shortly after that hour, and that before the 
hour of seven o'clock it had transacted all its business and adjourned. 

I have, therefore, no alternative but to declare the proceedings unauthorized, 
and they must of necessity be set aside, as being contrary to the statute. Per 
H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, February 3, 1860. 

A motion to adjourn, wMle another question is pending, and a ballot being taken on it, 
cannot be entertained ; and an adjournment thus effected is void. 

At the annual meeting, a resolution was offered to elect three trustees, and 
the question was being taken by ballot on that resolution, when some of those 
offering to vote were challenged, and a discussion on the qualifications of 
voters arose, pending which a motion to adjourn for one week was made ; the 
question was taken on the affirmative, and declared carried without the nega- 
tive being taken. The appellant claims that the adjournment was legal, and 
that the business transacted after the adjournment was declared is void. 



Meetings. 339 

I cannot arrive at tlie appellant's conclusions. In the first place, no motion 
for adjournment, nor for any thing else, was in order while a vote on a previous 
motion was being taken. While strict parliamentary practice is by no means 
to be expected in the proceedings of district meetings, yet some observances 
are indispensable to protect the meeting from the factious opposition of a 
minority, from an oppressive rule of the majority, or from the arbitrary 
authority of the presiding officer. The rule here stated I consider to be of 
this nature. The entertainment of the motion to adjourn at that time was, 
therefore, unlawful, and the action upon it of no effect. The fact that the 
chairman declared the motion carried ^^thout calling for the negative vote 
^^'ould be sufficient to \'itiate the proceedings, had the motion itself been in 
order, for to give the chairman power, at discretion, of declaring an adjourn- 
ment, without taking a full expression of the meeting, is to invest him with 
supreme control. 

The meeting not being legally adjourned, the proceedings had after the 
declared adjournment were regular and legal. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy 
Superintendent, December 9, 1859. 

Proceedings set aside for uncertainty, where, on a vote by ballot, more ballots were 
deposited than there were voters present. 

A vote was taken upon the question of building a new school-house. The 
vote was taken by ballot, and the result showed more ballots than voters. Of 
course the department has no power to determine, in such a case, what is the 
will of the majority. 

The proceedings of the meeting are, therefore, declared void for uncertainty. 
Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, October i7, 1859. 

The proceedings of a district meeting will nor oe set aside because the said meeting was 
organized sobn after the hour appointed, wLeii but few of the inhabitants were present. 

On an appeal from the proceedini^s of a special meeting, for the election of 
a trustee, it is alleged that the hour for the meeting was six o'clock ; that the 
meeting had transacted its business and adjourned by ten minutes past six ; 
that there were present but three persons, one of whom was the trustee 
elected ; and that it is customary to wait one hour after the time appointed 
before organizing district school meetings. 

If such is the custom in that district, it is high time it was abandoned ; 
there is neither sense nor justice in appointing a meeting for one hour, and 
compelling those who are present promptly, like business men, to wait a full 
hour for the indolent, the indifferent and the shiftless to come. 

The appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent 
February 2, 1859. 

A special meeting for the purpose of directing the application of the public money will not 
be ordered after the trustees have made tneir arrangements for a school upon proper 
basis of division fixed by themselves. 

On appeal from the refusal of the trustees to call a special meeting, it 
appears that the object of the meeting was to take into consideration what 
disposition should be made of the public money. As the annual meeting had 
passed without action being taken on that question, it was left, by common 
understanding, to be applied as formerly, in view of which understanding the 
trustees had made their arrangements for the winter term. 

As any other disposition of the public money than that, according to the 
understanding, might seriously embarrass their proceedings, it is adjudged 
unnecessary and inexpedient to call a meeting for the purpose of considering 
that question. 

The appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
December 13, 1858. 



340 Meetings. 

Trustees Avill not be directed to call a special meetinf? to take action upon questions which 
have passed beyond the jurisdiction of the inhabitants. 

On appeal from the refusal of trustees to call a special meeting to reconsider 
a vote taken at tlie annual meeting, it appears that the annual meeting had 
authorized the trustees to raise $100 to repair the school-house, and that the 
trustees immediately went to work and made out a tax list ; contracted for 
the repairs ; made an advance on the same, out of their own money, and com- 
menced operations. This they had an undoubted right to do ; the assumption 
of the appellant that the trustees were bound to wait thirty days is wholly 
imtenable. The repairs were needed at once, if at all, and under the circum- 
stances the promptitude of the trustees is commendable. 

It follows, then, that a special meeting, if called, would have no power to 
rescind the action of the annual meeting. The trustees, therefore, acted within 
a reasonable discretion in refusing to call such meeting for the purpose named, 
it not being then in the power of the district to act upon the question. The 
appeal must be dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, December 3, 
1858. 

An annual meeting held nn the second Tuesday of October, though without notice, is legal, 
that being the day now prescribed by law. 

This department has ruled, and does rule, that any meeting held on the 
second Tuesday of October, as required by the act of April 12, 1858, is legal. 
All have an opportunity of reading the law, and the presumption is that they 
had sufficient sense to comprehend it. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
November 23, 1858. 

The proceedings of a meeting -will not be set aside because of neglect to administer the pre- 
scribed form of declaration to persons challenged, when it is shown that such persons 
were in fact legal voters at such meeting. 

On an appeal from certain proceedings at an annual meeting, it appears that 
on a certain question, which is not, stated, thirteen voters were challenged, to 
but one of whom any oath was administered. But it also appears that each 
one so challenged was a resident of the district, and owned or hired real prop- 
erty therein. Their right to vote is thus clearly established, and the proceed- 
ings should not be set aside for a mere informality in administering the oath, 
when it is shown that such informality has no eifect upon the general result. 
Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, November 15, 1858. 

Where three trustees are chosen in a district, and their terms of office are designated by lot 
instead of by vote, as the law directs, the election will be declared void for uncertainty. 

At a district meeting it was resolved to have three trustees, and three per- 
sons were accordingly elected by viva voce vote, and the term that each one 
should serve was determined by lot or chance, and not by the votes of those 
present. 

The objection to the proceedings of this meeting is valid. By section 6, 
chapter 151, Laws of 1858, it is required that the time which each trustee shall 
serve shall be decided by vote. Consequently, the election of these officers in 
the present case is void for uncertainty, the term for which either was elected 
not being designated. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, November 15, 
1858. 

The department will not set aside the proceedings of a meeting to which a majority of the 
inhabitants of the district are opposed, because such majority, though having due notice, 
neglected to attend the meeting. 

This is an appeal from the proceedings of a special school meeting. The 
case presented is not one requiring any action from this department. Due 
notice was given of a meeting to take into consideration the question of a 
change of site. A portion of the inhabitants saw fit to neglect their duty 
and did not attend the meeting. Thereby a minority of the inhabitants were 
enabled to control the action of the meeting. 



Meetings. 341 

There is but one way in wliich a majority can carry out measures of policy, 
and that is to present themselves at the meeting duly and properly notified. 

It is no part of the duty of this department to make good, or, by its action, 
atone for, the neglect or indifference of the inhabitants. 

The appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintend- 
ent, September 11, 1858. 

The proceedings of a school meeting, held at the unusual hour of half past seven o'clock in 
the morning, will be set aside unless there are peculiar conditions in the district to justify 
the call of a meeting at that hour. 

A meeting was held at the hour of half past seven o'clock in the morning, 
the proceedings of which are appealed from, on the ground of the unseasona- 
bleness of the hour of meeting. 

I cannot regard a meeting called at seven and a half o'clock in the morning 
as giving an opportunity to the inhabitants for a fair and deliberate expression 
of their opinions upon the matters under discussion, unless it is made aifirma- 
tively to appear that the circumstances of the district are so peculiar as to 
make that the best and most convenient time of meeting. It *is not made so to 
appear in the present instance, and the appeal must, therefore, be sustained. 
Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, June 18, 1861 

Where a meeting is called by a single trustee, the others having vacated their offices, the 
call is legal, even though it may subsequently appear that the trustee was not legally 
elected. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting, it is claimed that 
the meeting was illegal and its proceedings void, from lack of authority on 
the part of the i^erson assuming, as trustee, to call the same. 

The facts of the case are that the meeting was called by an acting trustee, 
and that no other person was avithorized to act in that capacity, those elected 
to that office, and claiming to hold it, having resigned. 

Held, that it was sulficient that, under color of title to the office, there being 
at the time no competitor or rival claimant, and by advice of the commissioner 
and on petition of the inhabitants, the said acting trustee directed the clerk to 
call the meeting ; and that, the meeting being legally convened, the proceed- 
ings, if not irregular, must be sustained. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintend- 
ent, March 31, 1858. 

Trustees do not exceed their just discretionary powers in refusing to call a meeting to 
reconsider the action of a previous meeting, when the number of voters signing a remon- 
strance against such meeting is greater than the number of those petitioning for it. 

At a regularly called and fully attended meeting of the district, it was voted 
by forty-eight to twenty-two, to raise a tax to repair and enlarge the school- 
house. Some time after the meeting, a petition signed by fifty-one voters of 
the district was presented to the trustees, asking that a special meeting be 
called to reconsider the proceedings of the former meeting. The trustees like- 
wise received a remonstrance against calling such meeting, signed by sixty 
voters. The trustees met, and, after due deliberation, resolved to deny the 
petition. 

Held, that their refusal was justly founded upon the evidence before them 
that a majority of the inhabitants were opposed to delaying or othervrise 
embarrassing the proceedings inaugurated under the direction of the meeting 
already held. I can, therefore, see no occasion to reverse the decision of the 
trustees in refusing to call another special meeting. Per H, H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, March 9, 1858. 

Where the clerk is unable to serve the notices of a special meeting on account of illness, 
the trustees may depute any inhabitant of the district to serve them. 

The facts in this case were as follows : The clerk, being unable to do it him- 
self, suggested that his son might serve the notices of a special meeting ; this 
suggestion was approved by two of the trustees, and the son of the clerk was 
authorized by them to serve the notices. 



342 Meetings. 

It lias been decided that tlie clerk cannot act by deputy, and for tbe obvious 
reason that his is a ministerial oflBce, the duties of which are definitely pre ■ 
scribed, and which he has no power to delegate. But the person serving 
the notices did not act by authority of the clerk, but by that of two of the trus- 
tees. That the trustees may thus delegate a ministerial duty to an inhabitant 
I have no doubt ; they act judicially as well as ministerially, and have a discre- 
tion in the performance of certain duties not conceded to the clerk. It is, 
therefore, held, that the action of the trustees, in this respect, is legal. Per H. 
H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, February 25, 1858. 

Where the clerk names a wrong hour in his notice of an annual meeting, and part of the 
inhabitants assemble at that hour and transact business, and part assemble at the hour 
of adjournment, and also transact business, both meetings may be set aside, and a new- 
one ordered. 

It appears that an annual meeting in 1856 adjourned to October 5, 1857, at 
seven o'clock, and the same is so recorded. By error, the clerk in the written 
notices of the meeting named six o'clock as tlie hour. A part of the inhabit- 
ants met at that hour, and transacted the ordinary business ; a part, relying 
upon the adjournment, met at seven o'clock, organized, and proceeded to busi- 
ness. The latter appeal from the action of the former. 

Held, that seven o'clock was the proper hour for meeting, but, a part of the 
inhabitants having been misled by the written notices, no advantage should be 
taken of such an official error, to deprive a considerable number of the inhabit- 
ants of a voice in the regular proceedings. 

The proceedings of both meetings are therefore set aside, and the clerk of 
last year is directed to give notice of a new meeting within ten days after the 
receipt of this decision. Per H. H. Van Dvck, Superintendent, November 
30, 1857. 

Trustees will not be ordered to call a special meeting upon the application of a respectable 
number of inhabitants, where successive meetings for the same purpose have been called 
and held. 

The question is whether the trustees have exercised their discretion right- 
fully, in refusing to call a special meeting upon the request of a respectable 
number of voters to have the meeting called. Such a request is ordinarily 
sufficient, but it is not all-sufficient. If it were so, a respectable minority could 
efiectually prevent the consummation of any action by the majority. There 
must be some reasonable pretext for a meeting to render the refusal of trustees 
an abuse of discretion. In the present case, the object for which a special 
meeting is desired has already been passed upon by two successive meetings, 
at the last one of which every voter in the district was present but one. The 
trustees have, therefore, only exercised a reasonable discretion in the matter, 
and there is no occasion for any interference from this department. Per H. H. 
Van Dyck, Superintendent, November 7, 1857. 

Under certain circumstances a district meeting may rescind a vote of a previous meeting, 
levying a tax, though a portion of that tax be collected at the time of such rescinding, 

A regularly called special district meeting voted to levy a tax of $350 to 
build a new school-house, A tax list and warrant were accordingly made out 
and put in the hands of the collector, to whom a portion of the tax was paid. 
Considerable dissatisfaction being expressed in regard to the levy of the tax on 
account of the small number of persons present when it was voted, another 
special meeting was called, at which the vote to raise $350 for building a school- 
house was repealed, and a tax of $200 was voted to repair the old school-house. 

On appeal from the proceedings of this second special meeting, it was held, 
that, it having been already decided by this department ( Old Code PuUic Instruc- 
tion, page 55), that, at any time before *the list and warrant are delivered to the 
collector, the inhabitants may rescind the vote by which it was le^'ied, it would 
be thus clearly implied that the vote cannot be rescinded after the warrant is 
put into the collector's hands, A decision of the Supreme Court is positive and 



Meetings. 343 

empliatic, that, after a portion of tlie tax has been collected, the district has no 
power to repeal the resolution under which the tax was levied. (4 Barl)., 25.) 
This would seem to cover the case completely, and to decide the whole ques- 
tion at once. It is to be noticed, how^ever, that the argument used in support 
of the decision does not apply at all to the present case ; that argument being 
the manifest injustice of collecting a tax from a portion of the inhabitants, and 
then, by a reconsideration, to exempt the remainder from taxation. But here 
is no such condition, for the collector was directed to refund the amount col- 
lected, and it is believed this has been done. Now we are warranted in assum- 
ing that the case before us is not determined by the decision, the conditions 
and equitable interests involved being unlike, though the abstract terms of the 
decision comprehend both. 

But it further appears that the original warrant of the trustees had run out, 
and that they refused to renew. This does not invalidate the original vote to 
levy a tax — but until the warrant is renewed it remains inoperative, and, in 
the opinion of this department, that is a condition of which the district may 
take advantage, and, by refunding the money collected, thus establishing the 
conditions under which their authority is recognized, proceed to exercise that 
power in the act of repeal. The exercise of the equitable powers of this depart- 
ment in setting aside proceedings strictly legal, or in the affirmance of those 
resulting from the assumption of doubtful powers, is to 'be deprecated, except 
when it becomes the only means of preventing the consummation of injustice 
or wrong. But in the present case, if the proceedings of the second special 
meeting were not strictly legal, as they are assumed to be, the department 
Avould have no hesitation in exercising the discretionary power with which it 
is vested, to declare the proceedings of the first meeting superseded by those 
of the second, for the tax voted at the first meeting appears, upon substantial 
evidence, to have been unnecessary, and that voted at the second meeting to 
have been entirely adequate to the present demands of the district. Per H. H. 
Van Dyck, Superintendent, October 31, 1857. 

The proceedings of a meeting locating a site, in accordance with an award of arbitrators, 
to whom contending parties in a district had agreed to refer their differences, will he sus- 
tained. 

In pursuance of an adopted resolution, several subjects of controversy in the 
district were referred to the decision of arbitrators. After hearing the proofs 
and allegations of the parties, the arbitrators made an award, by which they 
located the site of the school-house. 

At a meeting subsequent to the award, the inhabitants, by a vote of 15 to 4, 
located the site at the place designated by the arbitrators, voted a tax for pur- 
chasing the site, and for removing the building to it. 

The objection is taken, on appeal, that the arbitrators had no authority to 
determine the si1ie, and that the district has another site so long as it chooses 
to occupy the same. 

Held, that the tax is legal, not because of the award, but because the inhab- 
itants elected to fix the site in the place which the arlDitrators pointed out, as 
they had good right to do, irrespective of the award. Per H. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, May 23, 1857. 

The Superintendent will set aside the proceedings of a meeting voting an exorbitant sum 
to pay in advance the rent of a school-house site for a number of years. 

An appeal is taken from the proceedings of a meeting, a resolution of which 
directed the trustees to levy a tax of $150, for the purpose of paying the rent for 
a term of twelve years on a lot which was then, and had been for about twenty 
years, in possession of the district, and occupied as a site for a school-house. 
The appellants state that three dollars and fifty cents per annum is the rent 
which has heretofore been paid for said lot, and that $150 is a most unreason- 
able price for the fee simple. The evidence shovrs that the value of the fee of 
the site does not exceed thirty dollars. 



344 Peoperty. 

It is, tlierefore, held by the department that there is no adequate considera- 
tion for an agreement to pay $150 for a twelve years' lease of the site ; that 
the appeal must be sustained, and that the resolution and proceedings under 
it must be set aside. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, M£iy 22, 1857. 

A meeting, called by two trustees without consulting the third, will not be set aside when 
the third trustee attended the meeting and participated in the proceedings. 

A meeting was called by the majority of the trustees, without consulting 
the third, and, upon this ground, the third trustee asks that its proceedings 
may be declared void. At the meeting every voter in the district, excepting 
one who was absent from home, was present. The third trustee was present 
and voted. 

Held, that the trustees who imited in ordering the call were unquestionably 
wrong in exercising the power without their colleague, and that, if any con- 
siderable part of the inhabitants had declined or omitted to take part in the 
proceedings, this defect in the order for its call might have been regarded as 
fatal. 

Where, however, the notice has the effect of convening all the inhabitants, 
with the exception of a single individual, whose vote, if present, would not 
have affected the result, the Superintendent feels warranted in disregarding 
the objection, when brought by a person who himself disregarded it, by par- 
ticipating in the proceedings of the meeting. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superin- 
tendent, May 14, 1857. 



PROPERTY. 

Where property in the possession of public officers has been stolen or destroyed by fire, 
without negligence on their part, they are not bound to make good the loss. 

It has been settled by the supreme court, in the cases of Supervisors of Albany 
County V. Dorr (25 Wendell, 440), and Browning v. Hanford, sheriff (5 Hill, 558), 
that a public officer, in whose possession property has been destroyed by fire or 
for want of care, or from whom money has been stolen without negligence or 
any default on his part, is not bound to make good the loss. Per E. Peshine 
Smith, Deputy Superintendent, April 17, 1855. {Letters, vol. 2, p. 347.) 

Supervisor should take charge of all property bequeathed to a town for the benefit of common 
schools, when no other person is specified. He should communicate the fact of his doing 
BO to Superintendent of Pnblic Instruction. 

Where property is bequeathed to a town for the benefit of the common 
schools therein, without naming any particular officer or person as trustee of 
the fund, the property should be delivered over to the supervisor, who is the 
financial officer of the town. As soon as he receives the property the super- 
visor should report the fact to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who 
will advise with him as to its investment and in regard to the disposition of 
the interest. The duties of the supervisor in regard to such trusts are stated 
in article 2, title 3, chapter 555, Laws of 1864. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
February 13, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 138.) 

Statute provides for a sale of property only "when a district is annulled, and portions 
thereof are annexed to other districts." 

The facts show a mere division oi a joint district. Changing names cannot 
change facts. In this case, the fact is that a new district (7) was formed from 
a part of joint district (8.) 

But, independent of any question as to whether the action of the board 
amounted to an " annulling " of the district, the statute pro\'ides for a sale of 



Public Money. 345 

the property only " when a district is annulled and portions thereof are annexed 
to other districts." 

The part of the sentence which is quoted, is regarded as furnishing a defini- 
tion of what is meant by " annulled." If, however, this be wrong, and the 
quoted words are regarded as an independent provision, it leaves the difficulty 
that both conditions must concur to authorize a sale. In the case of No. 8, no 
part was annexed to any other district. Per E. Peshine Smith, Deputy Super- 
intendent, August 14, 1855. {Letters, vol. 2, p. 525.) 

The property of a district is to be sold "when a district is annulled, and portions thereof 
are annexed to other districts," and there is no provision for sale unless these conditions 
are fulfilled. 

When a district is divided simply, and two districts are formed from it with- 
out the addition of another territory, portions of it are not annexed to other 
districts, nor is any portion of it annexed to a (singular number) district. This 
consideration appears to fortify the conclusion which would be drawn from the 
use of the word " annulled," the signification of which is " reduced to nothing." 
A district can hardly be said to be reduced to nothing while its school-house 
remains with a territory attached thereto of sufficient extent to be still main- 
tained as a district. 

If the law justifies a sale of district property in any case (after payment of 
debts), the statute imperatively requires the division of the remaining proceeds 
among the several inhabitants, in the ratio of their assessments, and the 
receipt of each one, or his written assent to a diflferent disposition of the same, 
would be required. Per E. Peshine Smith, Deputy Superintendent, March 22, 
1855. {Letters, vol. 2, p. 274.) 



PUBLIC MONEY. 

Public money cannot be paid for wages of a past year. In other words, pub- 
lic money apportioned for any year must be expended for services performed 
within that year. Per Dix, March 26, 1838. 

The county treasurer is bound to pay over to each town all the school money 
apportioned to it and received by him from the State treasviry. He cannot 
retain a percentage for receiving and disbursing, out of the money in his hands. 
Whatever claim he has is a charge against the county. Per Spencer, October 
12, 1840. 

When the district has given no direction, and the trustees have already 
appropriated the public money to a particular term of school, the district has 
no further control over the disposition of it. In the absence of any specific 
directions by the district, the trustees can apply the money as they may deem 
best for the interests of the schools. Per Spencer, June 15, 1841. 

The wages of a teacher employed for the winter term may be paid from the 
school money to be received the next spring. Per Young, November 28, 1842, 

In the absence of any specific directions by the district, the trustees may 
apply the public money to the summer and winter terms of a school in such 
proportions as they may deem just. Per Young, January 10, 1843. 

Town superintendents (supervisors) can pay over public money only upon 
the written order of the trustees, or a majority of them, to the teacher entitled 
to receive the same. Per Morgan, May 29, 1851. 

44 



346 Public Money. 

The public money apportioned for one year cannot be applied to the payment of teachers' 
wages of a previous year, except when a term embraces a portion of two years, in which 
case the public money of either year may be applied indiscriminately to tliat term. 

The appellees (two of the trustees) gave an order upon the town superintend- 
ent of Hoosick for ten dollars, to be paid out of the apportionment of public 
money for 1849, in favor of the teacher for the summer term of 1848. The 
public money apportioned for one year cannot be applied to the expenses of a 
previous year, except when the term embraces a portion of two years ; in wliich 
case the public money of either year may be applied indiscriminately to that 
term. 

The trustees could not legally apply any of the apportionment for 1849 to 
the payment of the teacher of the summer term of 1848. 

The appeal is sustained. Per Morgan, April 3, 1849. 

The illegality or irregularity of the election of trustees is no excuse for a town superintend- 
ent (supervisor) for refusing to pay over the public money, upon the order of such trus- 
tees. He must be governed by the report of these officers, made in conformity to law. 

The town superintendent of the town of Spencer, Tioga county, declined to 
pay over, on the order of the trustees of district No. 3, in said town, in favor of 
a duly qualified teacher, a portion of the school moneys apportioned to said dis- 
trict, and from this act the trustees appealed to the county superintendent, who 
sustained the appeal, and ordered the town superintendent to pay the money 
over, for the purposes and in the manner prescribed by law. Town superin- 
tendents (supervisors) will not be permitted to inquire, as in this case, on 
being presented with a written order, signed by the trustees of a district, into 
the validity of the appointment or election of the persons claiming to act, and 
who are acting as such officers. Such an order, duly receipted by the person 
in whose favor it may have been drawn, would be a perfect protection to him. 
It is not pretended that this money is withheld for any defect in the last 
annual report, or that schools have not been taught in conformity with the 
requirements of law. As a general principle, collateral matters cannot be 
drawn in question, involving judicial cognizance, by any officer, when called 
upon to discharge a mere ministerial duty. And the town superintendent in 
this case assumes to decide who are not the trustees of the district, a matter 
entirely beyond his jurisdiction. The decision of the county superintendent, 
therefore, ordering him to pay over the money to the trustees as aforesaid, 
was correct, and is hereby affirmed. Per N. S. Benton, January 29, 1846. 

The public money must be applied to the payment of the wages of qualified 
teachers, and for no other purposes. Debts due the district, or bought by the 
trustees, cannot be olBTset against the wages. Nothing but payment to, or on the 
order of, the teacher, is a compliance with the law. Per Spencer, April 23, 1839. 

Trustees, in the absence of express directions from the district, may, in their discretion, 
apply the public money for the support of schools as they may deem proper ; but when 
they apply more than two-thirds thereof for the support of the winter school, the Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction will interfere. 

It seems that the trustees applied more than two-thirds of the public money 
for the support of the winter school, in 1846, leaving the balance for the sum- 
mer school. In the absence of any express direction on the part of the dis- 
trict, the trustees have a legal right, in their discretion, to apply the public 
money as they may deem proper, which discretion will always be controlled 
by the department, when those officers apply more than two-thirds of the 
public money to the winter schools, leaving the balance for the summer 
schools. The act which should have been appealed from was the payment of 
nearly all the public money toward the support of the winter school in 1846 
The trustees having the strict legal right to do as they have, and no legal 
steps having been taken to correct it (more than thirty days having elapsed 
before the bringing of the appeal), as a legal consequence they are bound to 
make out their rate bill in accordance with their former acts, that is, apply the 



Public Monet. 347 

residue of the public money to the summer school, and make out their rate 
bill for the balance. Per N. S. Benton, April 8, 1847. 

The statute directing town anperintendents (supervisors) to pay out public money only to 
qualified teachers, duly employed, upon the order of the trustees employing? them, was 
enacted for the purpose of preventing embezzlement by trustees, and if they pay the 
public money to a trustee or other person than the teacher, without his order, they do it 
at their peril. ^ 

This is an appeal taken from the action of the trustees in school district 
No. 9, in the town of Otto, Cattaraugus county, by a teacher duly employed in 
said district during the last winter, on the ground of withholding from him a 
portion of his salary, amounting to the sum of |15.86. The appeal is without 
answer. 

The appellant testifies that while he was engaged in the employ of said 
trustees, two of them, to wit, Isaac Reed and Daniel R. Grinals, wrote an order 
for the residue of the public money apportioned to said district in 1853, making 
it payable to appellant ; that Reed went without appellant's knowledge or con- 
sent and drew said money in appellant's name from the town superintendent 
of Otto, which money amounted to $15.86, as aforesaid ; that when appellant 
closed his term, said trustees (two of them) gave him another order upon said 
town superintendent for $52.56, to be paid in part of the residue of the public 
money apportioned in 1854 ; that said superintendent paid $36.64 on said order 
and retained it in his possession, but refused to pay any further amount, saying 
that he had paid the remainder to said Isaac Reed, one of the trustees of said 
district. 

The pro^dsion of the law which directs town superintendents (supervisors) to 
pay out public money only to qualified teachers duly employed, upon the order 
of the trustees employing them, was enacted for the express purjDOse of pre- 
venting the opportunity of embezzlement by trustees. If in the face of this 
fact public money is paid to a trustee, in the name of a teacher or otherwise 
without a properly attested order from the person to whom it is due, the town 
superintendent (supervisor) does it upon his own responsibility. In the case 
in controversy, the trustee. Reed, is liable for the means by which he obtained 
the money, and the town superintendent of Otto is responsible to school dis- 
trict No. 9 for the amount paid by him to Reed, and he must make good the 
deficiency, looking to Reed for reimbursement. 

This appeal is accordingly sustained, and the town superintendent of Otto is 
hereby ordered to pay to said Hosea Edwards, teacher aforesaid, the sum of 
$15.86 claimed by him, and to preserve district No. 9 good in that amount, not 
charging said district for the amount paid illegally by him to said Isaac Reed. 
Per V. M. Rice, November 11, 1854. 

Authority of the district to interfere with the action of the trustees in dividing the public 

money. 

There is no doubt that the district may direct the trustees how to divide the 
money between the different terms, and, in the absence of any such direction, 
it is equally clear that the matter is left to the discretion of the trustees. In 
the present instance, the annvial and a subsequent adjourned meeting passed 
without any action being taken in regard to the public money, nor was it till 
after the school had commenced, and the trustees had completed their arrange- 
ments for its support by dividing the money, that any movement was made 
in regard thereto by the district. 

It has been repeatedly held by the department that, where the district has 
given no direction, and the trustees have already apportioned the public 
money, the district has no further control over it. It was competent for the 
district to act on this question at their annual meeting, and their neglect to do 
so invested the trustees with the control of the matter. It is too late, after the 
trustees have exercised the authority thus duly vested in them, and the school 
has commenced to change the entire policy thus established. Per H. H. Van 
Pyck, Superintendent, January 20, 1858. 



348 Religious Meetings. 

In the apportionment of public money, trasteea should be governed by the wishes of the 
district; therefore, when the inhabitants at a district meeting adopt a resolution in 
reference to the apportionment of the public money which was not by its terms restricted 
to one year, the trustees should regard it as continuous in its operation; 

It is stated to have been tlie custom of the district to apply two-thirds of 
the public money to the winter term, and the remainder to the summer term. 
The appellant desires this apportionment to be continued. He states that no 
vote was taken on the subject of a dn^sion at the last annual meeting, under 
the impression probably that such direction was in force for a period longer 
than a year. 

It is not perceived that the statute requires the inhabitants to reiterate their 
wishes annually in this respect, and as it is a matter in regard to which the 
interests of the district are not liable to change from year to year, there is no 
reason of policy requiring sttch an interpretation. If the last resolution 
adopted by the district in relation to this subject was not by its terms restricted 
in its operations to a year, or some other definite period, the trustees should 
regard it as still in force and as furnishing the rule for their action. 

As it does not appear from the appeal what the fact may be in relation to 
this point, the Superintendent can only indicate the principle which should 
govern. 

It is inferred, from the statements of the appeal, to be quite probable that a 
portion of the §52, said to be due to the teacher for wages, was earned by 
service rendered prior to the first day of last January, in wliich case it should 
not be compensated from the money apportioned this year, but a rate bill 
should be issued (levied), the amount collected upon which shall be employed 
to remunerate said teacher, or to replace the sum, if it has been borrowed from 
the apportionment of this year. 

The appeal is sustained. Per E, P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, April 24, 
1855. 



RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. 

Use of school-house for religious meetings considered. 

The quiet assembling of orderly persons for religious instruction, not at 
unreasonable hours, cannot be a serious injury to the school-house, nor to the 
educational interests generally of the district. 

At all events, I am not disposed to interfere with the discretion of the trus- 
tees in regard to a proper custody of the school-house, until the abuse of that 
discretion is clearly proven by evidence showing that positive injury and dam- 
age has resulted from allowing the school-house to be used for other than 
school purposes. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 15, 1859. 

An application to close the school-house against religious meetings must show some injury 
resulting from such use. 

An appeal is taken from the action of the trustees in allowing the school- 
house to be used for religious purposes. 

This complaint is not denied, but, as the appellant does not show that any 
injury results to the school -house nor to the district from the holding of 
meetings, there is not presented any grievance demanding the interposition 
of this department. Per H, H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, January 3, 1859. 

School-house may, under certain circumstances, be used for religious meetings, lectures, etc. 

It is alleged and not denied, that the school-house is used for the purpose 
of holding religious meetings occasionally upon Sunday. It is not alleged 
that any injury, damage, or loss is sustained by the district in consequence of 
these meetings. 



Religious Meetings. 34\J 

The trustees have the custody of the house, and their right to allow it to be 
used for otlier than school purposes under such restrictions as will prevent 
any interference with its legitimate and primary use is nowhere limited by 
statute. This department will not interfere with the action of the trustees in 
this matter, except upon due proof of injury or loss to the district, resulting 
from the use of the house for other than school purposes. I am disposed to 
hold, with a previous opinion of this department, found in Randalls School 
System, 220, that the school-house may be used, out of school hours and when 
not wanted for district purposes, for religious meetings, Sunday schools, 
lectures, or any otlier moral, literary or useKil purpose, with the approbation 
of a majority of lue district, and consent of trustees. Per H. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, January 7, I860. 

Trustees cannot, under ar.y circumstances, be required to open the school-house for 

religious meetings. 

This department, in its late action, has favored the policy of opening the 
school-house for religious and other worthy objects, when not w^anted for 
school purposes. Where this power is exercised by the trustees, within the 
limits of a proper discretion, and regard for the district property, the depart- 
ment will not interfere. 

But this is very different from compelling the trustees to open the house for 
such purposes. They cannot, as trustees of the district, be compelled to do 
any act not specifically within the range of duties prescribed. They are under 
no obligation to yield, even to the unanimous wish of the district, to open the 
school-house for other than school purposes ; and for the reason that they are 
not elected as guardians of the moral or religious interests of the district, but 
of its educational interests. They cannot be compelled to take action outside of 
their official relations. For their refusal to comply with the wishes of the 
district in matters outside their official relations, there is no remedy but to 
elect others in their places, as fast as their terms of service shall expire. Per 
H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, June 7, 1860. 

Trustees will not be ordered to open the school-house for religious meetings. 

No denomination has a right to the use of the school-house for religious or 
other purposes. Whoever occupies it for other than school purposes does so 
by sufferance only. The trustee who allows such privileges to be exercised 
does so without the sanction of any statute law, and is personally responsible 
for any injury to the property caused thereby. 

No inhabitant of the district has a right to demand any thing from the 
trustee as an officer, w^hich he is not lawfully bound to grant ; and this depart- 
ment has no authority to order him to do any thing not required or contem- 
plated by the law prescribing' his duties. Consequently, the Superintendent 
has not authority to order the trustee to open the school-house for other than 
school purposes. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, May 5, 1862. 

Religious exercises are not a part of district school exercises, and, therefore, no portion of 
the regular school hours is to be consumed in conducting them. 

A teacher has no right to consume any portion of the regular school hours 
in conducting religious exercises, especially where objection is raised. The 
principle is this : Common schools are supported and established for the pur- 
pose of imparting instruction in the common English branches ; religious 
instruction forms no part of the course. The proper places in which to receive 
such instruction are churches and Sunday schools, of which there is usually a 
sufficient number in every district. The money to support schools comes from 
the people at large, irrespective of sect or denomination. Consequently, 
instruction of a sectarian or religious denominational character must be 
avoided, and teachers must confine themselves, during school hours, to their 
legitimate and proper duties. Per V. M. Rice, February 5, 1866. (Letters, vol. 
0, 2'. 123.) 



350 Repairs. 

REPAIRS. 

Kepairs in the way of removing a desk and substituting a table approved as necessary. 

On an appeal from a tax list made oat by the trustee, tlie complaint is tliat 
tlie trustee has, without authority, removed a desk from the school-room, and 
provided in its place a table and chair. I infer that the appellants have little 
idea of the conveniences and necessities of school-room furniture. If they had, 
they would never object to any reasonable expense incurred in substituting a 
table and chair for a desk and bench. But, aside from the convenience to the 
teacher which is thus promoted, it is in e\adence that the room thus occupied 
by this cumbrous, unseemly and awkward desk was absolutely needed for 
class exercises — there being no place where pupils in class could be accommo- 
dated without exposure to the burning heat of the stove. Under these circum- 
stances, I can not but regard the alteration as comprised under the head of 
"necessary repairs," for which the trustee is authorized to levy a tax not 
exceeding ten dollars. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, April 16, 1861. 

Where a district has voted to make certain repairs to the school-house at a certain expense, 
and these repairs have been made under the direction of one trustee, the other trustees 
will be required to unite in making out a tax and warrant for the expenses thus incurred, 
to the amount voted. 

At a district meeting it was resolved to repair the school-house, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to report in regard to the plan for repairing, and the 
necessary expense. Their report set forth what repairs were expedient, and 
stated that they could be effected by raising the sum of twenty dollars. This 
report was adopted by a vote of thirteen to six, and the repairs were made 
under the direction of one trustee and the committee before mentioned, without 
the consent or approval of the other two trustees, and they refuse to unite in 
making out a tax list for the amount thus expended. 

Held, that the direction of the voters to repair the school-house, and fixing 
the extent and cost of the repairs at twenty dollars, was equivalent to voting 
that sum, and the trustees have no excuse for refusing to make out a tax list 
therefor. The error of the trustees consists in their assuming to judge of the 
expediency of the repairs. This was settled by the district, and the trustees 
are bound" to acquiesce in and execute its will. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Super- 
intendent, July 17, 1857. 

Trustees may make any repairs on school-house, pursuant to the direction of school com- 
missioner. 

Section 50 of title 7 of the consolidated school act of 1864 declares : " They, 
the trustees, may make any repairs pursuant to the direction of the school 
commissioner." Should a school meeting pass a resolution as follows, viz. : 
" Resolved that the trustees be directed to repair the school-house and make it 
comfortable for school purposes," I should think it advisable and safest, there- 
upon, before making any very extensive repairs, to procure the direction of 
your school commissioner, specifjang what repairs are to be made. 

In his order directing the trustees to make the repairs, he would do well to 
commence with a preamble, setting forth that, whereas the inhabitants of 

school district No. — , of the town of , did, at a school meeting 

legally called and held at the school-house in said district on the day 

of October, 1865, pass the following resolutions, viz. (give the resolutions), 
and whereas the trustees of said district, viz. (gi\ang their names), have 
requested me to designate such repairs as it shall deem proper to be made, 
pursuant to the resolution, and to a direction given by me for making repairs, 
as provided by section 50 of title 7 of the consolidated school act of 1864, now, 
therefore, etc., ordering specifically the repairs to be made. The commissioner 
cannot authorize the trustees to build anew, but merely to repair what has 
been formerly built or constructed. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, October 27, 1865. {Letters, vol 4, p. 417.) 



Residence — Non-eesident Pupils. 351 



RESIDENCE — NON-RESIDENT PUPILS. 

An inhabitant cannot gain a residence in another district hy taking a portion of his family 
with himself thereto, so as to send his children to school therein. 

The following statement of facts is submitted by tlie parties : 

Barclay Miller owns a farm in district No. 5, upon which he lived till the 
spring of 1847, when he removed to another farm in district No, 12, lea\nng 
his son in the occupancy of the farm in No. 5. 

On or about the 2oth of November, 1848, a district school was commenced in 
No. 5, to which Mr. Barclay Miller sent part of his children. Upon the repre- 
sentation of the teacher that the school was already too large, the trustees 
directed him to dismiss Mr. Miller's children from school. 

Whereupon Mr. Miller came with his children and a part of his furniture to 
his son's house in No. 5, leaving his wife at his house in No. 13. His son went 
to the farm in No. 12, but left his wife at the house in No. 5. Mr. Barclay 
Miller has, since this arrangement, somelimes lodged at his house in No. 13, 
and his son has also occasionally lodged at the house in No. 5. Barclay Miller 
took with him to No. 5 his horses and milch cows, but had stock on both farms, 
and has since killed his hogs at the house in No. 13, and there packed the pork. 

Under this statement of facts, Barclay Miller cannot claim to be a resident 
of district No. 5. The trustees have power to dismiss his children from the 
school, or, if they permit them to attend, they are not entitled to share in the 
public money of the district, nor can they be lawfully enumerated as children 
residing in the district. Mr. Miller is a resident of No. 12, and his children 
must be there enumerated. Per Morgan, January 11, 1849. 

A resident of a district is not responsible for the tuition of a non-resident pupil who simply 
boards with the former, unless the trustees notify him at the commencement of the school 
that he will be held responsible for the tuition. 

In this case the appellant represents that the trustees have charged him 
eighty-two cents for the tuition of Erastus Hibbard, the son of a non-resident 
of the district, and who w^as a mere boarder in his house ; and he alleges, in 
express terms, that he did not send him to the school nor engage to pay his 
tuition, and that he had no control nor j urisdiction over him. No answer has 
been put in by the trustees, although a copy of the appeal, duly verified, was 
served upon one of their number on the 28th of April last. The statement of 
the appellant, therefore, must be taken to be true, and, under such circum- 
stances, he cannot be regarded as legally liable for the tuition of the boy. If 
the trustees had designed to hold him responsible, it was their duty to have 
apprised him of the fact at the commencement of the term. Not ha\ing done 
so, they must look to the father of the boy. 

It is, therefore, ordered that the trustees strike from the rate bill (tax list) 
the charge against the appellant for the tuition of Erastus Hibbard. Per 
Morgan, May 18, 1849. 

It is illegal for trustees to enumerate children in their districts between the ages of fire and 
sixteen, unless they compose a part of the family of their parents or guardians or employ- 
ers, if such parents or guardians or employers reside at the time in such district. 

The trustees in district No. 5, in the town of Davenport, included in their 
annual report, dated December 31, 1848, sixty-two children imder sixteen and 
over five years of age, attending a private school under charge of S. D. Fergu- 
son. The children attending this private school had parents residing mostly 
in New York and Philadelphia, and the parents of none of them in the district. 
Five of said sixty-two childi-en were orphans. It was not known to the depart- 
ment whether the said orphans were supported by Mr. Ferguson, or were 
boarded like the rest, or were sent to school by their guardians, but the latter 
is supposed to have been the truth. 



352 Residence — Non-eesident Pupils. 

The school law, section 118, of 1847, directs the trustees to include in their 
report all children over five and under sixteen years of age, who shall, at the 
date of such report, actually be in the district, composing a part of the family 
of their parents or guardians or employers, if such parents or guardians or 
employers reside at the time in such district. From this law it would seem to 
be very clear that not one of the sixty-two children attending Mr. Ferguson's 
school could be lawfully epumerated in the annual report of the trustees. 

The trustees of district No. 5 were, therefore, wrong in including these 
children in their report. Per Morgan, March, 1849. 

Children of temporary residents are to he enumerated in the annual reports of trustees. 

The language of the law is that "all children actually residing in the 
district on the first day of January, although such residence may be temporary, 
shall be included in the reports of the trustees." And, again, " All children 
included in the reports of the trustees of any school district shall be entitled 
to attend the schools of such district." 

These provisions were evidently intended especially to meet the case of the 
children of laborers on our public works, and others temporarily residing in 
school districts. Per Young, May 27, 1842. 

When an inhabitant moves from one school district into another for the purpose of avoiding 
an enumeration of his children in the former district, and immediately after the enume- 
ration moves back, the town superintendent (school commissioner) should apportion the 
money drawn on account of his children to the former district. 

In this case the appellants transferred their residence from joint district 
No. 3, Cherry Creek and Ellington, where they have for several years resided, 
to district No. 7 in Cherry Creek, on the 30th of December last, with the 
obvious intention and design of having their children enumerated in the latter 
district, where they generally attend school, owing to some difficulties existing 
in district No. 3. On the 1st of January, both the appellants returned to their 
former residences in the latter district, where they have since remained, and 
which is their permanent residence. 

The town superintendent, under these circumstances, very properly refused to 
sanction the fraudulent attempt to evade the spirit and intent of the law, and 
apportioned the money drawn on account of their children to district No, 3. 
In this he has been sustained by the county superintendent, whose decision 
must be affirmed. Per S. Young, April 10, 1844. 

Children of non-residents are not entitled to attend a district school without 
permission of the trustees, and upon such terms as may be agreed upon. They 
cannot be permitted to share in the public money appropriated to the district 
under any circumstances. Per Spencer, March 26, 1841. 

The power to admit to the district schools non-resident pupils is vested by statute in the 

trustees exclusively. 

The inhabitants of district No. 1, Elba, at their annual meeting, September 
4, 1855, passed a resolution to exclude non-resident children from the district 
school. An appeal was brought. 

So much of the resolution as assumes to close the school against pupils from 
other districts is unauthorized. The trustees are invested with the power to 
admit such pupils by the express terms of the statute. It is their duty to pre- 
scribe the conditions of admission, and they ought to be such as to indemnify 
the district against any increased expense resulting from the attendance of 
non-residents. Proper security, moreover, ought to lae taken in advance for the 
payment of any bills for tuition to which such pupils may be subjected, as 
they cannot be collected upon a rate bill or by warrant. JPer E. P. Smith, 
Deputy Superintendent, October 20, 1855. 



Residence — Non-resident Pupils. 353 

What constitutes residence. 
Trustees have the authority to exclude non-resident pupils from the district school. 

This is an appeal from the refusal of the trustees to allow one Eveline Oaks 
to attend the district school. 

The said Eveline Oaks is a minor and a relation of the appellant. Her 
mother, a widow, resides with her family in district No. 9 adjoining. The 
appellant fails to show that it is the intention of the child or of the mother to 
change the residence of the child from district No. 9 to the district from which 
the appeal is brought. No such intention being shown, the legal doctrine that 
the residence of the parent is the residence of the child prevails, and the res- 
idence of Eveline Oaks must be regarded as being with her mother in district 
No. 9. She is, therefore, not entitled to any privileges in the district from 
which this appeal is brought, and the trustees of the latter district have exer- 
cised a just and legal discretion in excluding her from the school. Their 
action must, therefore, be approved, and the appeal be dismissed. Per H. H. 
Van Dyck, Superintendent, February 8, 1860. 

Where children whose home has been broken up are brought to the residence of a grand 
father to find care and protection, for an indefinite period, they become residents of the 
district in which such grandparent lives. 

An appeal is taken from the decision of the trustees of a district refusing to 
admit certain children into the district school, or to share in the public moneys 
thereof. 

The children whose admission is thus refused are within the age prescribed 
to entitle them to the privileges of the school, and are residing with their grand- 
father, an inhabitant of the district. It also appears that the home of the par- 
ents of these children has been entirely broken up, and that they are brought 
to the residence of their grandfather to find the care, protection and privileges 
of a home. 

The ground of objection to their admission is, that they are not residents 
of the district. 

Hdd, that they are residents of the district in the fullest sense, as implied by 
the statute, and, as such, entitled to a share in the public moneys apportioned 
to the district in which they reside. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
September 28, 1857. 

Children attending an academy or boarding-school are to be enumerated by 
the trustees for the purpose of drawing public money only where their parents 
are actually residents of the district in which such academy or boarding-school 
is situated. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent of Public Instruction, April 12, 
1854. {Letters, vol. 1, p. 12.) 

"WTiere a child goes into a district to get employment, and not for the purpose expressly of 
attending the school, he is a resident of such district, and entitled to a portion of the pub- 
lic money apportioned to district, as also to share in the privileges of the school. 

What constitutes a child a resident of a district depends upon circumstances. 
If the child removes to a district for the sole purpose of attending school 
in such, district, the parents or guardian meanwhile residing elsewhere, such 
child does not become a resident of the district, so as to be entitled to share 
in the distribution of the public money. But where the child goes into a 
district for the purpose of obtaining employment, and of remaining in such 
district, the employment, and not the school, drawing him to such district, in 
such case, he would be entitled to the privilege of the school, and to share in 
the public money apportioned to the district. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Super- 
intendent, December 14, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 675.) 

Question of residence sufficient to entitle a pupil to the privileges of the school considered. 

This is an appeal from the action of the trustees in excluding from the school 
one Mercy C. Sweet, upon the ground that she is a non-resident. 

45 



354 Residence — Non-kesident Pupils. 

The evidence establishes, I think, that the relations subsisting between the 
said Mercy C. Sweet and the appellant are such as to make the home of the 
appellant the residence of the said Mercy C, whereby she is entitled to the priv- 
ileges of the district school. The primary object of the pupil' in coming into 
the district appears to be to find a home in the family of the appellant, and to 
render service in labor as the consideration for such home. 

It is always safer to err upon the side of liberality than of exclusion in these 
matters where any doubt is found to exist ; but, in the present case, the testi- 
mony appears to admit of no doubt. 

The trustees are, therefore, directed to admit the said Mercy C. Sweet to the 
privileges of the school. Per E W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, December 
23, 1861. 

The question of residence to entitle a pupil to the privileges of school to be liberally- 
construed in favor of the pupil. 

It is proper that the trustees should use all due precaution to prevent an 
abuse of the privileges of- the district, and that the pretext of service or 
employment should not be used to cover a primary and special purpose of 
attending school. On the other hand, a liberal construction of the law and 
application of the powers of trustees may be rightfully extended toward 
those inhabitants of a free school district who pay their proportion of taxes 
for the support of school, but who, having no children to receive its advantages, 
desire to introduce members into their family for society or service, or both, 
and to extend to them the advantages of education which their own children 
might enjoy. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, April 28, 1863. 

Facts which prove residence in opposition to the affidavit of the party. 

Appeal is taken from a decision of the supervisors of the towns of Castleton 
and Southfield, Richmond county, on an application made to them to fill a 
vacancy, claimed to exist in the office of trustee in district No. 1, in said towns, 
the supervisors having decided that no vacancy exists. 

The only question is one of residence, and relates to the change of residence 
of Jas. O. Ludlow, who, it is claimed, has removed from the district, thereby 
vacating the office of trustee, to which he was elected in 1856. In support of 
this claim, it is shown that previously to last spring Mr. Ludlow resided in 
said district with his family, and did business therein ; that some time in the 
spring he sold out his store in said district, and has since that time done no 
business in the district in his own name. Further, in May last, the said Lud- 
low leased a house in the city of New York, for three years, and removed his 
family there ; that his family still reside there ; that his name appears upon 
the door of said house where his family reside ; that his name also appears in 
the Directory of said city as residing therein, and at the street and number 
where his family reside and his name is found, and of which premises he is 
known to have taken a lease. Also, that he himself resides at said place wdth 
his family. 

Opposed to this evidence is the affidavit of Mr. Ludlow himself, averring that 
he has been for the last sixteen years a resident of said district No. 1, and 
that he has not removed from said district. 

To my mind, no clearer case of removal could be made out. His affidavit to 
the contrary, establishes nothing more than that he desires to regard district 
No. 1 as his residence. But that does not make it such. I can come to no 
other conclusion than that Mr. Ludlow is no longer a resident of district No, 
1, and that, in consequence of his removal from said district, there exists a 
vacancy in the office of trustee, which the district or the supervisors are compe- 
tent to fill. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, October 12, 1858. 

Adults may be admitted to school on the same terms as non-residents. 

Adults are not by law entitled to the privileges of common schools, but 
this department would not discourage trustees from admitting them upon the 



Schools and School-Houses. 355 

same terms as non-residents. But, wlien sucli pupils commence attending' 
school, there should be a distinct understanding between them and the trus- 
tees as to the price they must par for their tiution ; and in no case can they 
be admitted to a participation in the public money. Per V. M. Rice, Superin- 
tendent, December 8, 1854. {Letters, vol. 1, p. 438.) 

A meeting will not be ordered to enable the inhabitants to take action upon the question 
of admission to the school of non-resident pupils. 

This is an appeal from the refusal of trustees to call a special meeting at the 
request of a respectable number of the inhabitants. 

The object for which the said meeting was to be called was to consider the 
propriety of admitting pupils to the school from out of the district. 

This object is at no time within the power or discretion of the inhabitants 
to control ; consequently, there exists no necessity for such meeting, and the 
trustees are justified in their refusal to call it. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superin- 
tendent, January 5, 1859. 



SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-HOUSES. 

School may be opened with prayers, provided that it be done before school hours, and that 
there be no compulsion to enforce attendance. 

In an appeal to the Superintendent, certain inhabitants of district Xo. 15, 
Barre, complained that the teacher, with the permission of the trustees, " made 
prayer part of school discipline." The trustees replied that they had permitted 
the teacher to have prayers, on condition that they should be had pre%ious to 
school hours, and they alleged that he did not occupy school hours. The 
Superintendent dismissed the appeal, with the following remarks : 

" In this conduct of the trustees, the Superintendent can perceive no cause of 
complaint. Both parties have rights ; the one to bring up their children in the 
practice of publicly thanking their Creator for his protection, and invoking His 
blessing ; the other, of declining, in behalf of their children, the religious 
services of any person in whose creed they may not concur, or for other reasons 
satisfactory to themselves. These rights are reciprocal, and should be pro- 
tected equally ; and neither should interfere with the other. Those who desire 
that their children should engage in public prayer have no right to compel 
other children to unite in the exercise, against the wishes of their parents. 
Xor have those who object to the time, place or manner of praying, or to the 
person who conducts the exercises, a right to deprive the other class of 
the opportunity of habituating their children to what they conceive an imperi- 
ous duty. Neither the common school system, nor any other social system, 
can be maintained, unless the conscientious views of all are equally respected. 
The simple rule, so to exercise your own rights as not to infringe on those of 
others, "will preserve equal justice among all, promote harmony, and insure 
success to our schools. In the present case, the Superintendent thinks the 
trustees had lawful right to permit the teacher to commence the business of 
the day by public prayer, -svith the children of such parents as desired it ; and 
they were also right in directing that such exercises should not take place 
during school hours, nor form a part of school discipline." 

Another branch of this first question is whether the teacher has a right to 
compel the children to kneel, during prayer, or to dispense with their ordinary 
business. 

The answer already given proceeds upon the principle that prayer is no part 
of the business of a common school, but that parents may place their children 
under the superintendence and government of a teacher for that purpose. Of 



356 Schools and School-Houses. 

course liis j arisdiction would extend to tliat only. But others liave no right tc 
disturb tlie performance of wliat is considered a sacred duty. As the one class 
is required to abstain from all attempts to compel the children of the other 
class to engage in an exercise which the latter disapprove, so the latter should 
abstain from interrupting such exercise, and should instruct their children, 
accordingly, not to enter the school room, until the usual hour of commencing 
school, and not to disturb those within by any noise, or other conduct calcu- 
lated to annoy them. And the teacher should allow the children of all parents 
who do not desire them to engage in prayer to withdraw from the room, or to 
absent themselves from it. But if they come into the room before the usual 
school hours, and choose to remain there during prayer, they must preserve 
the order and decorum befitting such an occasion. Per Spencer, May 13, 1839. 

Trustees have the power, when In their discretion circumstances require it. to establish 
tempoi'aiy branch schools in a district, and employ a teacher, without anj' vote of the dis- 
trict, and a due proportion of the public money should be applied to the payment of such 
teacher. 

It is, perhaps, to be regretted that the law has left so much to the discretion 
of trustees, in reference to the institution of temporary branch schools. Such 
schools frequently become necessary, owing to some extraordinary circum- 
stances which for the time being exist in a district. Whenever such necessity 
does arise, the trustees have an undoubted right to exercise the discretion 
which the statute has vested in them, by employing a teacher, and opening a 
temporary school for the accommodation of the children, without any vote of 
the inhabitants. In this district the majority of the trustees have, on several 
occasions, determined that such necessity did exist ; and the inhabitants, at 
their annual meetings in 1850 and 1851, have approved that determination by 
directing the application of a X3art of the public money to the support of the 
branch school. The institution of such a school in this district has also met 
the approval of the town superintendent of Whitestown, as appears from a 
letter addressed by him to the department, and a decided majority of the tax- 
able inhabitants have expressed themselves satisfied with the proceedings of the 
majority of the trustees, as appears by a petition accompanying the answer. 

Under these circumstances, though it does not clearly appear that all the 
proceedings of the district in relation to the institution of the branch school 
nave been strictly in accordance with law, I am of opinion that harmony and 
good order, which are so essential to the prosperity of a school, will be best 
secured, and the interests of a majority of the inhabitants be best promoted, by 
sanctioning the proceedings of tlie trustees in establishing the school in ques- 
tion, and allowing a portion of the public money to be applied toward its 
support. 

The proceedings of the trustees are therefore affirmed and the appeal 
dismissed. Per H. S. Randall, June 16, 1853. 

Trustees will be directed to establish a branch school in a remote part of the district, where 
there are pupils enough to support a respectable school, and where the school-house is 
inaccessible some part of the year. 

An appeal comes up on the refusal of the trustees to grant the petition of 
the appellant and six others, inhabitants of the district, to establish a branch 
school in a neighborhood remote from the school-house. 

It is shown that twenty-nine children are virtually deprived of attendance at 
school, especially during the inclement season, by reason of their remoteness 
from tiie school-house — and that a good comfortable room can be obtained in the 
neighborhood where it is desired to establish the school, at a very moderate cost. 

Held, that the trustees in the matter of establishing a branch school are not 
compelled to regard the ^vishes of the inhabitants, but are authorized to act 
wholly upon their own sense of justice and right. The statute confers upon 
them unlimited powers, and, though in their discretion they may properly con- 
sult the wishes of the majority, when emphatically expressed, their having 
done so affords no precedent in itself for the guidance of this department m 



Schools and School-Houses. 357 

reviewing: the case and deciding upon its merits. Whenever, in any remote 
locality of the district, a number of scholars sufficient to make a respectable 
school' are debarred, from the fact of such remoteness, from attending school, 
the establishment of a branch will be directed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Super- 
intendent, August 12, 1857. 

Action of trustee in establishing a branch school sustained. 

On an appeal from the action of the sole trustee in establishing a branch 
school, it is alleged that such action was not called for by the necessities of the 
district ; that the place selected is unsuitable, uncomfortable and inadequately 
furnished ; and that the evils sought to be overcome by it are not remedied in 
the conduct and management of the principal school. 

It is shown by the trustee that, before the establishment of the branch 
school, the number of pupils in regular attendance was seventy ; that the 
room was much crowded, and that no convenient seat for classes in recitation 
could be had. 

I am satisfied, from the evidence, that the act of the trustee, at the time, was 
dictated not only by proper motives, but by circumstances which rendered the 
proceeding expedient and necessary. A school of seventy, or even sixty, pupils 
of all grades, even where the room is commodious and ample for their accom- 
modation, cannot be properly classified and thoroughly instructed by one 
teacher. A remedy is found in the provisions of the statute, which authorize 
the establishment of a branch school when deemed necessary by the trustee. 

The appeal must be, and hereby is, dismissed. Per H. H. Tan Dyck, Super- 
intendent, March 25, 1859. 

Discretion of a trustee in establishing branch school overruled. 

On an appeal from the action of the sole trustee in sustaining two schools in 
the district, as public schools, and alike entitled to share in the public money 
appropriated to said district, the following facts appear : That the district is 
about three miles in extent from north to south, and that the school-house 
is situated .near the center. It further appears that most of the children reside 
in the northern part of the district, while the population or voters of the dis- 
trict, interested in keeping the school at the center, are in the majority. The 
residents of the north part of the district, unable to secure a change of site, 
have maintained, during some portion of the year, for some time past, a school 
in their \icinity, and have received toward its support a portion of the public 
money. At the last annual meeting, it was voted that the school be kept in 
the " brick school-house," near the center of the district ; but the trustee also 
employed a teacher to teach the school in the north part of the district, and 
from this proceeding the present appeal is brought. 

The size of the district, the number of pupils, the condition of the district 
school-house, are nowhere urged as conditions giving rise to this proceeding. 
I cannot find, in the conditions presented, a necessity for the establishment of 
two schools in that district. The trustee himself concedes that there is no 
necessity for two schools in the district, except that created by feeling in tlio 
north, of opposition to the central school. If this feeling is sufficiently strong 
to cause them to sustain a private school, there is no help for it ; but tliere is 
no sufficient reason, to my mind, for fostering and cherishiiig this spirit of 
opposition, by helping to support the school by making it a public charge. 

It is my opinion, therefore, that the trustee has acted without due discre- 
tion, and his action in the matter is hereby disapproved. Per 11. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, March 31, 1859. 

Trustees will be restrained from establishing a branch school when there is clearlj' no 

necessity~^for one. 

The conclusion arrived at from the facts in the case is that the branch 
school is wholly unnecessary, and its establishment an exercise of arbitrary 
power and abuse of discretion sufficient to justify the interference of the 



358 Schools and School-Houses. 

department in restraining- the trustees. No one will claim that the provisions 
of the statute authorizing the establishment of branch schools were designed 
or do confer power to establish two schools in every district of the State. 

In all cases of the establishment of branch schools the necessity must clearly 
appear, or this department will, on an appeal to it, interfere to prevent the 
consummation of a policy unwarrantable by the provisions of the statute, 
which provides for the exercise of such power only when necessary to accom- 
modate the children of the district. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
August 8, 1860. 

Trustees, under certain circumstances, will be sustained in having the school at other place 
than the school-house. 

On an appeal from the action of the trustees in having the school taught at 
another place than the school-house, it is alleged that the school-house can 
be made comfortable and convenient for school purposes for the sum of money 
which the trustees are authorized to raise for that purpose, and also that the 
place selected by the trustee for the school is unsuited to that purpose, and is 
inconvenient of access for a large number of pupils. 

The trustees deny that the school-house can be made comfortable for the 
sum authorized to be raised ; that the place where the school is at present 
taught is commodious and comfortable, and accessible to as large a number of 
the children as is the school-house. 

The evidence relative to the actual condition of the school-house is not very 
conclusive on either side. The common presumption of law that the trustees 
have acted within the scope of a just and legitimate discretion must therefore 
prevail. If the inhabitants will not vote a sufficient sum to repair a school- 
house that has been built for thirty years, they will hardly command the sym- 
pathy of the department, even though, in consequence of such parsimony, they 
are compelled to send two and a half miles to school. Per H. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, February 3, 1860. 

A stove and pipe are necessary appendage? to a school-house and proper objects for the 
levying of a district tax. 

At a district school meeting, held in the town of Rodman, on the 20th day 
of November last, a vote was taken and a resolution passed to levy a tax upon 
a district to purchase a stove and pipe for the use of the school-house in the 
district. 

The appellants claim that the district has no authority to levy a tax for such 
a purpose. In the opinion of the Superintendent a stove and pipe are neces- 
sary appendages to a school-house and legitimate objects for the levy of a dis- 
trict tax. The proceedings of the meeting in voting the tax aforesaid are 
hereby affiirmed. Per N. S. Benton, December 31, 1847. 

A school-house belongs to the district, but trustees have the legal control of it, and must 
not permit it to be used for purposes which interfere with school. By general consent, 
they may allow meetings of an unobjectionable character to be held in it. 

The school-house belongs to the district, although the means for building it 
have been raised in part by voluntary contribution. The trustees must have 
the legal control of it, and not permit any portion to be used for purposes 
which interfere with the instruction and discipline of the school, nor for any 
other than school purposes when required for them. Subject to these restric- 
tions, and to such regulations as may be necessary to keep the house in good 
repair, safe from danger of fire, etc., the trustees, with the general concurrence, 
may allow the room to be used for meetings unobjectionable to morals and 
propriety. 

As every meeting, to avoid disorder, must have the right to regulate the 
admission of attendants, it would be going too far to say that no one can be 
excluded, though residing and a tax payer in the district, under any circum- 
stances. Per E. Peshine Smith, April 13, 1855. {Letters, vol. 2, p. 341.) 



Schools and School-Houses. 359 

Where a school-house is shown to be wholly unfit for school purposes, the trustees will be 
sustained in directing the school to be taught in another place. 

From tlie ev^ideiice before me, I am fully convinced tliat the school-liouse is 
altogether unfit for school purposes at any time, and more especially during 
the winter season. This being the case, I cannot disapprove of the action of 
the trustees, even if unauthorized, in securing some more suitable place. 

It will be understood that the right or pow^er of the trustees to change the 
location of the school is not a common inherent right, but one arising under 
the conditions proved by the evidence presented in this case. Only upon a 
clear showing of the unfitness of the school-house for use would the action of 
the trustees be sustained- Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 31, 
1858. 

It is not a sufficient excuse for not opening a school that the school-house is unfit for use : 
trustees are bound to put the house in the best condition in their power and open a school 
therein. 

Trustees act under a misapprehension of their duty and the rights of the 
inhabitants when they refuse to open a school upon the ground that the school- 
liouse is unfit for use. If the inhabitants, or any portion of them, want a 
school, it is to be presumed that they are willing to send, and to avail them- 
selves of such facilities as the trustees are competent to furnish. The trustees 
should provide the best facilities in their power, and when they have done this 
their responsibilities are at an end. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
February 17, 1858. 

Trustees h&ye no right to s-ell the old school-house when a new one has been built, without 
special authority from the district. 

The power to direct a sale of the old house or site is vested only in the 
inhdbitaats, lawfully assembled at a district meeting. No such authority 
%v&s conferred upon the trustees. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, Feb- 
ruary 23, 1858. 

A itew building erected for a district must be accepted by the trustees before it can be 
regarded as the legal school-house of a district. 

When a district has two school-houses, the trustees may call the annual meeting to assem- 
ble at either of them, unless one of them has been designated at a previous annual meet- 
ing as the place of assemblage. 

The troubles in this district commenced in May, 1864, when the old school- 
liouse burned down, and have continued without intermission down to the 
present time. The record of the actions and proceedings of the contending 
parties, the one headed by the appellant and the other by the respondent 
herein, shows that neither party has acted in a temperate or forbearing man- 
ner; but, on the contrary, that each party has been ready to take undue 
advantage of the other, and that the object for wiiich the district w^as organ- 
ized has been of minor importance in the eyes of the contending parties. The 
record is one of continued " sharp practice," the advantage being first with one 
side, then with the other. This department has, on various occasions, sought 
to act as mediator between the contending parties, and has suggested various 
plans of settlement, with a view of restoring harmony to the district, all of 
which have been rejected, each party insisting upon the full measure of their 
legal rights and refusing to compromise for any thing less. Thus, Hill, when 
trustee of tlie district and before the new school-house was built, refused to 
call a special meeting for the purpose of changing the site of the school-house, 
although it was a well known fact that a majority of the voters were in favor 
of such change, and desired a meeting to be held for that purpose. Again, 
when a special meeting had been called by Hill for the purpose of voting a 
tax to build on the old site, the meeting met at precisely the hour for which 
it was called, all the Hill party being present by private understanding, and, 
without waiting a moment for the arrival of other voters, organized the meet- 
ing, voted a tax of $1,000 to build on the old site, and adjourned in less than 
half an hour. Now, it had been the custom in that district, as it is in many 



360 Schools and School-Houses. 

otliers, not to organize district meetings till the expiration of one hour from 
the time for which such meeting had been called. 

Relying upon this custom, Mr. Collins and his party, composing, as aforesaid, 
a majority of the legal voters of the district, and all of them opposed to build- 
ing on the old site, did not arrive at the place of meeting till nearly an hour 
after the time for which the meeting has been called. They then found, to 
their great astonishment and indignation, that the meeting had transacted its 
business and adjourned. In this way a tax was voted, and subsequently col- 
lected, against the ^\ishes of a majority of the legal voters of the district. . The 
practice was sharp, but it was perfectly legal, and as the Hill party insisted 
upon receiving the full benefit of the advantage thus gained, the department 
had no choice but to sustain them. In October, 1865, Collins was chosen 
trustee of the district, and, not to be outdone in sharpness, the Collins party 
passed resolutions directing the calling of special meetings by posting one 
written notice in the post-office at Fishers' Station, instead of by personal 
notice, thus practically putting the Hill party beyond the reach of notice of 
such meetings. The trustee, also, exercising a discretion which the law had 
reposed in him, refused to accept the new school-house, alleging that it was 
not built according to contract, but hired other rooms in a rough building 
near Fishers' Station, and opened and maintained school therein. This was 
also " sharp practice " ; but upon an appeal being brought from Collins' action 
in refusing to open school in the new house, and in maintaining a school in 
the building near Fishers', known as the " Shanty," and in applying the pub- 
lic money to the support of said school, the department was obliged to hold 
that the trustee was only exercising a power which the law had vested in him, 
and that, until he had accepted the school-house, or had been ordered to do so 
by some competent authority, he had power to hire other rooms temporarily, and 
to open and maintain school therein. This decision was rendered May 22, 1866, 
and the facts in regard to acceptance have not since been changed nor altei-ed. 
The annual meeting of this district in 1865, at which George S. Collins was 
elected trustee, was held in the " new school-house " then not completed by 
the contractor, and was adjourned to be held at the " school-house " one year 
from that time. Some time about the 1st of October, 1866, Collins caused four 
notices to be posted in conspicuous places in the district, stating that the 
annual meeting would be held on the 9th of October, 1866, at six o'clock p. M., 
railroad time, at the school-house w-here the school had been kept during the 
past year. In accordance with this notice, thirty voters of the district met at 
the time and place specified in said notice, organized and proceeded to elect 
district officers, and to transact other business. George S. Collins was unani- 
mously chosen trustee for the ensuing year. After completing its business, the 
meeting adjourned. 

Meanwhile, twenty-five of the legal voters of the district met at the " new 
school-house " on the evening of the 9th of October, 1866, organized by the 
election of chairman and clerk, and proceeded to elect district officers and to 
vote district taxes, amounting in the aggregate to about $2,000. Jerome Hill, 
the respondent herein, was unanimously designated by this meeting as the 
trustee of the district for the ensuing year. Hill immediately issued a tax list 
for the collection of the taxes voted by the meeting which elected him trustee, 
and placed the same, with his warrant, in the hands of a person whom he had 
appointed collector in the place of one elected by said meeting, but who had 
resigned, and this person, Briggs by name, proceeded to enforce collection of 
said tax list, in certain cases levying on and selling property to satisfy the 
same. To determine who is the legal trustee of the district, Collins has 
brought this appeal, complaining of the actions of said Hill and Briggs, and 
alleging that they are not legal officers of the district. He asks that the pro- 
ceedings of the meeting held at the " new school-house," as aforesaid, on the 
9th of October, 1866, be set aside and declared void as a school meeting. 

The main question in this matter is, "Where is the district school-house?" 
If that building herein designated as the " new school-house " be in reality the 



Schools axd School-Houses. 361 

school-house of the district, and the only school-house of the district, then the 
appellant had no power to direct that the annual meeting' should be held in 
another place. But if such building be not the district school-house, or if the 
district possesses another building which has been more generally used for 
school purposes, then the meeting held in the aforesaid " new school-house " 
was not the legal district meeting. 

Now, a building erected for a district school-house in pursuance of contract 
must be accepted by some competent authority, either openly or ])y implica- 
tion, before it in fact becomes the school-house of the district. This point was 
clearly established in the decision before referred to, rendered May 22, 1866. 
If the trustee had taken possession of the house, and opened and maintained 
school therein, that would have amounted to an acceptance. But the well 
known facts in this case are that the trustee has all along refused to accept 
this house from the contractor, or to open school therein, alleging that it has 
not been completed according to contract. Whether his allegation be true or 
untrue can make no difference with the facts in this case, since his refusal to 
accept the house is only the exercise of a discretion which the law has reposed 
in him as trustee. The resjoudent cannot claim to be ignorant of this holding, 
since the precise point was established in the decision of May 22, 1866, on an 
appeal brought by himself against Collins as trustee. If, as is claimed by the 
respondent, Collins has willfully and wrongfully refused to accept the house, 
the remedy is plain ; the respondent can, either by a suit commenced in the 
courts, or by an appeal brought to tliis department, compel the trustee to accept 
the house. But he cannot set himself up as the judge to decide the question 
of acceptance. He cannot proceed upon the assumption that the official acts of 
Mr. Collins are void. Again, admitting, for the sake of argument, that the 
house which has never been accepted by the trustee is in fact a district school- 
house, the trustee would still have power, under section 50, title 7, if he 
deemed it necessary for the due accommodation of the children of the district, 
to hire rooms temporarily and to open and maintain school therein. The 
rooms thus temporarily hired would be, for the time being, one of the school- 
houses of the district, and the trustee would have full power, under section 9 
of title 7 of the said school act, to designate such school-house as the place 
where the annual meeting should be held. Take whichever of these two 
••views we may, it follows, as a logical deduction, that the meeting held in the 
building which for the last year has been used as the district school-house 
was the legal annual meeting of the district ; and, as but one annual meeting 
can be held in the same year, it also follows, that the proceedings of the meet- 
ing held October 9, 1866, in the building herein designated as the new school- 
house, and at which Jerome Hill was elected trustee of said district, were 
void, and of no force or effect whatever as an annual meeting. Another thing 
is to be borne in mind : the meeting at which Collins was elected trustee was 
held pursuant, not only to adjournment, but to the notice required by law. 
Four written notices of the time and place when and where such meeting 
would be held, signed by the district clerk, were posted in conspicuous places 
in the district seven days before the time for holding such meeting. This 
shows that the appellant designed to take no advantage of the respondent 
or his party, and that the meeting was not intended to be a surprise to any 
voter. The meeting held in the -'new school-house," on the contrary, con- 
vened not only without notice, but in opposition to regular oflficial notification. 
Now, although an annual meeting may be convened without notice and no 
imputation of bad faith attach to it, an annual meeting convened not only 
without notice but in opposition to official notice can have but one purpose — to 
act as a surprise, and to try to effect by trick that which could not be effected 
upon open trial. 

The summary of the whole is this : The meeting at the temporary school- 
house was held pursuant to official notice, in a building which had previously 
been recognized by this department as a school-house of the district, and was 
attended by a majority of all the legal voters of the district. That meeting 

46 



362 Sites. 

unanimously elected George S. Collins trustee of said district for tlie ensuing 
year. It is, therefore, hereby decided that the proceedings of said meeting were 
legal regular and binding, as the proceedings of the annual school meeting of 
the district ; that George S. Collins is the legal and sole trustee of said district 
for the year ending the second Tuesday of October, 1867 ; that the persons 
respectively cliosen at said meeting to fill the offices of district clerk, district 
collector and librarian were legally chosen, and are entitled to perform the 
duties of said officers ; and that the collection of taxes for school purposes voted 
at said meeting may be legally enforced. 

It is also hereby decided that the proceedings of the meeting held in the 
" new school-house," on the ninth day of October, 1866, at which Jerome Hill 
was elected trustee, were void, and of no force or effect as an annual school 
meeting. Per V. M. Rice, February 13, 1867. 

Where there is no school-house in the district, and the trustees have hired a liouse for 
school purposes, the district is bound to pay the rent whether a school is taught or not. 

Where a teacher is employed who has no license, the school thus taiight becomes a private 
school. 

The district is not bound to pay for fuel used in such school. 

On an appeal from certain acts of the trustees, it appears that the district is 
destitute of a school-house, and that the trustees hired a house in which to 
have the school taught, and also that they hired, and continued in their 
employ as teacher of the district school, one who had no legal license or cer- 
tificate of qualification from the proper officer. 

The fact that the teacher engaged had no legal license renders the school, 
during the period which he taught, a private school. 

The trustees have made out a tax list for the rent of the house, and for fuel 
purchased for use of the school. There appears to me to be a distinction 
between the two objects for which this tax is levied. The contract to pay rent 
for the house was valid and binding upon the district in any event, whether 
the house should be occupied or left vacant. 

The expenses of the school, however, are different things ; in purchasing 
fuel for a school in which they had employed an unqualified teacher, they were 
not acting for the district, but upon their own individual responsibility. They 
were acting only as self-constituted agents of a voluntary association of 
individuals engaged in sustaining a private school. I shall not sanction the 
enforcement of taxes for the support of private schools — that is, of schools 
taught by a teacher without the legal qualifications. The negligence of 
teachers to provide themselves in season with proper certificates, and the indif- 
ference of trustees to this neglect, are abuses which it is important to check. 
Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 19, 1859. 



SITES. 

A school district cannot delegate the power to select a school-house site. A designation 
should be specific as to location and size. 

The inhabitants of district No. 15, in the town of Smyrna, at their first 
meeting, resolved that the trustees purchase a site for the school-house, on the 
corner of Benjamin Hartwell's land, or on Seth Shepard's land where the 
cooper's shop now stands. 

The trustees selected the corner of Benjamin Hartwell's land, paid forty dol- 
lars for the site, and contracted for the erection of a house. 

They then called a special meeting, for the purpose of ratifying what they 
had done and raising money to finish the house. 



Sites. 363 

The meeting, by a vote of twenty-six to twelve, refused to ratify their selec- 
tion, and passed a resolution that the site should be " at a certain beech tree in 
widow Brown's hollow." 

The Supreme Court, in the case of Benjamin v. Hall, 17 Wendell, 437, decided 
that the district could not delegate the power to designate a school-house site 
to the trustees. It cannot make any difference whether a general authority to 
select is given, or whether the authority is to choose between two points. 

The designation made by the special meeting is too indefinite. Verbal 
explanations, not a part of the record, though given at the meeting, cannot be 
permitted to locate the spot. The vote was utterly void for uncertainty. Per 
Spencer, August 26, 1839. 

The mere act of votinsj to select a particular piece of land upon which to erect a school- 
house does not establish the site. It must be followed by an actual leasing or purchase. 

The appellants in this case allege that, on the 31st day of May, 1851, at a 
special meeting regularly called, a resolution was passed authorizing the selec- 
tion of a site for building a school-house on the land of Mr. Fenner, and the 
collection of a tax to pay for the same. • 

The trustees assessed the tax, and about $45 of it was collected, but they 
neglected to purchase the site. On the 12th day of March, 1853, at a regularly 
called meeting, a resolution was passed authorizing the selection of a site on 
the land of J. H. Dwick, and a tax of $350 for building a school-house. The 
trustees then took the money which had been collected for the purchase of the 
site first selected, and with it purchased the Dwick site. It is claimed by the 
appellants that it was illegal to change the site after the money had been col- 
lected to pay for the same ; that no change could be made without the consent 
of the town superintendent, and that it was illegal to use for the Dwick site 
the money that had been raised for purchasing the " Fenner " site. 

In reply to these allegations, the trustees state that, after the meeting of 
May 31, 1851, and on the 15th of November of that year, at a special meeting 
legally held, a resolution was passed rescinding the resolution of the former 
meeting authorizing the selection of a site upon the land of Mr. Fenner. At 
a subsequent special meeting, a resolution was passed authorizing the selection 
of a site upon the land of Mr. Dwick. No action was taken at that meeting 
in reference to the disposition to be made of the money which had been raised 
for the purchase of a site ; but, at the annual meeting held since this appeal 
was brought, the trustees were directed to use the money in the purchase of 
the "Dwick site." 

The case referred to by the appellants, in Barl)our''s Supreme Court Reports 
{vol. 4, p. 25), in support of their first objection, does not sustain the point 
they raise. The court merely decides that a district cannot legally rescind a 
resolution imposing a tax, after the tax list has been made out and the tax 
partly collected. That decision is in accordance with repeated decisions of this 
department, in which it has been held that a district could not legally rescind 
a resolution conferring any authority upon the trustees, after tiiey have entered 
upon the performance of the duty imposed by the resolution. But these deci- 
sions do not touch this case. The resolution authorizing the collection of the 
tax was distinct and separate from that authorizing the selection of the site, 
and the repeal of the latter in no respect affected the right of the trustees to 
collect the tax. Besides, it is conceded, and in fact is made the subject of com- 
plaint, by the appellants, that the trustees had not taken any steps toward 
purchasing the site named in the resolution which was rescinded. If they had 
not, the district clearly possessed the power of rescinding the resolution in the 
manner they did, unless their action had so established the site that it could 
not be changed without the consent of the town superintendent. The mere 
act of voting to select a particular piece of land upon which to erect a school- 
house does not establish the site. Something more is necessary to accomplish 
that. The vote must be followed up by an actual leasing or purchase. In 
this case there is no pretense that a title to the site could not be procured. 



364 Sites. 

But it is al]eged that tlie trustees neglected to procure it, although they might 
have done so, and the district afterward took from them the authority to make 
the purchase. This, I think, they had a right to do without the consent of 
the town superintendent, if they deemed it proper. I can therefore perceive 
no illegality in the proceedings of the meeting, in selecting a site upon the 
land of Mr. Dwick. 

The appeal is therefore dismissed. Per H. S. Eandall, November 29, 1853. 

In designating a site for a school-house, the description should be 'by metes and bounds, 
and the quantity of land should be stated, that every inhabitant of the district may be 
able to vote intelligently. 

^ At a special meeting held in district No. 6, Lansing, March 1, 1849, resolu- 
tions were passed to change the site of the school-house " to the first corner 
north of the road, on a piece of land owned by Mary Dickerson ;" to raise a 
tax to purchase the new site, and also a tax of $300 to build a school-house, etc. 

The notices for this meeting having been deficient and improperly given, 
another special meeting was called, to be held March 15, 1849. At this last 
meeting, a resolution was passed confirming the proceedings of the meeting of 
the 1st of March. 

The principal point in the case is that the site was not sufficiently designated. 

The resolution to move the site " to the first corner north of the road " is 
too vague and indefinite, and cannot be regarded in law. It does not state 
whether the trustees are authorized to purchase one-half acre or five acres on 
the corner, nor is the description of the land given sufficient to give an idea of 
its location. 

In designating a site for a school-house, the description should be by metes 
and bounds, and the quantity of land should be given, that every inhabitant 
of the district may be able to vote intelligently. Per Morgan, April 18, 1849. 

A district may purchase a site by a majority vote. It is different from changing a sitfi. 

This is a case in relation to the proceedings of a school district meeting in 
the town of Eoyalton. The district, it seems, has never been the legal owner 
of a site ; it undoubtedly has a right to procure one by a majority of the votes 
at a district meeting, and without the formalities required in case of a change 
of site. 

I see no objection to the mode adopted by the district in the purchase of the 
land. A deed should, however, be obtained by the district, previous to the 
expenditure of any money on the house, so that the title may be secure. Per 
Dix, November 5, 1838. 

The occupancy of a school-house sufficient notice to purcnaser of land. 

Twenty years previous to the date of appeal, district No. 6, Lincklaen, had 
taken a lease of a site for the school-house, for as long a period as the same 
should be occupied for a district school. James S. Graves purchased the land 
and appurtenances, without any reservation, and forbade the trustees from 
entering upon it, or from occupying the school-house. 

Mr. Graves purchased the land subject to the lease, and the fact that the land 
was occupied by the district for a school-house and site was sufficient notice to 
him. The district has a rightful claim to the possession of the land under the 
lease, and should take legal measures to assert their right. The occupancy is 
sufficient notice to the purchaser of the title of the district, and he is bound to 
ascertain it at his peril, not^vithstanding the omission to put the lease upon 
record. Per Spencer, January 23, 1840. 

When the trustees have contracted to locate the school-house on any particular place upon 
the site, in the absence of any instructions from the disti'ict, this department will not 
interfere. 

The trustees located a school-house a few feet less than four rods from the 
south line of their lot, which is bounded on the highway. The appellants and 



Sites. 365 

a majority of the district desired to leave full four rods in front. The trustees, 
however,'in the absence of any explicit instructions or direction from the dis- 
trict, agreed upon the present location, and entered into a contract with a 
builder'Avho had commenced his work prior to any instructions from the dis- 
trict. The trustees having gone on, for aught that appears to the contrary, in 
good faith in the location of the house prior to any expression of the wishes of 
tlie district, and having entered into contracts and incurred liabilities in the 
prosecution of the work, it is deemed unwise and inexpedient to subject the 
district to the expense which must be incurred by a change in the location. 

The appeal is dismissed. Per A. G. Johnson, Deputy Superintendent, 
August 30, 1849. 

It is not necessary that a majority of all the taxable inhabitants should be obtained, in 
addition to the consent of the town superintendent (supervisor) in order to change the 
Bite, but only a majority of those present and voting at a meeting duly notified. 

This is an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting held in said dis- 
trict on the 18th day of October, 1851. 

At this meeting, it appears that resolutions were passed changing the site 
of the school-house, and authorizing the collection of $10 by tax, for purchas- 
ing a new site, and $175 for building' a new schooJ-house thereon. The appel- 
lant alleges that these resolutions were not passed in the manner required by 
law, and that the town superintendent never legally gave his consent to the 
proposed change of site. 

The appeal papers concede that the resolution to change the site was passed 
by a vote of a majority of all the taxable inhabitants of the district Avho were 
present and voted at the meeting. Therefore, if the consent of the town 
superintendent was given in accordance with law, the resolution to change 
the site was passed by the required legal majority of the inhabitants. For it 
is not necessary that, in addition to the consent of the town superintendent, a 
majority of all the taxable inhabitants residing in the district should bo 
obtained, in order to change the site, but only a majority of those present and 
voting at a meeting duly notified. 

It appears by the answer that the town superintendent did give his consent 
in wa-iting, to the proposed change, on condition that the requisite majority of 
the inhabitants of tlie district should be in favor of the change. This consent 
became absolute the moment the condition was complied with. The requisite 
consent was obtained upon the passage of the resolutions. 

Appeal dismissed. Per H. S. Randall, March 25, 1852. 

A. majority of voters at a school district meeting may empower the trustees to purchase 
additional territory adjoining the school-house site, for the purpose of enlarging their 
grounds for school purposes. It is not a case of removal of site. 

The only question involved in this appeal is whether the purchase of an 
additional quantity of land adjoining that on which the former school-house 
of the district had been erected, and wdiich was burned down, rendering it 
necessary for the district to build a new one, and the rebuilding of the district 
school-house wholly or in part upon the new ground thus purchased, is such an 
act as reqmres the assent of two-thirds of the voters present at a district meet 
ing called specially for the purpose under the provisions of section 1, No. 85 
(section 20, title 7), of the Laws relating to common schools. I do not doubt 
the legal right of a majority of the voters, in any district meeting duly con- 
vened, to lay a tax upon their district to purchase ground additional to and 
adjoining a site already owned by the district, if such ground be suitable for 
the purpose of the existing site, and the school — such as play-ground for the 
children, wood-house or other appendages. Nor could the certificate of the 
town superintendent be necessary to render such an act legal any more than 
for building a wood-house, or repairing the school-house. The district, as I 
understand the case, owned no more ground than w^as covered by the build- 
ings. Now, what were the acts which the law intended to prohibit the mere 



336 Sites. 

majority from doing after a site had been purchased and a school-house built 
or purchased for the district while the same remained unaltered ? 

Certainly not to prevent the purchase of more ground immediately adjoin- 
ing, if necessary, nor the erection of additional buildings' thereon, if the 
exigencies of the district required it for the accommodation of the school, or 
even the erection of a new house should it be necessary. 

These are acts which, in my judgment, it is perfectly competent for the 
majority of the inhabitants of the district to perform, when assembled in a 
school district meeting. I cannot hold this to be such a change of site as 
comes within the provisions of the section above mentioned. Per N. S. 
Benton, July 10, 1846. 

In levying a tax for the purchase of a school-house site, the district is not limited as to the 

amount to be raised. 
The certificate of the town superintendent (supervisor) is not necessary, and the district 

may, by a majority vote, raise such an amount as shall be necessary for the purpose. 

At a special meeting of the inhabitants of district No. 5, Troy, held July 20, 
1848, a site for a school-house was designated, and a tax of $475 was voted to 
pay for the same. The site thus designated was for the second school-house in 
the district. 

The appellant desires that the proceedings be set aside for the following 
reasons : 

1. Because the commissioners did not certify that a larger sum than $400 
was necessary to purchase the site ; 

2. On the ground of expediency. 

By subdivision 8, section 62, School Laws, provision is made for designating 
sites for two or more school-houses in a district. 

With the consent of the town superintendent, or the commissioners, as in 
this case, the inhabitants of a district, when legally assembled, may, by a 
majority of votes of the legal voters present, designate a site for the second 
school-house in their district, and may lay a tax upon the taxable property of 
the district to purchase such site. The limitation to $400 ($1,000) doea not 
apply to such cases. The section which requires the consent of the tjwn 
superintendent to raise a larger sum only applies " to building, hiring or jJxH- 
chasing a school-house." (See section 70 (section 18, title 7), School Laws.) 

The proceedings of the meeting of July 20 were legal. 

As to the question of expediency, this department does not feel at liberty to 
interfere without proof of palpable wrong or abuse of power, which does not 
appear in this case. 

This decision is not intended to favor the abandonment of the old site. 

The appeal is dismissed. Per Morgan, September 26, 1848. 

When a district has been altered, the site of the school-house may be changed by a vote of 

the majority of those present at the meeting. 
Due notice of a meeting will be presumed, unless the contrary be shown. 

A special meeting of joint district No. 9, of Manheim, Herkimer county, and 
Oppenheim, Fulton county, was held December 19, 1854, and a vote was passed 
to change the site of the school-house. The meeting then adjourned to receive 
propositions. On the twenty-third day of June, 1855, a new site was desig- 
nated, and at a subsequent adjourned meeting an adjournment to the second 
Tuesday of October, 1856, was carried. 

The trustees, however, called a special meeting for December 4, 1855, at 
which a tax of $450 was raised for purchasing the new site, $1,000 for building 
a new school-house, and $200 for wood-house and privies. The certificate of 
the town superintendent, that $1,200 was necessary for the house and out- 
houses, had been given. 

The appellant raised the following points : 

1. That the school-house site was illegally changed, no consent of the town 
superintendent having been obtained. 



Sites. 367 

It miglit suffice to say that no such point was made in the appeal ; but it is 
conclusively met by the reply of the trustees, which shows that the district 
has undergone repeated alterations since the erection of the school-house. No 
consent of the superintendent was necessary to authorize the fixing of a new 
site by a majority of the votes of those present and voting. 

2. The appellant objects that it does not appear by the return of the district 
clerk, or otherwise, that the legal voters of the district, or any of them, were 
duly notified of such meeting. The burden of proof on this point rests on the 
appellant. The presumption always is that public officers have done their 
duty. This presumption is supported in this case by the express statement 
that one voter received no notice, for it implies that no other failure to give 
notice could be alleged. Those who attended certainly had notice, and the 
omission in a solitary instance is not averred to have been willful or fraudulent. 

The proceedings were legal and regular. Per V. M. Rice, February 6, 1856. 

A two-storj' school-house may be built upon land leased, with the agreement that the rent, 
or consideration of the grant, shall be the use by the lessor of the upper story out of 
school hours. 

The consistory of the Reformed Dutch Church, in the town of Greenbush, 
granted to district No. 2, of said town, a lot of land for a school-house site, so 
long as the same should be used for that purpose, reserving an annual rent. 
Subsequent to the execution of the lease, an agreement was entered into 
between the trustees and the consistory, that the school-house should be built 
-with two stories, and that when the upper story was not wanted for school 
purposes the consistory might use it, and such use, while permitted, should 
be in full payment for the rent. With full knowledge of this agreement, the 
district, thirty-three to seven, voted to raise a tax of $400, to procure the site 
and erect a school-house. Held, that the use of the upper story by the con 
sistory was a fair equivalent for the rent, and that the agreement was not 
improper or illegal. Per Spencer, April 23, 1839. 

A school district has no authority by law, and this department will not permit the inhabit- 
ants, to take a perpetual lease for the site of a school-house. The district should have the 
fee simple before building. 

The trustees of district No. 5, in the city of Troy, called a special meeting of 
the district to be held on the 29tli of February, 1848. This meeting was organ- 
ized and adjourned to the 27th of March following. 

At the adjourned meeting, a resolution, which had been introduced at the 
previous meeting and laid on the table for future action, was called up. The 
resolution was amended, and, as amended, adopted unanimously. The resolu- 
tion adopted read as follows : 

" Resolved, That the trustees of school district No. 5, of the city of Troy, be 
directed, by and with the consent of the school commissioners of the city of 
Troy, to lease, from Messrs. Marshall, Belding & Christie, lots Nos. 14, 15 and 
16, on the north side of Christie street, in the fifth ward of the city of Troy, at 
a yearly rent not exceeding the sum of thirty-four dollars per annum, with the 
pri\'ilege of buying off said rent at seven per cent within ten years from date." 

The contemplated lease was for the site of a school-house. 

The only question necessary to be considered is this : Can a school district 
lease or purchase a site for a school-house in the manner contemplated in the 
resolution before mentioned ? 

By the foiirth and fifth clauses of section 62, chapter 480, Laws of 1847, the 
inhabitants of a district have power to designate a site for a district school- 
house, and to lay such tax on the taxable property of the district as the meet- 
ing shall deem sufficient to purchase or lease a suitable site for a school-house, 
and to build, hire or purchase such school-house, and to keep in repair and 
furnish the same with the necessary fuel and appendages, and section 83 
authorizes the trustees to carry such vote into effect. 



368 Sites. 

Tlie -word " lease " used here must be interpreted to mean a lease for a limited 
term, one, two or three years, of a lot of land and building to be used by the 
district till such time as a suitable site can be procured in fee, or the convey- 
ance of a lot of land to the district, to be the property of the district so long as 
it shall be occupied for a school-house site. 

Under the new Constitution, no agricultural land can be leased for a longer 
period than twelve years ; and, although individuals in cities may still lease 
building lots for longer terms, or in perpetuity, it is certainly desirable that 
land to be used as the site of a school-house should be free from any and every 
incumbrance. 

The statute confers no authority upon a school district to purchase land and 
give a mortgage or any other security for the consideration money. In the 
section authorizing the inhabitants to lease, authority is given to raise a tax 
for that purpose. It cannot be, therefore, that the authority to lease gives the 
inhabitants the privilege of voting that such a contract shall be entered into 
as Tiill entail a perpetual debt upon the district and put the people to the 
necessity of raising a tax to pay the rent every year throughout all coming 
time. It has heretofore been held that the district could not purchase a site 
and give a mortgage for the purchase-money, one-half to be paid in five years 
and the balance in ten years. This department has, also, repeatedly held that 
districts could not be permitted to buy a site and erect a school-house upon 
land incumbered by mortgage. 

No good reason can be given against permitting the district to give a mort- 
gage for the purchase-money of a site which will not bear with equal force • 
against permitting them to enter into a contract by which the site of the 
school-house may be subjected to a perpetual incumbrance. If a mortgage is 
given, the interest must be paid annually, and the principal within some 
specified time. If a perpetual lease is given, the interest of the stipulated 
value of the land must be paid annually, but the principal cannot be paid at 
all except at the option of the lessor. The fact that the principal cannot be, 
demanded is not a sufiicient reply to the objection, for the real ditficulty is that 
the lien and incumbrance can only be removed with the consent of persons 
claiming the lien. 

What is this contract as contemplated in the resolution? It is just this: 
The lots are assumed to be worth about $487. The present owners say that 
the district may have an unconditional title in fee conveyed to them at any 
time in ten years, on the payment of that sum and the interest annually at 
seven per cent. But if the $487 is not paid within ten years, then the owners 
may demand $500 or $1,000, or just such sum as they may think proper. 

A mortgage may be foreclosed, if interest and principal, or either, are not 
punctually paid, and the premises sold, but in that case the proceeds, after pay- 
ing the debt and costs, are refunded to the mortgagor. 

If rent is not punctually paid, the landlord may re-enter and take possession 
of the premises leased, together ^vith all the improvements, and may have 
judgment for costs. 

If, therefore, any incumbrance upon a school-house site is allowable, a mort- 
gage would be preferable to a perpetual lease. 

The appeal is therefore sustained, and the resolution adopted by the meeting 
of the twenty-seventh March aforesaid is set aside and declared null and void. 
If the district need a new school-house, the site for it must be purchased, and 
a tax levied to pay for it. Per Morgan, July 6, 1848. 

Site of a school-house in union free school district established and changed hy vote of 
inhabitants in same manner as in districts subject to general school law. 

The site of a school-house in a union free school district is established and 
changed by the vote oif the inhabitants in the same manner as in those districts 
subject to the general school law. The board of education, like the ordinary 
trustees, are in this respect mere executors of the popular will. If it is not 
absolutely necessary, it is at least the only safe mode, to procure the ratification 



Sites. 369 

by a district meeting, of a selection made by the board under a vote requesting 
them to purchase. Per E. Peshine Smith, Deputy Superintendent, May 8, 
1855. {Letters, vol. 2, p. 395.) 

Districts that have been altered in their hounclaries since the establishment of a site and 
building: of a house are not restricted in their power to change such site at any legal dis- 
trict meeting. 

It is not difficult to ascertain the meaning of the statute in regard to the 
change of site of school-houses. It imposes a limitation upon the general power 
of school districts in regard to changing the site of the school-house. The 
general limitation is expressed in the following words : " As long as the dis- 
trict shall remain unaltered.'* Districts not embraced in this general limita- 
tion are not referred to in the subsequent limitation. In short, the power of 
the inhabitants of districts that have been altered is left wholly unimpaired, as 
this section of the statute says nothing concerning them, and hence applies to 
them no limitations whatever. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, February 
20, 1864. 

Where the consent of the supervisor to a change of site is obtained by misrepresentation, 
the proceedings will be set aside. 

A special meeting voted to change the site of the school-house to the farm 
of Jesse Carpenter, the consent of the supervisor of the town having been 
first obtained. 

The appellant objects to the proposed change, the said new site being in a 
remote corner of the district, distant four miles from the residences of those 
living on the opposite side of the district. He claims that the proceedings of 
said meeting in the matter of changing the site as aforesaid were illegal and 
void, and asks to have them so declared and set aside for the following reasons : 

1. Because no legal notice of said special meeting was served upon the 
inhabitants of the district ; 

2. Because the consent of the supervisor to the aforesaid change of site was 
obtained through fraud and misrepresentation ; 

3. Because the minutes of the said meeting were not properly kept, and do 
not show on their face the precise location of the proposed new site. Either 
one of the two first objections urged by the appellant, will be, if proven, suffi- 
cient cause for pronouncing the proceedings of said meeting void, and of no 
effect whatever. 

Passing over the objection first taken, it is established, beyond doubt, 
by the affidavit of William E. Teal, supervisor of said town, that he was 
induced to give his consent to the proposed change of site — ^the exact location 
of said new site not having been agreed upon when his said consent was 
given — upon the express understanding that the new site should be centrally 
and conveniently located, so as to accommodate all of the inhabitants of the 
district. The committee who applied to the supervisor for his consent to said 
change of site mentioned two central localities where they hoped to be able to 
obtain the said site, and by these representations, and by disclaiming any 
intention of locating the site in a remote corner of the district, induced said 
supervisor to give his consent as aforesaid. The said supervisor swears that 
under no circumstances would he have given his consent to the location of the 
new site in so remote a corner of the district as that selected by said special 
meeting, and further, that, as soon as he was informed of the action of the 
meeting, he immediately addressed a note to the committee which had waited 
upon him, revoking the consent which he had given. Consent thus obtained 
is no consent at all. Fraudulent representations vitiate any contract or agree- 
ment, and in this case it is clear that it was only through misrepresentation 
that the consent of the supervisor to said change of site was obtained. 

The excuse offered by the committee which located the aforesaid new site, 
that no central location could be provided, is disproved by the affidavits of 
Ferris and others. It should also be remembered, that the district could pro- 

47 



BIO Sites. 

•cure a central site even without tlie consent of tlie owner of the land, by com- 
plying Avitli the pro\isions of chapter 800 of the Laws of 1866. 

For the reasons above set forth the appeal is sustained, the consent of the 
supervisor to the aforesaid change of site is declared void, as having been 
obtained through misrepresentation ; and the subsequent proceedings of the 
special meeting had in said district as aforesaid, so far as they relate to a 
change of site of the school-house of said district, are, also, hereby pronounced 
illegal, void and of no force and effect whatever ; such proceedings having 
been founded upon the fraudulently obtained consent of the supervisor, with- 
out which consent they would have been void in themselves. Per V. M. Rice, 
July 13, 1866. 

The department will not interfere with the action of a district in purchasing a site, except 
where the title to said site is clearly and conclusively shown to be defective. 

In considering a question of title, it must be borne in mind that it is not in 
the province of this department to pass upon that question so as to affect at all 
the interests of those claiming ownersliip in the soil. This department can 
only determine, from the evidence presented, whether the presumption of 
invalidity is so strong as to justify its interference in arresting the action of the 
district. If the title is so clearly defective that its acceptance will involve pro- 
tracted and hopeless litigation, peril the peace and prosperity of the district, 
and thus arrest or retard educational progress, it becomes manifestly the duty 
of this department to interfere, even in opposition to the will of a majority of 
those interested. 

In the present case, a majority of the district, fully informed upon the merits 
of the case, individually interested in being right, and personally liable to 
expense if wrong, unhesitatingly declare themselves satisfied of the validity 
of title. It would require a clear case of invalidity of title to justify the inter- 
position of this department under circumstances like these, and, as such inval- 
idity is not shown, the department will not interfere. Per H. II. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, August 1*4, 1857. 

Where the district does not authorize a change of site, this department will not interfere to 
compel such change, even though justice requires it. 

It appears that the present site of the school-house is quite far from the cen- 
ter of the district, and in the north part of the same. The inhabitants residing 
in the south part of the district are naturally and justly desirous of changing 
the site, and of establishing it near the center of the district. At a meeting 
of the district called for the purpose of considering this question, a resolution 
was offered that the site remain where it was. This resolution was lost by a 
tie vote, and before any further action was had the meeting adjourned. From 
tliis neglect of the inhabitants to take any affirmative action upon the question 
of removal, this appeal is brought. 

Held, that, while the desire of those who are striving to change the site 
appears to be just and reasonable, the circumstances of the case do not justify 
the interference of this department. It is a high prerogative to come in and 
overrule the action of a majority of the district — formally and legally taken — 
and one which the department will not exercise except for the strongest rea- 
sons — the most urgent necessity. 

Here the site is already established, and has for a long time been occupied 
by the district. The district is the only competent authority for changing the 
site, and I do not regard the authority of this department, even, as sufficient to 
take up the original question, and direct that a change of site shall be made. 
Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, September 9, 1858. 

In locating two sites in a district, the whole district must act upon the question of each 
site, not simply the sections to be respectively favored. 

Taxes have been voted for the building of two school-houses in the district, 
for the accommodation of the inhabitants in the remote sections, no one central 
site being accessible to all the inhabitants. 



Sites. 371 

In establishing tliese two sites, tlie law vests the authority in the voters of 
the district — does not confine it to the voters of each section or locality, for 
whose benefit the site is to be established, and the whole district must act on 
the question of the location of each site. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
May 8, 1860. 

Where trustees purchase a site designated by the district, an appeal from their action will 
not lie ; it should be brought from the proceedings of the meeting in designating that 
site. 

This is an appeal from the action of the trustees in purchasing a school- 
house site, and contracting for the building of a school-house thereon. 

The acts complained of were under the authority and direction of votes of 
the inhabitants, duly convened in district meeting. The appeal should have 
been brought from these proceedings before thirty days had expired, and 
before the trustees, in obedience to the votes of these meetings, had contracted 
for the site and for the building of the house. The district is bound by these 
contracts, and the matter has now passed beyond the reach of equitable inter- 
position by this department, and must, therefore, be permitted to take its 
natural course. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, July 9, 1860. 

Consent of supervisor to a change of site must be as prescribed by statute. 

The statute that provides for change of school-house site, where the same 
has once been duly established, carefully guards against capricious action on 
the part of the inhabitants of a district, occasioned by slight changes in the 
numerical strength of parties very evenly divided. It is provided by the stat- 
ute that the site shall not be changed without the written consent of the super- 
visor, " stating that, in his opinion, such removal is necessary." The object of 
this provision is to vest this discretionary power in one presumed to be disin- 
terested, and who will act solely with reference to his opinion of the educa- 
tional interests to be promoted. 

It Is manifest, therefore, that neither the letter nor the spirit of the statute 
is complied with when the supervisor, instead of expressing an opinion founded 
on his own con^-ictions, certifies that he thinks the removal " necessary, if the 
inhabitants so determine." His opinion must be founded on the condition of 
things existing in the district, not upon what may be the vote on the question, 
and a consent founded upon a vote of the inhabitants amounts to no consent 
at all. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, December 4, 1860. 

Where two sites have been designated and purchased after a protracted controversy before 
this department, the question of the consent of the commissioner will not be considered 
upon a subsequent collateral issue. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting, the objection is to a 
certain resolution, passed at said meeting, whereby certain sums of money 
were voted to be expended upon two school-houses or sites in said district. 
The objection is that the district has no such site, because due and proper 
consent was never obtained to establish such site. But that question had 
already been settled in a former appeal to this department. 

The department will not at this late day enter upon the consideration of that 
question. The district, and, if I mistake not, these appellants themselves, have, 
by their previous action, recognized the fact of such site ; it has been, as I 
understand, purchased ; a valid title obtained, and all the ostensible e\'idences 
of ownership on the part of the district have been at one time or another 
produced. I do not, therefore, now, choose to inquire whether the formal con- 
sent of the commissioner to the purchase of that site was ever given. That 
would have been a proper question to present in order to prevent the purchase, 
but should not be raised, and will not now be considered, since the purchase 
and other acts incident thereto have been substantially acquiesced in. Per E. 
W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, March 28, 1861. 



372 Taxes and Taxation. 

Division fences. 

In regard to division fences, a school district is subject to the same liabilities 
as any other owner of real estate. If the district cliooses to let the site lie 
open to the highway, you cannot compel them to build or maintain any por- 
tion of a division fence. If, however, you build such fence, and the district 
afterward incloses the school lot, you can compel the inhabitants to refund 
half the expense of building the line fence. Per V. M. Eice, Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, October 26, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 663.) 

Money must not be paid for site until clear title is obtained. 

Trustees ought not to pay money for a site until they have a valid title from 
all the owners, and a regular release under seal of any existing mortgage or 
other incumbrance, and a satisfaction of any incumbrances which, though paid 
in fact as may be supposed, are not discharged of record. Per E. Peshine 
Smith, Deputy Superintendent, March 24, 1855. {Letters, vol. 2, p. 281.) 



TAXES AND TAXATION. 

No notice of an assessment is required except where an original valuation is made ; nor is 
a notice that a tax list has been placed in the hands of a collector for collection necessary. 

The appellants in this case seek to obtain an order setting aside a tax list on 
the following grounds : 

1. That the trustees did not give any notice to the tax payers to meet and 
review their assessment roll ; 

2. That tl^ey did not give any notice that said tax list was completed and 
that the trustees would meet on a certain day to receive payment of taxes with- 
out any per centage ; 

3. That the collector did not advertise according to law that he would 
receive voluntary payment of taxes. 

These objections are untenable. The present school law does not require 
any notice of an assessment to be given by the trustees of a district except 
when an original valuation is to be made, which was not done in this case. 
Nor does it require the collector to give any notice whatever that a tax list has 
been placed in his hands for collection. All of the former provisions of law 
requiring such notices to be given have been repealed. 

The appeal is therefore dismissed. Per H. S. Randall, May 26, 1853. 

When different parcels of property, of different quality and value, lying in 
two districts, are so coupled together in the town assessment roll, in one aggre- 
gate valuation, that their separate value is not apparent, and cannot be fixed, 
without an exercise of judgment on the part of the trustees, a new valuation 
should be made, and notice given. Per Young, Nov. 23, 184^. 

Contiguous territory lying partly in two or more districts, occupied and cultivated as one 
farm, is taxable in the district in which the occupant resides. 

The facts in this case as submitted are as follows : Whitman was the owner 
and occupant of a farm in district No. 12, but recently purchased another lot 
of land contiguous to his farm and lying in district No. 2, and removed his 
residence to district No. 2. 

Whitman, residing in No. 2, is taxable in No. 2, for all the land he occupies 
and cultivates which is composed of contiguous territory. 

The tarm lying in No. 12, on which he formerly resided, lying contiguous to 
the farm upon which he now resides in No. 2, and both farms being occupied 
by him, is taxable in No. 2 and not in No. 12. 



Taxes and Taxation. 373 

But the tenant of Whitman is a resident of No. 12, and must be taxed there, 
for the house and garden occupied by him. Per Morgan, June 7, 1848. 

Where a tax payer voluntarily moves from one district to another he is liable to a tax for 
building a school-house in the latter district, even if within four years he has paid a tax 
for that purpose in the district from which he removes. 

Benjamin Mix, the petitioner, owns a farm partly situated in district No. 16, 
and partly in No. 10, Gouverneur. St. Lawrence county. Until last August he 
lived within the bounds of No. 16, but at that time he moved iuto district No. 
10. While a resident of No. 16, he contributed his share of the expense of 
building a school-house in that district. This was about eight years since. 

The inhabitants of No. 10 have recently raised a tax to build a new school- 
house, and have included the farm of Mr. Mix in their tax list. He wishes to 
be released from the payment of the tax. 

This petition must be denied, because the law exempts only those who have 
been set off from another district without their consen't within four years from 
the payment of a tax for building a school-house. 

Mr. Mix voluntarily moved from No. 16 to No. 10, and moreover upward 
of four years have elapsed since he wa;s taxed for building a school-house, so 
that he cannot claim exemption on either ground. 

The petition is dismissed. Per A. G. Johnson, Deputy Superintendent, 
August 7, 1848. 

A tax may be levied to finish the erection of a school-house commenced by 
subscription, provided the district own the site ; if not, the subscribers must 
first relinquish their title to the district. Per Dix, May 11, 1838. 

When a school-house is so decayed as to be no longer adapted to its purposes, 
the district may raise money by tax to build a new one, by a majority vote, 
and ^vithout a special notice of the intent to propose such a tax, at an annual 
meeting. Per Spencer, January 15, 1840. 

When the trustees make any change in the valuation of property differing from the valua- 
tion, as appears by the assessment roll, they should give twenty days' notice of the 
changes they have made to the inhabitants of the district affected thereby. 

The appellant in this case represents that, on or about the 2d of March last, 
a tax was voted for the support of schools at a special meeting called and held 
in district No. 1, under the provisions of the new school law ; and that the 
trustees, in apportioning the tax thus voted, altered the valuations of the tax- 
able property of the district from the assessment roll of the town in several 
instances specified by the appellant, and, among others, in his own case, "with- 
out giving the notices prescribed by law, in consequence of which a larger sum 
has been assessed to him and others than was equitable and just. 

The trustees, in their answer, do not deny the charge that a departure from 
the last assessment roll of the town was made by them in ascertaining the 
valuation of the taxable property referred to, without giving the notice pre- 
scribed by law, but claim that the valuations put by them on such property 
were substantially correct and in accordance with the standard adopted by the 
assessor. 

The Superintendent is of opinion that the defense thus set up by the trustees 
is invalid and untenable. The law specifically requires that, in all cases where 
the valuations of taxable property cannot be ascertained from the last assess- 
ment roll of the town, the trustees shall ascertain the same from the best 
means of information within their power, giving notice to all persons inter- 
ested, and proceeding in the same way that town assessors are required to pro- 
ceed in the first instance. Unless, therefore, this requisition is strictly complied 
with, the assessment thus made by the trustees is illegal and invalid, whatever 
may be the standard of valuation adopted by them, or whether such valuations 
are just and equitable or not. 



374 Taxes and Taxation. 

Tlie persons interested in sucli alteration were entitled to notice in the mode 
prescribed by law, and to an opportunity of appearing before the trustees and 
claiming a reduction of their assessments as so ascertained ; and they may 
legally avail themselves of the omission to give such notice, either to resist the 
collection of the tax thus illegally imposed, or to bring an appeal to this 
department for such redress as may be in its power to afford. The tax list, 
being void in part, is void throughout. 

It is accordingly hereby ordered that the tax list made out by the trustees 
of district No. 1, in the town of Fowler, in pursuance of the vote of the special 
meeting held in said district, be, and the same is hereby, set aside, and the 
trustees are directed and required, within thirty days from the date hereof, to 
make out a new tax list in accordance with law, and to deliver the same, with 
their warrant annexed, to the collector of the district for collection, refunding, 
if required, any amount heretofore illegally collected. Per Morgan, June 
4, 1850. 

The assessment roll of a town, as revised by the assessors and delivered to the supervisors, 
is complete so far as to bind the trustees in making out a tax list. 

The trustees of joint district No. 1, Grates and Chili, Monroe county, in mak- 
ing a tax list on the 15th day of October, 1855, adopted the valuations of the 
town assessment rolls for 1854. The rolls for 1855 had not then been revised 
by the supervisors, and, as those of the two towns differed very materially in 
their valuations of real estate, the trustees considered it unjust to follow them 
until such revision. In this the trustees erred, and their tax list is conse- 
quently erroneous. It has been repeatedly decided by this departriient, and 
also by the supreme court, that when the assessment roll has been revised by 
the assessors and delivered to the supervisors, it becomes so far complete as to 
bind the trustees. 

If the trustees of a joint district regard the valuations of the two town assess- 
ment rolls as not substantially just, as compared with each other, so far as such 
district is concerned, they have the right to apply to the supervisors of the 
towns, parts of which are embraced within their school district, to determine 
the relative proportion of taxes that ought to be assessed upon the real prop- 
erty of the parts of such district so lying in different towns. {Sec. 69, title 7, 
chap. 555, Lavj-s of 1864.) 

They can resort to this remedy as well after as before the board of super- 
visors has revised and equalized the town assessment rolls. 

The appeal is sustained, and the trustees authorized to amend their tax list 
in accordance with law. Per E. P. Smith, June 4, 1856. 

It is the duty of the trustees in laying a tax to assess the same against every person within 
the district who owns or is in possession of taxable property at the time of making out 
such tax list. 

On the third day of February, Mr. Hoyt sold all his real estate in said district 
to William Moreau, and executed and delivered a deed to him. Mr. Hoyt 
remains in possession, and by the contract will remain in possession till April 
1, 1848. February 15, 1848, the trustees of the district proceeded to make out 
a tax list upon a tax voted January 15, 1848, to build a school-house. They, 
vnth a full knowledge of the above sale and conveyance, assessed Mr. Hoyt 
with the farm and real estate so sold. 

Mr. Hoyt claims that the land should have been assessed to Mr. Moreau. 

The trustees were right. By section 85, chapter 480, Laws of 1847, the trus- 
tees are required to apportion a tax upon " all the taxable inhabitants holding 
property in the district, according to the valuations of the taxable property 
which shall be owned or possessed by them at the time of making out such 
list." Mr. Hoyt, at the time of making out the list, had not given up posses- 
sion and must be considered the possessor. 

It is to be presumed that the purchase-money is not to be paid until posses- 
sion is delivered, in which case the trustees could not assess the price of the 



Taxes and Taxation. 375 

farm to Mr. Hoyt as j^ersonal property. Tlie appeal is dismissed. Per Mor- 
gan, March 18, 1848. 

Taxation of a person having the naked possession of land without color of title. A previ- 
ous case commented on and explained. 

On tlie first day of April last, Mr. Davis executed and delivered a deed of 
his farm to Mr. Frost, tlie owner of the adjoining land, receiving from him a 
payment of $900 in cash, and the promissory notes of third persons, and a mort- 
gage for the residue of the purchase-money. On the twelfth day of April, the 
trustees made out a tax list, and, as Mr. Davis still continued in possession of 
the farm he had sold, assessed him for the value thereof. Upon his objecting, 
and stating to the trustees that he was in possession only at sufferance, while 
waiting for the opening of lake navigation to transport Ms family and effects 
to Wisconsin, the trustees proposed to assess him for the price of the farm as 
personal property. To this he replied that he had already made a contract for 
the purchase of a farm in Wisconsin, and bound himself to pay a larger sum 
than that for wliicli he had sold his farm, and offered to make an affidavit that 
his debts exceeded the value of his personal property. The trustees being 
satisfied of the truth of his statement, but supposing themselves bound to 
assess him for the farm by a decision of the Superintendent, united with Mr. 
Davis in submitting the facts for a decision. 

The trustees have been misled by overlooking the distinction between the 
present case and that to which they refer. In the former case, Mr. Hoyt 
reserved the right of possession for a definite period, and was the actual owner, 
with all the responsibilities of ownership, until that period arrived. In this 
case, Mr. Davis, though actually in possession, is without any claim of title to 
possession for an hour. Mr. Frost is the admitted owner, though he has not 
exercised his extreme right by inhospitably turning his neighbor out of doors. 
As such owner he is liable to be taxed for the real estate purchased. 

The facts conceded in respect to the indebtedness of Mr. Davis are a conclu- 
sive answer to any supposed obligation on the part of the trustees to assess 
liim for personal estate, though the fact that he is abont to remove, and can 
receive no benefit from the tax, has no legal importance in the question. Per 
A. Gf. Johnson, Deputy Superintendent, May, 1849. 

Land worked under a contract, by which the lessee is to share in the produce thereof, is 
subject to taxation in the district where it is situated. 

The appellant is the owner of lot No. 34, incl uded in the boundaries of dis- 
trict No. 9, Wirt, Allegany county, and also of lot No. 26, which adjoins it, but is 
included within the boundaries of district No. 1, and is in the occupation of an 
inhabitant of district No. 1, holding under a lease by which he renders a share 
of the produce to the appellant. The statute expressly provides that any 
person working land under a contract for a share of the produce of such land 
shall be deemed the possessor, so far as to render him liable to taxation there- 
for in the district where such land is situate. The trustees aver that the 
existence of such a lease never came to their knowledge until after the making 
out of the tax list. This is doubtless true ; but they were bound to know the 
limits of their own district, and were bound at their peril not to impose a tax 
upon any one, in respect to land outside of their limits, unless it was in his 
actual possession, constituting a part of real property " partly within such dis- 
trict and partly in an adjoining district." 

It is an anomaly that land lying in one district should, under any circum- 
stances, be withdrawn from its liability to support the public burdens of such 
district, and made to contribute to those of another in which the owner may 
reside. The law is to be so construed as to restrict such cases within the 
narrowest possible limits. 

The appeal is therefore sustained. The trustees must correct their tax list, 
by excluding therefrom the valuation of lot No. 26, and by assessing so much 
of the tax as is imposed upon the appellant by reason of his ownership of such 



376 Taxes and Taxation. 

lot on the taxable inhabitants of the district, in proportion to their respective 
valuations. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, May 20, 1856. 

Presumptively, the trustees of a school district have no right to go beyond the boundaries 
of their district to tax ; and when they do, it lies upon them to establish the power to 
tax, and not upon the party taxed to disprove it. 

The trustees, in the answer, rely upon the fact that the appellant did not 
show that he claimed a reduction of his tax, or that he notified them of the 
alienation of the property, by the taxation of which he is aggrieved. They do 
not deny any of the facts set up in the appeal. 

The appellant avers that, about two months previous to the making out of 
the tax list, he had sold the southern part of lot No. 35 (120 acres), in parcels, 
to two persons, who took possession and resided upon it. It is not within the 
limits of district No. 7, but adjoins land owned by the appellant in that dis- 
trict. This is the only circumstance in support of the authority of the respond- 
ents to tax it. The statute, however, requires that it should be owned or 
possessed by a taxable inhabitant of their district at the time of making out 
such list. 

The power being in derogation of common right, which would exempt all 
land from being taxed elsewhere than in the district where it lies, must be 
construed rigidly. The possession of the purchasers is of itself notice of their 
rights, and should put the trustees upon inquiry. 

While the last assessment roll is to guide them in the valuation of any 
property which they may be authorized to tax, unless the right to a reduction' 
of such a valuation be established, it cannot, in the nature of things, establish 
the liability of such property to taxation. Presumptively, the trustees have 
no right to go beyond their district limits ; when they do so, it lies upon them 
to establish the power, and not upon the party taxed to disprove it or to take 
notice that it is about to be exercised unless he remonstrates. The appeal 
must be sustained. Per V. M. Rice, February 28, 1855. 

Trustees are to assess the road bed of a turnpike precisely as if that portion of it lying in 
their district belongs to an individual not owning the remainder; unless the net annual 
income of the company over and above all expenses for repairs, etc., is less than five per 
cent upon the original cost, in which case the road is exempt from taxation. 

The turnpike company were not assessed upon the town roll, and the trustees 
admit that they gave no notice of the completion of their roll, and consequently 
neither the appellant nor any other person had the opportunity of calling for 
the correction of the valuation of the company's property. The appellants 
swear positively that the property of the company assessed at $600 is worth 
$2,000, and the respondents in their answer show that they assessed it simply 
as they would agricultural property at $30 per acre, and apparently without 
allowing any thing for the labor and materials employed in making the land 
covered by the road bed productive and valuable as a turnpike. It is of course 
impossible for the Superintendent to judge to what degree this valuation may 
be erroneous. It is sufficient objection, however, that the appellant has not 
had the opportunity, which the statute designed to secure, of producing such 
evidence to the trustees as he deemed proper to induce them to increase this 
valuation and thereby lighten the burden of his own taxation. The judgment 
of the supreme court in the case of " The Albany and Schenectady Railroad 
Company v. Osborn " (12 Barbour's Supreme Court Reports, 223) shows that the 
appellant is mistaken in supposing that the value of the stock is to control 
the trustees in judging of the value of that portion of the plank-road in their 
district. They are to assess the road bed precisely as if that portion of it in 
the district belonged to an indi^^dual owner not owning the remainder, unless 
the net annual income of the company over and above all expenses and repairs 
and collection of tolls is less than five per cent upon the original cost of the 
road, in which case the road is exempt from taxation. {Laws of 1854, p. 168.) 
Per V. M. Rice, March 24, 1855. 



Taxes and Taxation. 077 

When the assessment roll of a town is at the county seat in the custody of the board of 
supervisors, and a tax is voted in its absence, it is a sufficient excuse for not making out 
tlie tax list within thirty days after it is voted. The statute is merely directory. 

At a district meeting in the town of Wilson, held November 28, 1848, a tax 
of fifteen dollars was voted for the purpose of furnishing the school with wood 
during the winter. 

The last assessment roll of the town being at the county seat, the trustees 
did not make out the tax list within the time directed by law. Thinking the 
tax had become void, they gave the district clerk a verbal notice to cause a 
special meeting to be held the twentieth day of November for the purpose of 
voting the tax again. The meeting was held and the tax voted. Also a tax 
was voted to repair the school-house, without the proper notice being given. 
Objection being made by some of the inhabitants to this meeting — first, because 
the notice of the trustees was not Avritten, and, second, because a tax was voted 
to repair the school-house without the proper notice-7-the trustees called an- 
other meeting, to be held the twenty-third December, for the same purpose. 
At this meeting the motion to raise the tax for wood was negatived. 

From this vote the trustees appeal. According to a vote of the district at 
the annual meeting, the trustees assumed responsibilities in behalf of the dis- 
trict for which they were directed to raise a tax. Although the tax list may 
not have been made out within thirty days after the tax was voted, no subse- 
quent vote of the district could change their liability to taxation for wood. 
The trustees acted under the direction of the district, and could not therefore 
be made personally responsible, if they acted in good faith. The statute relat- 
ing to the time of making out a tax list is directory merely, and a failure to 
comply with it, through accident or for good reasons, does not render a tax 
that has been voted illegal. The trustees in this case had good reasons for not 
completing the tax list in thirty days, to wit, the absence of the assessment 
roll. The trustees are hereby authorized to levy the tax voted at the annual 
meeting. Per Morgan, January, 1849. 

Where a person voted at a district meeting on the ground that he had fifty dollars in per- 
sonal properly liable to taxation, it is the duty of the trustees to include him in their tax 
list, even though his name be not on the assessment roll of the town ; and, if they neglect 
to do so, the department will set aside their assessment and order them to include the 
person so left out. 

At a district meeting held in district No. 8, Marcy, Oneida county, on the 
18th day of August, 1848, a tax of $100 was voted to be raised by two equal 
installments, for the purpose of building a school-house. 

The trustees made out a tax list for the whole amount, and, after giving the 
notice required by law, and no one appearing before them to claim reduction, 
delivered it, with their warrant attached, to the collector. 

■ Objection is now made to this assessment because persons are not included in 
the tax list who voted at the meeting to raise the tax, upon the qualification 
of having personal property to the amount of fifty dollars liable to taxation. 

In making out the tax list, trustees should assess all the taxable inhabitants 
of their district, whether they are included in the last assessment roll of the 
town or not. But they are not required to include a person in a tax list, upon 
the supposition that he has personal property liable to taxation. They must 
have satisfactory proof of it, as that a person has come into possession of prop- 
erty since the last assessment roll of the town, by inheritance or otherwise, or, 
as in the present jcase, that a person voted at a district meeting under the 
qualification of having fifty dollars personal property liable to taxation. 

The trustees must include such persons in their tax list. It is, therefore, 
hereby decided that the tax list made out by the trustees of district No. 8, 
Marcy, in which all the taxable inhabitants of the district were not included, 
is illegal. Per Morgan, November 20, 1848. 

It is the duty of trustees to assess all persons who voted on the ground of 
having fifty dollars' worth of property, unless before the tax list is made out 

48 



S78 Taxes and Taxation^. 

sucli property is converted into real estate, in wliicli case the latter is to be 
taxed if within the district, and the personal property is to be omitted. Per 
E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, March 25, 18G4. {Letters, vol. 3, pp. 54, 55.) 

A mortgage given to secure the purchase-money of real estate is subject to taxation in the 
district where the mortgagee resides. 

From the statements of the county superintendent in this case it appears 
that on the 12th of March last a tax was voted in district No. 8, in which the 
appellant resides, for the purpose of erecting a school-house, which was duly 
assessed on the taxable inhabitants, according to law, by the trustees, on the 
23d of the same month. At the time of voting the tax the appellant was 
the owner of a farm in the district, which was leased to a tenant whose term 
expired on the 1st of April subsequently. On or about the 18th of March 
intermediate the voting and the assessment of the tax, he sold the farm to a 
non-resident of the district and took a mortgage for the purchase-money, 
stipulating to give possession on the expiration of the lease, from which period 
interest on the amount secured to be paid by the mortgage was to commence. 
The principal question involved in the appeal is. as to the right of the trustees 
to tax the appellant for the amount secured to be paid as the purchase-money 
of the farm sold by him. The county superintendent decided that the trustees 
were legally authorized to include the amount in their tax list, under the head 
of personal property, from which decision the present appeal is brought. The 
rule of law in this respect has been correctly stated by the county superin- 
tendent. It is that, where a farm is sold, the vendor remaining in the district' 
is taxable for the avails of such sale as personal property, whether such avails 
are in the shape of money or securities for its pajonent, while the purchaser or 
his agent, whether resident or non-resident, is taxable for the real estate. In 
the present case the farm of the appellant had been sold and a mortgage exe- 
cuted for the purchase-money prior to the assessment of the tax previously 
voted ; and in accordance with the principle above laid down, the appellant 
was clearly taxable for such purchase-money as personal estate, and the 
purchaser as the non-resident owner of the real estate. Nor can this principle 
be in any respect affected by the arrangement between the parties relative to 
the period when possession was to be taken, or interest to commence running 
on the mortgage. Per S. Young, December 4, 1844. 

A tax by installments cannot be raised for any other purpose than ''for building, hiring or 
purchasing a school-house," and then the tax cannot be raised by installments, unless it 
exceeds ^400 

' (Tax must now exceed $1,000— to be voted in installments.) 

District No. 3, Berlin, Rensselaer county, at a meeting held December 20, 
1855, voted to repair their school-house, build privy and fence, and move the 
house, and that the tax for such purpose should be raised by two annual 
installments. 

The law does not permit the vote of a tax to be raised by installments, for 
any other purpose than that of building, hiring or purchasing a school-house, 
and even in that case the tax must not be raised by installments unless it 
exceeds $400. Per V. M. Rice, February 9, 1856. 

A tax voted for the purchase of a site cannot be raised by installments. A tax list for the 
whole amount must be made out within thirty days from the voting of the tax. 

Tills is an appeal from the proceedings of an adjourned special meeting 
held on the 4th of May last, at which the site of the school-house of the 
district was changed and a tax of $200 voted to build a school-house thereon 
and to fence the site, such tax to be collected in two equal installments, one- 
half on the 1st of September and the remainder on the 1st of December next. 

There is an objection appearing upon the face of the proceedings, which is 
fatal to the validity of the vote for raising the tax for purchasing the site. 
The Superintendent is unable to find any authority in the school law for raising 



Taxes and Taxation. 379 

the amount provided for by the vote of the district iu two instalhnents, one 
payable in September and the other in December next. When a greater sum 
than $400 ($1,000) is directed to be raised for building a school-house, in the 
manner prescribed by section 19, title 7, School Laws, such amount may bo 
raised in equal annual installments, as therein provided ; but where the 
amount to be raised is for the purpose of a site, no provision exists for raising 
such amount by installments, and the law requires the tax list for the whole 
amount to be made out within thirty days from the voting of the tax. The 
resolution referred to was therefore illegal and invalid for this cause, and so 
much of the proceedings of the special meeting appealed from as relates to 
the raising of the tax of $200 to purchase and fence the site, payable in 
installments, as therein specified, is hereby set aside. Per V. M. Rice, Super- 
intendent, June 12, 1854. 

Persons who are by their profession dedicated to the service of God and the cure of souls, 
and having a license to preach, or who have complied with the form and mode of ordina- 
tion, are ministers of the gospel within the law. 

This is a case arising in a school district in Philadelphia, Jefferson county, 
where the trustees doubted the right. of a person claiming to be a clergyman, 
to be exempt from taxation. 

The intention of the law relating to the taxation of property belonging to 
ministers of the gospel must be considered as applicable only to those who are 
by their profession dedicated to the service of God and the cure o.f souls. In a 
church where a license to preach is required, or where a form of ordination is 
necessary, the license should be obtained or the form complied with in order to 
entitle an individual to exemption under the law. I am of opinion that a 
license limited in point of time is sufficient to entitle the individual holding 
it to an exemption for the time during which it continues. Per Dix, June 
11, 1838. 

Non-practicing clergymen not entitled to the reduction of $1,500, made in favor of 
practicing ministers of the gospel. 

Where clergymen have to all intents and purposes given up their profession, 
the fact that they have for a number of years been engaged in business of 
an entirely different character, and have not meanwhile been settled over any 
church as pastor, affords strong ground of presumption, that they have given 
up the practice of their profession. They are not, in my opinion, entitled to the 
reduction of $1,500, which the law makes in favor of practicing ministers of 
the gospel. The intention of the law is to exempt those who are actual 
clergymen practicing their profession, or who, if not practicing it, are not 
engaged in any other business. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, 
November 23, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 561.) 

The personal property of the deceased is taxable in the district where the 
administrator resides. {See sec. 5, title 2, chap. 12, R. S., 5th td.) Per V. M. Rice, 
Superintendent, November 24, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 572.) 

A lot owned by a church, on which there is no church building, is not 
exempt from taxation. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent Public Instruction, 
April 23. 1 866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 325.) 

Where territory is added to a district after tax has been voted to build new school-house, 
but before tax-list for same has been made out and placed in hands of collector, it does 
not affect the action of district in voting tax, and newly gained territory is liable to pay 
its part of tax. 

The addition of territory to a district after a tax has been voted in such dis- 
trict for the purpose of building a new school-house, but before the tax list for 
the same has been made out and placed in the hands of the collector, does not 
affect the action of the district in voting the tax, and the newly acquired ter- 
ritory is liable to pay its proportion of the tax. 



380 Taxes and Taxation. 

A special meeting may, however, be called at any time, and before tbe tax 
list bas been completed by the delivery to the collector the inhabitants may, 
by a majority vote, rescind the resolution authorizing a tax for a new school- 
house. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, November 28, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 585.) 

Trustees act judicially in levying a tax, and this department will not set up its judgment 
in opposition to theirs, as to the correctness of the taxation. 

It is not the business of this department to assess the property of districts, 
nor to make out tax lists. The law imposes that duty on trustees, and to a 
certain extent they act judicially in the discharge of that duty. The supreme 
court has refused to interfere to correct assessments even where it was proved 
that property had been erroneously omitted ; and this department certainly 
does not possess greater power in such cases than the supreme court. 

The department will not set up its judgment in opposition to that of the 
trustees, as to the correctness of the taxation. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
August 18, 1862. 

Distinction between increasing the valuation of real property and increasing the amount 
of personal property considered. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of the trustees in making out a tax list 
and warrant under the authority of a vote of the district, it appears that the 
trustees, in making out the tax list complained of, increased the amount of 
personal property very considerably, while the valuation of the real property 
was copied substantially from the town roll. 

The trustees are directed to ascertain the valuation of taxable property, as 
far as possible, from the assessment rolls ; the discretion concerning valuation 
is, therefore, not given them where the same is determined by the assessors. 
But the persons who are taxable, and the amoimt of taxable property possessed 
by them, the trustees are to determine. 

If, on the assessment roll, they find a man taxed for one hundred acres of 
land, valued at fifty dollars per acre, they cannot change that valuation, though 
they may know that it is richly worth one hundred dollars per acre. But, if 
they find him assessed for one hundred acres of land, when they know that he 
has taxable, within the district, two hundred acres, they may assess him for 
the full amount of his property. But this latter condition is not likely to occur, 
except where property has changed hands, or been increased by accession in 
the way of new buildings or other conspicuous improvements. 

In the assessment of personal property, however, different conditions arise. 
If a man is found assessed for five thousand dollars, when it is known that he 
holds bonds and mortgages to the amount of ten thousand dollars, the error is 
not in the valuation, but in the amount assessed. 

The true rule is that trustees have power to correct an error in the amount 
of property assessed, but not an error in the valuation. 

The appeal must, therefore, be dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superin- 
tendent, December 24, 1858. 

Parcels of land bought of different parties, but all connected with the original farm upon 
which the owner resides, are taxable as one farm in the district of his residence. 

This is an appeal of W. S., a resident and tax payer in district No. 18, from a 
tax assessed by the trustee of district No. 15, upon a parcel of land belonging 
to the appellant, and lying in district No. 15. 

It is in evidence that the appellant is the owner of said parcel of land, that 
he improves, occupies or cultivates it himself, and that it is attached to the 
premises upon which he resides, by an unbroken connection of lands owned 
and occupied by him. 

This, to my mind, establishes his claim to regard these parcels of land, 
bought at different times, of different persons, and lying within the boundaries 
of different districts, as one farm ; the taxation of which, for school purposes, 



Taxes and Taxatioi^. 381 

is carried into that district in which the owner resides. The hardship to the 
district thus deprived of its taxable property must be conceded ; but this is a 
consideration to address to the Legislature. The provisions of the statute are 
now clear and imperative, authorizincr the taxation in the district as above 
stated. The appeal is therefore sustained, and the trustee of No. 15 is directed 
to amend his tax list by omitting therefrom the tax on the parcel of land in 
question. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, June 11, 1860. 

Where trustees make an original assessment, they must give the legal notice of twenty 
days, and permit the party claiming a reduction to be heard at a time and place to be 
designated by the trustees. 

The New York Central Railroad company, by their tax agent Franklin 
Hinchey, bring this appeal from the action of the trustee, in the matter of 
the assessment of a school district tax on the property of said company, which 
assessment it is claimed was illegally made, and is, besides, excessive. The 
assessment complained of is an original assessment made by the trustee, it 
having been found to be impossible to ascertain the valuation of said com- 
pany's property from the last assessment roll of the town, and it was com- 
pleted by him, according to his own statement, on the 24th day of March, 1866. 
It being an original assessment, the trustee was obliged, in accordance with the 
provisions of section 68 of title 7, of the General School Law, to proceed " in 
the same manner as town assessors are required by law to proceed in the 
valuation of 'taxable property." 

He accordingly posted five public notices in conspicuous places, dated March 
24th, 1866, giving notice of the completion of his assessment, and of the fact 
that said list would for the space of twenty days be open to the inspection of 
all parties interested, at the house of the trustee, and also giving notice that 
the said trustee would be personally present on the 7th day of April, 1866, at 
four o'clock, P. M., for the purpose of reviewing said list. It will be observed 
that the twenty days would not expire till the 13th day of April, 1866. The 
law does not aathorize assessors to assemble for the purpose of reviewing their 
assessments, until the day after the expiration of the twenty days' notice which 
they are required to give. {Sec. 18, title 2, chap. 1:5, pai-t 1, R. S.) Now, as 
trustees, in making original assessments, are required to observe the rules 
and regulations prescribed for the government of assessors, it follows that 
notice given by the aforesaid trustee, of a meeting to review his assessments 
before the expiration of the twenty days, was illegal, because unauthorized. 
His notices specified no other time nor place where he would meet*persons dis- 
satisfied with his assessments, and review the same, than that above mentioned. 
On the 10th day of April, 1868, the said company served on the said trustee a 
notice of their claim to a reduction of $3,000 on the assessment against them, 
as made by him. This was three days before the expiration of the twenty 
days' notice to which said company was entitled, and it is nowhere made to 
appear that the said trustee gave notice to said company, or any person whom- 
soever, of a time and place when and where he would, after the expiration of 
the twenty days' notice required by law, meet to consider their claim to a 
reduction. Without meeting the agent of the company, and without giving 
to the company legal notice of a time and place when and where he would 
hear and determine their claim, the said trustee went onward, completed his tax 
list, issued his warrant, and placed them in the hands of the district collector. 
This was wrong and unjust. Tax payers have certain rights which assessors 
or persons acting in the capacity of assessors are bound to respect. These 
rights cannot be lost to them by the arbitrary or illegal action of public 
officers. The company in the present instance had a right to a notice of the 
time and place when and where their claim would be heard by the trustee, 
who has been guilty of nonfeasance sufficient to invalidate the tax list made 
out by him. The assessment made out by the trustee on the 24th day of 
ISIarch, 1866, and the tax list and warrant based thereon, are hereby declared 
illegal and void. Per V. M. Rice, June 6, 1866. 



382 Taxes and Taxation. 

In makino; out a tax list, if the trustees follow the town roll, it will not be held invalid, 
although land belonging to the son is assessed to his father. 

When the town assessors have assessed a minister of the gospel for his property, the trus- 
tees, in making out a tax list, must presume that the $1,500 exemption allowed by statute 
has been made. 

Appellant complains that the trustee, in making out a tax list, pursuant to 
the vote of a special meeting held in the district, April 23, 1867, omitted to tax 
Lucius Stillson for fifty acres of land owned by him, and situated and taxable 
in said district. Also, that one Junius Voorhees, who voted at said special 
meeting, and who has taxable property above the value of fifty dollars, is not 
assessed in said tax list. Also, that appellant is a regularly ordained minister 
of the gospel, and that he claimed an exemption of $1,500 on that account, 
which respondent refused to allow. Eespondent shows that said Lucius Still- 
son is a young unmarried man living with his father, and that said fifty acres 
of land is assessed to the father on said tax list, the same as on the town roll. 
This being the case, the appellant is not aggrieved, the land is taxed, which is 
the important thing, and the appellant has no grounds of complaint, even 
admitting that the land was assessed to the wrong person. In regard to Voor- 
hees, the respondent shows that he is not assessed on the town roll, and that 
he has no knowledge of any taxable property in his (Voorhees') possession. In 
making out tax lists, trustees are not bound to vary from the town roll in 
regard to personal property, except from personal knowledge of an alter- 
ation since the town roll was made, or to correct a known or an acknowledged 
error. I do not see, therefore, that the trustee is at fault in the matter com- 
plained of. 

Concerning the assessment of appellant, respondent shows that he followed 
the town roll, and assessed him $1,830 on property worth at least $5,000. 
Appellant does not show that the town assessors did not reduce his valuation 
to the amount of $1,500, on account of his being a minister of the gospel, 
and, not having proved the contrary, the presumption is that the assessors 
performed their duty and allowed such reduction, if he was entitled to it. 
The appeal has failed to establish any real grievance on the part of appel- 
lant, and it must be, and is hereby, dismissed. Per V. M. Rice, August 17, 
1867. 

When the board of education or trustees make an original assessment of personal property, 
and the person assessed does not appear to answe'r such questions as may be put to him 
in relation to his estate, but presents by his attorney an insufficient and xmsatisfactory 
affidavit, a reduction of the assessment will be denied. 

On or about January 24, 1867, the board of education made out a tax list 
for the collection of a district tax, upon which the appellant was assessed for 
$50,000 personal property. Upon the last assessment roll of said town, appel- 
lant is not assessed for personal property. Notice was given to appellant of the 
assessment made against him by said board of education, and at the appointed 
time he appeared before said board by attorney, and submitted an affidavit 
setting forth that he had no personal estate whatever over his indebtedness, 
"excepting certain government bonds, not taxable." He thereupon claimed a 
reduction to the full amount of the assessment against him. The board 
declined to reduce said assessment, whereupon this appeal is brought ; the 
appellant claiming that said board have exceeded their jurisdiction, in making 
an original assessment, when he is not assessed for personal estate on the town 
roll, a^d that, even if they were not bound by the town roll, they were bound 
to reduce his assessment upon the statements contained in the affidavit sub- 
mitted by him and heretofore mentioned. 

In regard to the first point, as to whether the board of education exceeded 
their jurisdiction in making an original assessment, the law says : " The valua- 
tion of taxable property shall be ascertained, so far as possible, from the last 
assessment roll of the town, after re\asion by the assessors." When the valua- 
tion of taxable property cannot be ascertained from the last assessment roU of 



Taxes and Taxation. 383 

the towm, the trustees shall ascertain the true value of the property to be taxed 
from the best e\'id.ence in their power, giving notice to the persons interested, 
and proceeding in the same manner as the town assessors are required by law 
to proceed in the valuation of taxable property. {Sees. 67 and 68, title 7, chap. 
555, Laivs of 1864.) 

From the above it is e\adent that, when a board of trustees acquire juris- 
diction, they have the same powers that are possessed by a board of town 
assessors. 

The rule in regard to variations from the town assessment roll in the matter 
of the valuation of personal estate is more stringent than that in regard to 
the valuations of real estate. Not^\atlistanding this fact, the rule is broad 
enough to give the board of education jurisdiction in this case. Trustees 
cannot assess an individual for personal property if he has been taxed for 
none on the last assessment roll of the town, on the mere supposition that he 
may have more than his debts amount to. Tfie assessment roll of the town 
settles that matter, and the trustees cannot vary the amount but from some 
knowledge of an alteration after that roll was made out, or to correct some 
known and acknowledged error. [John A. Dix, Common School Decisions, 
842.] 

It is claimed by the board that they had knowledge of an increase in the 
appellant's personal estate, after the last town assessment roll was made out, 
though the appellant characterizes their statements as vague and indefinite, 
and denies their truth. 

It is an undisputed fact that, at the time the board of education made out 
their tax list as aforesaid, they were convinced that the taxable personal estate 
of the appellant amounted to $50,000. This being the case, it was their duty 
to make an original assessment so as to include such property, because, if 
such property had been acquired since the town roll was made out, they would 
be varying the amount from knowledge of an alteration after such roll was 
completed, while, if the appellant possessed the same property at the time the 
town roll was made out, and the assessors failed to include it in their roll, 
such failure was an error sufficient to justify the board in making a new 
assessment under the last clause of the rule above quoted. 

It is a case in which the true value of the property in question could not be 
ascertained from the town assessment roll, and where, therefore, it became the 
duty of the board to proceed in the same manner that town assessors are by 
law reqmred to proceed in ascertaining the value of taxable property. This 
they did, and the appellant, through his attorney, submitted an affidavit 
claiming reduction. The statements contained in said affidavit have already 
been set forth. They were unsatisfactory, and as the appellant was not 
present, and as his attorney was not authorized to make additional statements, 
nor to answer such questions as would have been pertinent, and which the 
board had power to ask, the claim for reduction was properly denied. I say 
the appellant's affidavit is unsatisfactory, because he makes himself the judge 
of certain questions which it was the province of the board to decide. He 
does not state what his property is, but says : " I have no personal property 
subject to taxation under the laws of the State of New York. I have no 
personal estate whatever, over and above the amount of my indebtedness, 
except certain bonds of the United States, etc." Thus, for all that is shown in 
the affidavit, he may ha\e deducted his entire indebtedness from his taxable 
personal estate, lea^ing only the non-taxable over and above such indebted- 
ness. That would be a species of sharp practice which assessors ought not to 
allow. I see no good reason for interfering with the action of the board of 
education in this matter, and the appeal is, therefore, hereby dismissed. Per 
V. M. Rice, July 8, 1867. 



384 Taxes and Taxation. 

Where town assessment roll is corrected by the assessors, or adopted by them without cor- 
rection, it is henceforth the assetisment roll of the town for all district taxes. Board of 
supervisors having equalized taxation, addition or subtraction of a percentage does not 
change proportionate valuation between inhabitants of same town; but, in joint districts, 
supervisors are to determine the relative proportion of taxes to be assessed upon real 
property of parts lying in each town. 

When the town assessment roll is corrected by the assessors, or finally 
adopted by them after notice of its completion without correction, it becomes 
the assessment roll of the town for the purpose of all district taxes thereafter. 
The equalization by the board of supervisors being made, the addition or sub- 
traction of a percentage does not change the proportionate valuation as between 
inhabitants of the same town, and is, therefore, to be disregarded. In joint 
districts, however, the statute [section 69, title 7, chapter 555 of 1854], provides 
for equalization by the board of superintendents (supervisors) of the several 
towns of which the district is oomposed. They are to determine " the relative 
proportion of taxes which ought to be assessed upon the real property of the 
parts " lying in each town. The proper course is to find, in the first place, the 
aggregate valuation of the part lying in Sherburne from that town roll, of 
that lying in Hamilton from the Hamilton roll, tha^t in Lebanon from the 
Lebanon roll. 

Suppose the aggregate valuations of the parts to be — Sherburne, $25,000, 
Lebanon, $30,000, and Hamilton, $45,000. You are to inquire if these are 
substantially just, as compared with each other. If it appears unjust, then 
add and subtract until you obtain the fair proportion, according to your judg- 
ment, of the value of the property. Suppose that you arrive at the determi- 
nation that the Sherbiirne part ought to be valued at $35,000, Lebanon at 
$26,000, and Hamilton at $39,000 — making the same aggregate, you will 
observe. Then you reduce your determination to writing, stating therein 
that, in all taxes for school purposes thereafter to be raised in the joint dis- 
trict, thirty-five cents of every dollar thereof ought to be assessed upon the 
real property of the part of such district Ij^ng in the town of Sherburne, 
according to the valuation of such property in the corrected assessment roll 
of Sherburne which shall last precede the making out of such tax, twenty- 
six cents of every dollar in Lebanon, and thirty-nine cents, etc., etc., in Hamil- 
ton. 

The trustees, in making out future taxes, will have to use all these rolls, 
and it is desirable, though not imperative, that you should facilitate their labor 
by giving them the proportions in decimals of a dollar. Per E. Peshine Smith, 
Deputy Superintendent, March 23, 1855. {Letters, vol. 2, p. 280.) 

Where it is claimed that land lying in one district is taxable in another adjoining, by virtue 
of its being part of a parcel, upon which the owner lives, in such adjoining district, that 
fact must be clearly proved. 

The primary condition of real property, rendering it liable to taxation in a 
given town, ward or district, is that the property shall lie within the bounds 
of such town, ward or district. Every instance in which this condition is ful- 
filled without the corresponding liability attaching must be regarded as 
exceptional, and these exceptions must be strictly construed, according to the 
spirit of the exceptional provision. It is claimed for the land in question that 
it is embraced in the exceptional provisions of the statute, exempting it from 
taxation where it lies by virtue of its being taxable in another district which 
it joins. The language of the statute is as follows : " The trustee shall appor- 
tion the tax on all taxable inhabitants of the district, * * * according 
to the valuation of the taxable property, which shall be owned or possessed by 
them at the time of making out such list, within such district, or partly within 
such district and partly within an adjoining district." 

Here is the only provision conferring upon the trustees of a district authority 
to assess upon their tax lists lands not lying within the bounds of their district. 
This power must be exercised strictly according to the letter of the statute. 



Taxes and Taxation. 385 

The natural legal presumption is that the trustees have not exceeded their 
legitimate authority, and that the property lying within the limits of a given 
district is taxable in that district. 

This presimiption can only be overcome by the production of affirmative 
and conclusive proof to the contrary. It has ever been the policy of this 
department, in cases of doubt concerning the liability of laud to taxation for 
school purposes in either of two districTS respectively, to give the benefits of 
the doubt to the district in which the land should lie. This appears to me to 
be sound policy, conforming to the evident spirit and intention of the statute, 
.and controlled by the spirit of equity, by which, when not in direct contraven- 
tion of law, this department will be guided. The conditions contemplated 
by the statute must be affirmatively proved before the presumptions above 
referred to will be overcome. Per E. W. Keves, Acting Superintendent, May 
16, 18(51. 

The farm of a non-resident occnpied by a tenant, with an agreement on the part of the latter 
to pay the tase?, may be assessed to such tenant, or to the owner, in the discretion of the 
trustees. 

Trustees may modify or correct the tax list any time before delivery to the collector. 

By section 1, chapter 176, Laws of 1851, "Lands occupied by a person other 
than the owner may be assessed to the o\^'ner or occupant, or as non-resident 
land." 

It was evidently the intention of the Legislature by this statute to give to 
assessors and to trustees a discretionary power to assess lands not occupied by 
the owner, that the tax might be more easily or certainly collected. Accord- 
ingly, the trustees must exercise their discretion as to whom such lands shall 
be assessed. 

The signing of a tax list is merely a ministerial act, and is not a final and 
conclusive act of judgment. The warrant has no operative force until it is 
delivered to the collector, and the trustees may, therefore, at any time after 
signing but before delivering it to the collector, alter or modify it, without 
rendering it void. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, April 9, 1863. 

When a person ceases to be an inhabitant of a district after a district tax is voted and before 
the expiration of tlie time allowed trustees in Avhich to make out their tax list, he should 
be omitted from such tax list. 

On the 9tli day of February, 1857, the appellant made a contract for the sale 
of his farm in the district, stipulating therein to execute a deed and transfer 
possession on the first day of April following. On the first day of April the 
contract was executed on both sides. 

On the 14th day of March, 1857, after the equitable title to the farm of the 
appellant had been alienated by him, but before the freehold had legally passed, 
a district meeting voted a tax to build a school-house. The tax list was made 
out on the 30th day of March, and the appellant was included therein as the 
owner of the farm. He was notified of the fact, and on the next day removed 
from the district and became the resident of another. 

It is obviously just that the tax for a permanent improvement in a district 
shotild be borne by those who are to receive the benefit of it, and those who 
in good faith cease to be inhabitants before the expenditure for such improve- 
ments is made should be exempted from contribution whenever the letter of 
the statute will permit. 

Trustees are directed by the law to make out their tax list -u-ithin thirty days 
after the meeting at which the tax is voted, and it is made their duty to deliver 
the same to the collector after the expiration of thirty days. A^liere a person 
has, during that time, ceased to be an inhabitant of the district in pursuance of 
an arrangement previously made, he ought to be exempted, and the person 
who, under such circumstances, became the owner of the property, should bear 
the burden of an expenditure by which its value is permanently increased. 
Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, June 17, 1857. 

49 



386 Taxes and Taxation. 

A person set off from one district to another, by an order that does not take effect until three 
uioiiths after its issue, will be liable on any taxes levied in the district from which he is 
set off, prior to the taking effect of such order. 

In Marcli, 1857, an order was made, by the school commissioner having juris- 
diction, transferring the lands of the appellant and others, from district No. 1 
to district Xo. 2. The trustees of Xo. 1 ha^^ng withheld their consent, this 
order \iill not take effect till the expiration of three months from the first day 
of April, 1857, when notice thereof was served. While the alteration was 
inchoate, the district meeting was held, against the proceedings of which this 
appeal is directed, and a tax to defray the expenses of changing site and build- 
ing a new school-house was voted. The appellant objects that the effect \nll 
be to charge him -with the pajTnent of a tax for constructing a school-house 
from which he is to receive no benefit. 

Held, that this was a proper consideration for the judgment Ox the inhabit- 
ants of district Xo. 1, in determining whether they would build at once or post- 
pone till after the alteration should have taken effect. The appellant continues 
an inhabitant of the district for all purposes until the first day of July. If the 
appellant is set off from the district without his consent, he will be exempted 
from paying a tax for building in Xo. 2, for four years. If he has given his 
consent, he is responsible for all the consequences, and cannot be permitted to 
trammel the action of either district for the purpose of avoiding any personal 
charge or inconvenience. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, June 2, 1857. 

Assessment of a bond and mortgage as personal property is good, but at the same time 
assessing the owner thereof for the farm upon which he holds the mortgage, and upon 
which he resides only temporarily, discountenanced. 

This is an appeal of J. P. from an assessment against him on a tax list made 
out by the sole trustee. The facts upon which the appellant relies are as fol- 
lows : On or about the first of October, 1859, he agreed to sell to one D. B. 
the farm then owned and occupied by said appellant. The agreement contem- 
plated that the purchase-money ($12,000) should be paid on the first of April 
following, at which time possession of the said premises was to be given. A 
regular deed of conveyance was executed by the owner to the purchaser, and a 
regular bond and mortgage conditioned for the payment of the purchase- 
money was given on the other hand. These conveyances were all duly 
recorded. The position that the appellant maintains is that this deed was not 
a sale or conveyance, but a convenient substitute for a contract of sale, and 
that the mortgage not being given for an actual, but merely for a contingent 
indebtedness, is not personal property liable for taxation. 

I fail to apprehend this matter in the light in which the appellant presents 
it. The propriety of going back of the records to inquire into their meaning, 
is, upon an application of this kind, extremely doubtful, to say the least. But 
if we were to do this, we find that there has been, in good faith, duly executed, 
a deed of conveyance. Both parties so regard it. Clearly, to my mind, D. B. 
is in law and in fact the owner of the farm herein spoken of. By the purchase 
of the said farm, he became indebted to the appellant in the sum of $12,000, 
for which he executed the mortgage before named. This can be regarded as 
no other than personal property, as defined in part 1, chapter 13, title 1, section 
3, Revised Statutes, 4th edition, and as such liable for taxation for school pur- 
poses under section 85, chapter 480, Laws of 1847. I do not see how, under 
the statute, the trustee could exercise any discretion. His duty was plain and 
unavoidable. 

Concerning the taxation of the farm, the trustee could, under section 1, 
chapter 176, Laws of 1851, assess it to the owner or occupant, or as non-resident 
lands. He exercised the discretion thus conferred and assessed it to the appel- 
lant as " occupant." I should be disposed to give considerable weight to the 
presumption of the just exercise of this discretion, if it were true, as alleged, 
that the appellant, as tenant, can recover the amount thus paid from the owner. 
By reference to the statute, section 88, chapter 480, Laws of 1847, it w^ill be 



Taxes and Taxation. 387 

seen that the purposes for wliicli this tax was le\ded will bar any recovery 
from the owner by the tenant. The appellant is theretore without any remedy 
under the statute. Under this aspect of the case, I cannot but think it just 
and right to have assessed the farm to D. B., the owner. 

The general conclusion at which I arrive is, therefore, that the assessment 
of the bond and mortgage to the appellant as personal property is right and 
legal, but that the farm occupied by him should be assessed to the owner, D. 
B. ; and the trustee is authorized and directed to amend his tax list by assess- 
ing the tax on said farm as above indicated. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superin- 
tendent, April 23, 1860. 



A stockholder in a national banking association Is liable to be taxed for personal property 
in the district where the bank is located, on the amount of stock owned by him in such 
bank. 

In the matter submitted by the trustees of district No. 1, Kingsbury. Wash- 
ington county, and A. F. Hitchcock, a non-resident of said district, the following 
facts appear : 

The First National Bank of Sandy Hill is located, and does business within 
said district No. 1. A. F. Hitchcock is a stockholder in said bank, but does 
not reside in said district. 

The trustees have assessed the said A. F. Hitchcock, upon a tax list made 
out by them in said district, for the amount of stock owned by him in said 
bank, and have taxed him thereon. 

The question presented is whether such assessment is lawfully made, and 
hence whether the tax levied thereon can be lawfully collected. 

The capital of these national banks is, by law of Congress, required to be 
invested in bonds or securities of the United States, and the stocks, bonds, or 
other securities of the United States are, by another act of Congress (the 
constitutionality of which has been affirmed by the supreme court of the 
United States) exempted from taxation by any State. Hence, it follows that 
the First National Bank of Sandy Hill is not, as a corporation, liable to 
taxation on its capital invested in United States securities. 

The act of Congress, passed June 3, 1864, authorizing the formation of 
national banking associations, provides, however, " That nothing in this act 
shall be construed to prevent all the shares in any of the said associations, 
held by any person or body corporate, from being included in the valuation of 
the personal property of such person or corporation in the assessment of taxes 
imposed by or under State authority, at the place where such bank is located, 
and not elsewhere." 

While, therefore, the capital of the banking association is, by the act of 
Congress, exempt from State or local taxation, the shares of stock owned by 
any individual or corporation in such association, are not exempt, but are left 
to the operation of the State laws concerning taxation, under certain limita- 
tions, one of which is that such shares shall be assessed only at the place 
where the bank is located. 

It must follow that the trustees of the district where Mr. Hitchcock resides 
can have no power to assess him for the shares owned by him in a bank 
located in another district. Discussion as to the policy or justice of these 
provisions is fruitless ; our only concern is with the law as it stands, and in 
this view the above conclusion appears inevitable. 

We have only to inquire further whether there is aiithority under the laws 
of this State for the assessment of these shares of Mr. Hitchcock by the 
trustees of district No. 1, where the bank is located. To determine this 
qiiestion, reference must of course be made to the laws of this State relating 
to taxation. Those pertinent to the issue are the following : " All lands and 
all personal estate within this State, whether owned by individuals or by 
corporations, shall be liable to taxation, subject to the exemptions hereinafter 
specified." (1 R. S. [oih ed.,] 905, ^1.) 



388 Taxes axd Taxation. 

Tlie terms " personal estate " and " personal property," wherever tliey occur 
in this chapter, shall be construed to include (among other things enumerated) 
stocks in moneyed corporations. (1 R. S. \pth ed.], 907, § 4.) ■ 

" The owner or holder of stock in any incorporated company, liable to 
taxation on its capital, shall not be taxed as an individual for such stock." 
(1 E S. [oth cd.], 907. § 14.) 

From the above citations we cannot fail to draw the following conclusions • 
• 1. That all personal property not exempted is liable to taxation ; 

2. That shares of stock in a banking association, incorporated by whatever 
authority, are " personal property ; " 

3. That the capital of a national bank, being exempt from taxation (not lia- 
ble thereto), under the operation of the higher law of the United States, the 
owner or holder of stock in such banking association is not relieved from lia- 
bility to taxation on such stock by virtue of section fourteen above cited. 

Ordinarily, these banking associations would be taxed as a unit — a corporate 
body — ^but the supreme law of the land, the act of Congress, has decreed that 
they shall not be taxed in that way. It has not overruled the law of the 
State, which says they shall be taxed, but has directed that the tax shall 
be assessed upon the shares of the individual or corporate holders thereof. 
The trustees thus derive their authority to tax or assess these shares from two 
sources of power — State and national. The State gives the power to assess and 
prescribes the mode ; the national government yields assent to the power to 
assess, but overrules, in this particular instance, the mode, substituting its own. 
The result is precisely the same under the operation of the law of Congress 
that it would be under the operation of the State law. 

Believing, therefore, that the trustees of district Xo. 1, Kingisbury, have 
acted under the authority of the law in the assessment referred t-o, and that, to 
have omitted to make this assessment in the way it was made, would be to 
have exempted the stock in said bank from any taxation whatever for school 
purposes, I can do no less than approve and affirm their action. Per E. W. 
Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, December 8, 1864. 

Where fhe inhabitants at a district meetino; direct the trustees to do an act which they are 
authorized hy law to direct, as the removal of a school-house, the trustees may levy a tax 
to defray the expense, without a vote of the district. 

The inhabitants of district Xo. 17, town of Wilna, voted a new site for the 
school-house, and directed the trustees to move the house by a " bee." 

The trustees made a "bee," but, there not being much of a "turn out " on 
the part of the inhabitants, they were only able to get the school-house into 
the highway. Foreseeing the difficulty attending the removal by such means, 
and not receiving the requisite aid, the trustees moved the school-house to the 
site selected at an expense of twenty-five dollars. 

A special meeting was called on the 4th December, 1847, without stating 
the object of it in the notices, at which a tax was A'oted to meet the expenses 
of the trustees. Only four legal voters were present at the meeting. 

The vote directing the trustees to move the house by a " bee " was void, as 
they could have no authority over voluntary aid, and could not depend upon 
it as a means of moving the school-house. 

When the inhabitants of a district direct the trustees to perform a work 
where expenses are to be incurred, the trustees are authorized to raise the 
amount thereof, by tax, without a vote of the district. In this case the trustees 
would necessarily incur an expense in mo^^llg the school-house, which is 
chargeable to the district and can be collected by tax the same as if it were 
voted. {School Lau's, Xo. 134.) And although the vote of December 4, 1847, to 
raise the tax was illegal on account of the want of proper notice, the levying 
of the tax was legal on the ground that the trustees possessed the requisite 
power Tvithout a vote of the district to raise the tax. {Section 51, title 7, 
chapter 555, Laws of 1864.) 

The appeal is dismissed. Per A. G. Johnson, Deputy Superintendent, 
August 3, 1848. 



Taxes axd Taxation. 389 

In case of vacancy two or even one trustee may do any official act. 

The expense of investigating a title is a part of the expeuse of a site, and may De legally 
iucliKled in a tax. 

\Yhen a vacancy exists in the office of trustee, the remaining trustees are 
expressly authorized by law to call a meeting of the inhabitants to fill such 
vacancy,' and the inhabitants when legally assembled at any annual or special 
meeting have power to raise a tax for the various purposes recognized by law\ 
There is no doubt that two, or even one trustee, may legally do any official act 
dixring the actual existence of a vacancy in the office of their or his colleagues. 

It Ims been held that the expense of' recording a deed may be included in a 
tax for purchasing a site, inasmuch as it is necessary to perfect the title. On 
the same principle, the expense of investigating the title is a necessary part 
of the expense of procuring a site. Per Yoimg, April 25, 1843. 

A tax may be voted, levied and collected in a school district to purchase a site and school- 
house, but the money cannot be applied until a valid title is obtained. 

The appellants in this case seek to set aside the proceedings of a special 
meeting held in district Xo. 9, on the 29th of November last, at which resolu- 
tions were adopted for the purchase of a new site and house, upon the ground 
that a valid legal title cannot be obtained to such site and house. They allege 
that the house was built by private subscription, and is now owmed by various 
persons in and out of the district, some of w^hom will not consent to transfer 
their right to the district. This allegation, vague and general as it is, is 
explicitfy met and denied by the trustees, who assert that they can procm*e a 
good title. This question of title, however, is one which cannot come up at. 
this stage of the proceedings. The tax voted may legally be levied and col- 
lected, but cannot be applied until a valid legal title is obtained. 

From the proofs before him, the Superintendent entertains no doubt of the 
sufficiency of the title, and so much of the appeal as relates to this portion of 
the proceedings of the meeting is therefore dismissed. Per Morgan, January 
18, 1851. 

When a tax list has been made out, but not delivered to the collector, it is no objection to 
the trustees calling another meeting of the inhabitants to reconsider the proceedings of 
the meeting at which the tax was" voted, if requested by a respectable number of the 
inhabitants. 

In this case, the appellants seek to set aside the proceedings of a special 
meeting, held on the 20tli of February last, at which a previous vote of the 
district relative to the length of time during which a school should be taught 
was reconsidered, and a less period adopted. Under the preceding vote, the 
tax list had been made out by the trustees, but the w^arrant had not heen 
delivered to the collector. The Superintendent is of opinion that under such 
circumstances it w^as legally competent to the inhabitants to reconsider the 
previous vote. Per Morgan, April 23, 1850. 

In making out a tax list, all the trustees must be consulted and act together. 

Two of the trustees of district No. 1, Hornby, Steuben county, made out a tax 
list wit'hout notifying or consulting witli the third. The other trustee and 
Mr. Chalion Headley appealed, and asked that the said tax list be set aside, 
without pointing out any error or alleging any special grievance. 

It is a clear and undoubted principle that the public have the right to the 
counsel and service of all the members of a board of trustees, and of every 
other tribunal, in all their doings which involve the exercise of discretion and 
judgment. The making out of a tax list is of this character. The trustees 
have to determine who are taxable inhabitants, and for what amount they 
shall be respectively assessed. It is true that, upon examination, they may 
ascertain that the taxable inhabitants of their district are the same persons 
and no other than those enumerated in the last completed town assessment 
roll, and that their property respectively remains, without any variation, as it 



390 Taxes and Taxation. 

did at tlie time sucli roll was completed. That determination having been 
reached, the duty of copying so much of the assessment roll as relates to the 
inhabitants and property of their district is a purely clerical one, which may 
as well be discharged by one trustee as by three. It is, however, always a 
preliminary question, whether such be the fact, and the public have an interest 
that each of the trustees should be heard upon this question. A trustee who is 
absent might know and be able to show his colleagues that a particular 
inhabitant had received a large accession to his personal property, and thus 
reduce the contribution of every other tax payer. 

The appeal is therefore sustained and the proceedings of the trustees declared 
irregular. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, November 8, 1855, 

The trustees of a school district have no power to correct a tax list after a portion of the 
tax has been collected, without permission from the Department of Public Instruction. 

The town superintendent of Crown Point having, February 19, 1847, regu- 
larly formed a new district in said town, served a notice upon Aaron T. Town- 
send, a taxable inhabitant of said district, together with a copy of the order 
forming the district, requiring him to notify each taxable inhabitant of a dis- 
trict meeting to be held on the first of March following. Accordingly, notice 
was given to the inhabitants by notifying them of the time and place of holding 
the meeting. 

A meeting was held on the 1st of March, and adjourned to the 15th, at which 
a tax was voted to build a school-house. The tax list was made out by the 
trustees within thirty days, as required by law, and was put into the hands 
of the collector on the 22d of January, 1848. On the 5th of February, the 
trustees corrected the tax list without the approval of this department, having 
discovered errors in it, and, attaching the corrected list to the old warrant, 
delivered it to the collector. This was an irregularity on the part of the trus- 
tees after a portion of the tax had been collected. The original tax list is the 
one which is in force, and if the trustees have discovered an error in it they 
may, after refunding any amount that may have been collected on such tax 
list, if the same shall be required, amend and correct such tax list in conformity 
to law, and redeliver it to the collector with the old warrant attached. Per 
Morgan, June, 1848. 

A tax list, made out by one of the trustees and signed by two of them, without notice to, or 
consultation with, the third trustee, will be set aside. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of two of the trustees in making out a 
tax list, it appears that the said tax list was made out by one of them and issued 
with the signature of but two attached, the third not having been consulted 
concerning it. 

The statute expressly requires the trustees to meet and act together in deter- 
mining the assessment ; and, in the instructions from this department in the 
circular containing the amendment to the school law, passed April 12, 1858, 
this point was especially dwelt upon, and the liability of trustees was distinctly 
set forth. 

I have, therefore, no alternative but to declare the tax list invalid, and to 
order the trustees to meet together for the purpose of making out a new one. 
Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, January 4, 1859. 

The form of a tax list is deemed important. 

The form of the tax list is of more importance than is generally conceived, 
and there is no reason why that prescribed in the Code of Public Instruction 
should not be followed. It might not vitiate the tax list that its form was not 
precisely like that required by law, but it affords a substantial ground for 
directing the trustees again to make out their list. Per H. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, March 25, 1858. 



Taxes and Taxation. 391 

The authority for levj-ing a tax must not be indefinite. Taxes should be specifically voted^ 
At the annvial meeting the trustees presented their report of the receipts and 
disbursements of money for the past year, with a statement of the expenses 
already incurred, which they had no means to meet, and of necessary expenses 
for the ensuing year, and recommended that a tax be levied for the purpose of 
paying such arrearages and such expenses as were set forth in the statement. 
This report of the trustees was adopted, and the appeal relates to the action of 
the meeting in adopting said report. 

I concur fully with the appellants in the opinion that the adoption of the 
report of the trustess does not authorize the levy of a tax agreeable to the 
recommendations therein contained. A tax must be specifically voted before it 
can be lawfully levied or collected. The adoption of the report by the meeting 
is merely to be regarded as an approval of the recommendations of the trustees, 
without authorizing their enforcement. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superin- 
tendent, December 3, 1859. 

A vote to raise by tax a certain sum to build a school-house, the same to be paid at dis- 
cretion in labor or materials, is illegal and void. 

A district voted to raise a tax of $150, for the purpose of building a school- 
house, with the privilege of paying said tax in labor and material. The 
trustees made out a tax list for the amount, and enforced the collection of it. 
Held, that the Code prescribes but one mode of proceeding in the assess- 
ment and collection of taxes, and evidently recognizes but one material as a 
lawful tender in payment thereof. If, therefore, the district vote to raise a tax, 
and prescribe any other mode of collection, or any other material as lawful in 
payment, they and the statute are in conflict, and the trustees, if they proceed 
to collect the tax at all, must do so in the mode prescribed by law. But the 
interest of the inhabitants in imposing these conditions is evidently to have 
the tax collected in that manner or not at all. It may be safely assumed that 
the inducement with many to vote the tax was the accommodation afforded 
by the conditions annexed, and that without these they would have opposed 
the tax. The department must, therefore, regard this as one of those cases of 
complicated action, in which the dependence of several provisions is so intricate, 
that invalidity in any part renders the whole invalid. Per H. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, September 14, 1857. 

A tax may be voted to pay expenses beyond estimates expended by trustees in building an 
authorized school-house. 

A tax was voted to defray the excess beyond the estimates expended by the 
trustees in building a new school-house, from which vote there is an appeal. 

Held, that a majority of those present and voting was sufficient to give valid- 
ity to the resolution, and that the appeal must be dismissed. Per V. M. Rice 
Superintendent, January 11, 1856. 

A district has no power to exempt any inhabitant from taxation in consideration of a gift 

by him of a site. 

A taxable inhabitant was intentionally omitted in the tax list, in considera- 
tion of his having given half an acre of land for the site of the school-house. 
Held, on appeal, that the trustees are required by law to assess every tax upon 
all the taxable inhabitants of the district, and that a district meeting has no 
power to relieve them from this obligation. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
February 4, 1857. 

When a special meeting had voted a tax for building a new house, and had adjourned four 
weeks to consider proposals for building, and at the adjourned meeting voted to rescind 
the vote levying the tax, the vote to rescind was legal and valid, even though the tax list 
had been made out, and a part of the tax voluntarily paid. 

At a special meeting duly called a vote was taken and carried, ayes 28, noes 
24, to raise $1,000 by tax on the district, for the purpose of building a new 
school-house. The meeting then adjourned for four weeks for the purpose of 



392 Taxes and Taxatiox. 

receiving propositions, tliat miglit meantime be submitted to the trustees, 
relative to site. At the adjourned meeting a motion ^-as carried to reconsider 
the vote of tlie last meeting, after ^vhicli the meeting adjourned sine die. 

In the mean time the tax list for the $1,000 had been made out, and a part 
of the same had been voluntarily collected before the adjourned meeting ; but 
this will avail nothing, as the trustees could not issue their warrant till the 
expiration of thirty days after the tax was voted. Xo legal collection could 
therefore have been made before that time. Voluntary payments may have 
been made which the trustees would be authorized to receive, but these are 
not such collections as the courts contemplate in order to place the repeal of a 
tax levy beyond the power of a district meeting. 

It is assumed by the appellants that, the special meeting being adjourned for 
a specific purpose, no other business could be transacted than that specified in 
the notice for adjournment. This is an error. The meeting was competent to 
transact any business brought before it. 

From the evidence before me, I am compelled to regard the proceedings of 
the adjourned meeting as a fair expression of the will of the district tipon 
levying the tax, and it is unfavorable to such action. The vote at the adjourned 
meeting is much larger than that at the special meeting ; it is plain, therefore, 
that no advantage was taken of the absence of any considerable number of 
the voters by the majority in their vote to rescind the tax. Under these cir- 
cimistances, therefore, the proceedings of the adjourned meeting are declared 
legal and are herebv afiirmed. Per H. H. Van Dvck, Superintendent, February 
18, 1858. 

Objection to a tax list on the ground that property is omitted therefrom must be taken 

in time. 

The primary objection to this appeal is that the appellants neglected the 
natural and proper remedy, provided by law, for the errors herein complained 
of. It is alleged that certain property has been omitted from the tax list that 
should be assessed. The trustees made an original assessment, and gave the 
notices reqtiired by lav/. These appellants did not appear to compare their 
assessment with others, but suffered the warrant to go into the hands of the 
collector before making any obj ection. I think they are precluded, by their 
own neglect, from anv relief at the hands of this department. Per H. H. Van 
Dyck, Superintendent, March 21, 1860. 

Where a tax is voted to build a school-house, the trustees are not required, tmles? by a 
direct vote of the district, to deduct from that sum the proceeds of the sale of the old 
house. 

On an appeal from a tax list made out by the trustees, the objection raised 
is that the sum for which the old house was sold was not deducted from the 
amount of tax voted to build a new house. 

"Whatever may have been the law upon this point formerly, there is now no 
requirement that the proceeds of the sale of the old house shall be applied to 
the reduction of the tax voted for a new house, unless the inhabitants by their 
votes so direct. 

Appeal dismissed. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 5, 1863. 

Where trustees are authorized to build a school-house of certain dimensions, and they 
slightly varv from these dimensions by causing the house to be built larger, paying for 
the excess out of their own funds, the district must pay such sum as the house would 
have cost if built of the specified size. 

The trustees were instructed to build a house 24 feet long by 20 feet wide. 
They made the contract accordingly; but, in order to use the old foundation, and 
thereby save the expense of laying new, they agreed with the builder to 
construct the house of the same 'size as the old one, viz., 26 by 22 feet, and the 
difference in price thev airreed to pay out of their own pockets. The contract 
for building of the size authorized by the district was §280. The trustees also 



Teacher. . 393 

incurred an expense of four dollars for removing the rubbisli around tlie 
building. Some persons refused to pay tlieir portion of tlie tax of $284 levied 
by tlie trustees to pay for the house, and, at a district meeting called to ratify 
the action of the trustees, the meeting refused to ratify. From this refusal the 
tri'.stees appeal. 

Held, that the trustees substantially complied with the resolution of the 
district, and that the tax of $284, for building the house of the original size, 
and removing the rubbish, was properly and legally levied, and may be col- 
lected. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, September 12, 1856. 



TEACHER. 

Where a teacher is improperly dismissed, he is entitled to fall wages for the period named 

in the contract. 

A. B. Brayley had been employed to teach school in district No. 1, in the 
town of Carroll, for four months, at thirteen dollars per month. After he had 
taught two and a half months, some of the inhabitants withdrew their children. 
For various causes, others followed their example, until the school dwindled 
down to two or three scholars, when the trustees ordered him to quit, about 
three weeks before the expiration of his term, upon the understanding that he 
should complete it if called upon. 

A special meeting, subsequently held, passed a vote to pay the teacher for 
the time actually employed, and no longer. The trustees refused to pay him 
for the full time, and he appealed. He had performed, or been at all times 
ready to perform, the contract on his part ; he was duly qualified ; his 
school had been visited by the town and county authorities, and approved by 
them. The vote of the district could not affect the rights of the parties. The 
trustees were bound to fulfill the contract. Per Young, March 19, 1842. 



Trustees cannot dismiss a teacher on the ground that some of the inhabitants are dissalis 
lied with him, while they themselves are not dissatisfied. 

James M. Grooty was employed to teach school in district No. 2, New Balti- 
more, for five months, at eleven dollars a month, on condition that, if the 
trustees should find any fault with him at the end of a month, they were to 
notify him, pay him for the month's services and dismiss him. He taught 
school from the 9th of November to the 21st day of January, when the trustees 
dismissed him, on the ground of dissatisfaction on the part of some of the 
inhabitants, at the same time publicly stating that they had no cause of com- 
plaint. 

One month was ample time to discover faults of character, discipline, gov- 
ernment and modes of teaching, and, if the trustees did not, within that time, 
give Mr. Grooty notice, they could not subsequently dismiss him and release 
themselves from their contract. A mere allegation that the inhabitants were 
dissatisfied would be insufiacient cause of dismissal at any time. They should 
be able to show who are dissatisfied, and for what cause. 

The teacher did not undertake, expressly or by implication, to satisfy every 
person in the district, and it would have been absurd to require or expect it. 
The trustees were ordered to reinstate Mr. Grooty in his school, and, at the end 
of five months from November 19, to pay him his wages at eleven dollars per 
month, without any deduction for the time between his dismissal and his rein- 
statement. Per Spencer, March 6, 1841. 

50 



394 Teacher. 

Where one trustee engages a teacher to teach in the place designated by a district meeting 

and the other two engage a teacher to teach in a place selected by themselves, neither is 

a legal school. 
One trustee cannot legally engage a teacher for the district, neither can two trustees legally 

engage a teacher to teach in a place designated by themselves when the district have 

selected another place. 

The scliool-liouse in district No. 7, Guilford, Chenango county, was destroyed 
by fire in January, 1847. In February following, the inhabitants, in district 
meeting, voted to hire a temporary place for the school. Accordingly, a school 
was regularly opened on the 12th of May, 1847, in the place so designated. 
In the following winter, two of the trustees opened a school in another place 
without the vote of the district, and gave an order upon the town superintend- 
ent for two-thirds of the teacher's money apportioned to the district, which 
was paid. 

In the mean time, Mr. Mills, the other trustee, opened a school in the house 
which had been designated by the district for the summer school. 

Each party claims a right to the public money, but neither is entitled to it, 
as neither school was legally established. 

In all cases the inhabitants of a district are to designate the place where the 
school shall be kept, and trustees alone are responsible for the expenses 
incurred in support of a school opened by them without this authority from, 
the district. 

One trustee cannot hire a teacher or open a school without the concurrence 
of at least one other trustee. Nor is any act of the trustees valid without all 
being consulted, and without the concurrence of a majority. 

The public money obtained on the order of the two trustees could not be 
applied to the payment of their teacher, as the school was not a district school. 

It is therefore hereby adjudged and decided that the public money appor- 
tioned to district No. 7, Guilford, for teacher's wages, cannot be applied to the 
payment of either of the teachers employed in the schools hereinbefore men- 
tioned. Per Morgan, July 14, 1848. 

Every contract made with teachers in our common schools necessarily includes the con- 
dition that the agreement cannot be binding for a longer period than teachers may hold 
certificates of qualification, and on the annulling of their certificates all claim for future 
services ceases." 

The appellant, in the year 1845, had made a contract with the trustees of 
school district No. 10, in the town of Champion, to teach the district school for 
a limited period, and at a stipulated price per month for his services ; and, 
before the expiration of the term limited by the contract, on the 27th day of 
November, 1845, for causes satisfactory to that officer, the town superintendent 
annulled the certificate of qualification, which act was affirmed by the county 
superintendent. 

On appeal to the department, it was deemed advisable, for the reasons stated 
m the decision then given, not to interfere with the acts of these officers, by a 
formal reversal of their decisions. 

The appellant claimed of the trustees of the district his wages, under his 
contract, for the unexpired term after the annulment of his certificate, as before 
mentioned ; and, those officers, or a majority of them, having refused payment, he 
appealed to the county superintendent, who declined interfering, on the ground 
that the appellant had no legal claim to compensation under his contract from 
the time his license as a teacher was annulled, and from this determination 
the appellant has again appealed to this department. 

Every contract made by trustees with a teacher in our common schools 
necessarily includes the condition that the agreement cannot be binding upon 
them for a longer period than the teacher may hold a certificate of qualifica- 
tion. I do not mean by this that trustees cannot with a full knowledge of all 
the facts in regard to a want of license make a contract with an unlicensed 
teacher wliich will bind them personally, but I do hold that this department 
cannot in the exercise of its rightful powers and jurisdiction be called upon to 
enforce a performance of any such contract. 



Teacher. 395 



I assume that when the trustees made the contract with the appellant for 
his services as a teacher, l)oth parties understood that the appellant had a 
mover license, and that the contract was to cease whenever he became legally 
disqualified as such ; but if he be able to establish a different contract by com- 
petent proof, then he must resort to another tribunal, for this department can- 
not afford him any relief. -, . ^ i j ^i i 

The decision of the county supermtendent is affirmed and the appeal 
dismissed. Per N. S. Benton, July 13, 1846. 

A teacher employed under a contract, to teach by the month, specified as tAventy-six days, 
is enUt'cd tf) dismiss school every Saturday afternoon, or each alternate Saturday, accord- 
in- to the custom of the country, and the trustees have no right to withhold any portion 
of^the amount due him for so doing. 

A contract was made between Mary Dwig-ht and Jacob Harder, one of the 
trustees of district No. 1, Windsor, and part in Conkliu, by which she was to 
teach the district school at three dollars a week for an indefinite time. 

The trustees dissenting, on the twenty-second day of November, a new con- 
tract was made between said Mary Dwight and Jacob Harder, with the consent 
of the other trustee, Alanson Alden, by which she was to teach four months, 
at the rate of twelve dollars per month of twenty-six days , ^i i q^q 

The said Mary DwigU taught from November 22, 1847, to March 21, 1848, 
inclusive a period of one hundred and twenty-one days, deducting Sundays. 
She therefore taught four months of twenty-six days, according to contract. 

But it is alleged by Harder that the said Mary agreed to teach Saturdays or 
lose those davs. The said Mary denies this, and alleges that " Saturdays 
were not mentioned when the contract was made. The affidavit of Jared N. 
• Hoadley confirms the allegations of said Mary Dwight. Hoadley swears that 
Mary Dwight agreed to teach twenty-six days for twelve dollars, on condition 
that she taught four months. ■, . x i ^ n o i 

Hoadley's affidavit proves a contract by the month, at twelve dollars, bucli 
a contract would authorize the teacher to dismiss her school every holiday and 
Saturday afternoon, or every alternate Saturday, according to the custom of the 
district. And the custom of dismissing school every Saturday afternoon or 
every alternate Saturday is a good and wholesome one. 

The amount withheld by the trustees from Mary Dwight is $3.11. It is 
adiudo-ed and decreed that said Mary is entitled to receive from said trustees 
said sum of $3.11,. in addition to the sum of $44.89 already paid to her, and the 
trustees are hereby ordered to pay the same to her forthwith. Per Morgan, 
June 7, 1848. 

A teacher can only be employed by the trustees. Therefore a vote taken at a district 
meeting to dismiss a teacher and substitute another in her place is illegal and void. 

Samuel T. Peck and James Smith, two of the trustees of district No. 1, 
Livino-ston hired Miss Susannah Smith to teach their winter school, to com- 
mence November 30, 1848. Mr. Lament, the other trustee, was consulted, 
but did not consent to the contract. 

Miss Smith commenced the school in the school-house of the district, at the 

stipulated time. n ^i j.-, ^ j. 

Mr. Lament, not being satisfied with the agreement ot the other trustees, 
hired Miss Horford to teach a school in another room. 

At a special meeting held in the district January 20, 1849, for the purpose 
of votino- a tax to repair the school-house, and for other purposes, a vote was 
taken aiid carried to substitute Miss Horford in the school-house, as teacher, in 
place of Miss Smith. 

From this proceeding the two trustees appeal. 

In employing teachers, the trustees should consult, as far as possible, the 
wishes of the Inhabitants of the district. But when the trustees have con- 
tracted with a teacher, thereby binding themselves and the district, the 
inhabitants cannot free themselves from the obligations thus imposed by 
the official acts of the trustees. 

Teachers can be employed only by trustees. 



396 Teachek. 

A contract made by two trustees, the third being consulted, is valid ; but 
one trustee can perform no oliicial act without the concurrence of at least 
another and a consultation with both. 

In this case, Miss Smith was legally employed as the teacher for the district, 
and could not be dismissed except by the trustees. Therefore the proceedings 
of the district meeting on the 20th of January, to dismiss Miss Smith and 
substitute Miss Horford as teacher, were illegal and void, and Miss Horford is 
not entitled to receive any of the public money or to continue her instruction 
in the district school-house. Appeal sustained. Per Morgan, March 17, 1849. 

Where one trustee employ? a teacher -without consulting with his associates, and his action 
is silently acquiesced in until the expiration of the term, their approval of the contract 
Avill be implied, and they should sign an order for the public money for teachers' Avages 
when applied to. 

This is an appeal taken by a teacher from the action of two of the trustees 
of school district Xo. 8, in the town of Oxford, Chenango county. Said trustees 
refuse to sign an order upon the town superintendent of Oxford for the sum of 
$20 to compensate the appellant for her services as teacher of the school in 
said district, upon the ground that the appellant was employed in January, 
1854, as teacher by George Stratton, the third trustee, upon his own responsi- 
bility, the respondents not having been informed by said Stratton of the 
employment of the appellant, nor of the conditions either of time, wages or 
qualifications ; and that therefore appellant is not entitled to any share of the 
public money for the school taught by her last winter. 

It appears that said Harriet Webb was employed by one of the trustees in 
his oiiicial ca])acity to teach a public school in said district at the rate of two 
dollars a week, and that she was so employed ten weeks. Neither of the other 
trustees appear to have dissented. They cannot be presumed to have been 
ignorant of the fact, and must be considered as having acquiesced. This is the 
view which would be taken in any court of judicature having jurisdiction of 
the case. 

The appeal is therefore sustained, and the town superintendent of the town 
of Oxford is hereby ordered to pay to the said Harriet Webb, for her services 
as teacher in said district, the sum of $20 from the share of the public 
money belonging to said district. Per V. M. Rice, October 23, 1854. 

Where two trustees employ a teacher, without consulting the third, the contract is binding 
only up(m the trustees aiaking the bargain, unless the conduct of the third trustee is such 
that his acquiescence may fairly be inferred. 

This is an appeal of a trustee of school district Xo. 6, in the town of Yernon, 
Oneida county, from the action of his two colleagues, upon the ground that a 
teacher has been emploj^ed to instruct the school of said district, commencing 
on the 30th day of October last, and to continue through the winter, in and 
relating to which engagement the appellant was not consulted, and had no 
knowledge. The respondents acknowledge the fact as charged, pleading that 
they had ]io suspicion that he would object. 

The basis of this appeal rests upon broad principles, involved in the general 
laws of trust which govern all fiduciary transactions. Contracts entered into 
by all the trustees of a school district, and signed by two of them, are binding ; 
and when so signed, the presence of the third is presumed until the contrary is 
shown. Two trustees can contract against the will of the third, if he was duly 
notified of a meeting of the trustees, or was consulted and refused to act. 
(9 Wenddl, 17.) 

The appellant not being consulted in the contract with the teacher, Miss 
Delia A. C. Alford, could in no sense be responsible, unless when he discovered 
the fact he should have acquiesced. 

Yet no fiduciary transaction can exist without all parties to it are cognizant. 
The contract in question is binding only with the respondents, but is void so 
far as the trustees officially and the district are concerned. 

The appeal is therefore sustained. Per V. M. Rice, November 21, 1854 



Teacher. 397 

A consultation of two trustees, without the presence and advice of the third, can result in 
nothins: which can he regarded as the action of the board, unless the third has been 
regularly notified and fails to be present. 

The controversy, in this case, respects the validity of the contracts with three 
different teachers. No one of them has been engacjed in a legal manner, for in 
no case have the trustees met and consulted together. 

A consultation of two trustees meeting by themselves, without the presence 
and advice of the third, can result in nothing which can be regarded as the 
action of the board, unless the third trustee has been regularly notified of a 
meeting, and continues absent after his colleagues have waited a reasonable 
time for his attendance. 

The trustees cannot delegate any discretionary power to a third person to 
execute the decision to which they may have arrived, still less can any one of 
them do so, although they may doubtless employ the services of a messenger 
to convey to a proposed teacher intelligence of a positive and unconditional 
determination ; but this, for the sake of certainty, and to preserve the CAidence 
of the matter, should be reduced to writing and authenticated by the signatures 
of a majority. 

It results in this case that, without reference to who may be the legal trustees, 
none of them have contracted with any teacher in a manner rendering their 
acts obligatory upon the district. Whether they have rendered themselves 
personally responsible to the proposed teacher is a diflferent question, which it 
is not necessary now to consider. 

The principles herein stated will guide the trustees in contracting with a 
teacher : Any two of them may fix the time and place of a meeting for the 
purpose of acting upon this subject, giving the third trustee not less than 
forty-eight hours' notice of the time and place fixed upon, and the object of the 
meeting. 

They should examine the certificates of such teachers as may be proposed, 
and receive from them written propositions specifying the period for which they 
offer to teach, the amount of their salary, and the manner in which they are 
to be paid ; and should make and sign a written memorandum — indorsed upon 
the written proposition which may be accepted, or repeating it in terms which 
\^-ill identify it — of their action in the premises, filing the same with the 
district clerk. 

This appeal is sustained. Per V. M. Rice, February 23, 1855. 

The vote of a district meeting to hire a certain teacher has no legal binding force upon the 
trustees, even though they may have agreed to abide such result. 

A district meeting, by a unanimous vote, selected a teacher, and the trustees 
had agreed to abide by such a decision ; they, however, employed another 
teacher, and certain of the inhabitants of the district appeal against the pro- 
ceedings of the trustees. 

Htld, that the agreement by the trustees to abide by the decision of the dis- 
trict was of no legal consequence, as the selection of a teacher belongs to the 
trustees. This department cannot annul a legal -contract with a teacher ; it 
can only be done by some positive violation of duty on his part. Per V. M. 
Rice, Superintendent, December 9, 1856, 

The consent of three trustees, separately given to hire a teacher, does not make a legal 

contract. 

This is an appeal of J. E., one of the trustees, from the act of his associates 
in hiring a teacher. 

There is but one question formally before the department, and that is the 
legality of hiring the teacher. He was hired, as is customary in school dis- 
tricts, by going from one to another of the trustees, and getting the consent of 
each to his having the school. This is not a legal proceeding. In a circular 
issued by the Superintendent May 31, 1858, the following language was used- 



398 Teacher. 

" Xo oflBcial act vnll he regarded by tliis department as valid, wliere it is shown 
that the same was not determined upon by a majority of the board, at a meet- 
ing duly called." It was considered that under the law of April 12, 1858, if a 
district should elect three trustees, it w^ould be because they deemed the action 
of three men indispensable to the welfare of the district. 'The assent of each 
separately taken is not a compliance with the law. I have no choice, there- 
fore, but to say that no legal contract was made Avith the teacher. Per E. W. 
Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, March 7 1860. 



Two of the trustees cannot hire a teacher without consultation with the third. 

Tliis is an appeal from the proceedings of two of the trustees in hiring a 
teacher. 

The difficulty that gives rise to this appeal proceeds directly from the vicious 
and useless practice of ha\ing three trustees to do the business that one could 
better do alone. Where there are three trustees it is very commonly the prac- 
tice for two of them to agree upon some teacher who is afterward hired 
by one of them. Meantime one of the trustees becomes dissatisfied and 
unites with the third in hiring some other teacher. Of course a conflict of 
authority arises, the neighborliood is divided and the prosperity of the school 
is impaired. 

The evidence in this case shows that there has never been a meeting and 
consultation of the three trustees in relation to hiring a teacher at which any 
agreement has been had. It appears, however, that two of the trustees agreed 
to hire a certain teacher, but as the assent of the third trustee is nowhere estab- 
lished in such manner as to make the transaction legal, I must hold that the 
contract entered into cannot be enforced. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
April 7, 1862. 



Where a teacher has, in good faith, fulfilled a contract to teach, entered into with one trus- 
tee, the others not dissenting, the contract will he enforced without regard to irregularities 
in its inception. 

It appears, in this case, that the business of hiring a teacher devolved, 
by common consent, if not by express direction, upon one of the trustees. He 
agreed ^vith the teacher to pay her two dollars per w^eek if the number of 
scholars did not exceed eighteen, and two dollars and twenty-five cents per 
week if the number was niore than eighteen. The number attending was con- 
siderably more than eighteen, and the teacher claims the advance wages as 
agreed upon. The present trustees refuse to allow her more than two dollars 
per week. 

In the opinion of this department, there is nothing to justify any interference 
with the contract that would not equally justify setting aside the whole pro^ 
ceedings. That there were grave irregularities in the course pursued is appar- 
ent, but for these, and the consequences and misapprehensions resulting 
therefrom, the trustees are alone responsible. They cannot plead their own 
neglect, nor that of their predecessors, as a sufficient grotmd for not fulfilling a 
contract duly executed by the party with whom it was made. The proceedings 
might be entirely set aside if their legal bearings alone were to be considered, 
but the teacher would still have a valid claim against the district for services 
rendered, the amount of which would have to be determined by competent 
authority, and I cannot think the award would be less than that already 
agreed upon. In this view of the case, I cannot find sufficient reason for dis- 
turbing the contract made by the teacher with the trustee as above stated. 
She, having fulfilled her engagement in good faith, should not be made to 
sufl:er for the neglect of the trustees to proceed in a formal and legal manner. 
The trustees are, therefore, directed to give the teacher an order for her wages 
at two dollars and twenty-five cents per week, the amount agreed upon in the 
contract. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, February 16, 1858. 



Teachee. 399 

Where one of the trustees is delej^ated to make known to teachers the conditions of engage- 
ment to teach, he acts as agent for the whole board, and the board is bound by the terms 
of agreement as stated by him and accepted by the teachers. 

On an appeal from the action of the trustees in discharging certain teachers 
from employment before the close of their engagement, the question before 
the department is whether the act of the trustees in discharging said teachers 
was or was not in violation of the contract entered into with them. 

The following facts are disclosed by the testimony submitted : 

1. On the 19th of September, 1861, the trustees, at a meeting duly held, all 
being present, passed a series of resolutions, to the effect that it was the mind 
of the board to employ as teachers in the different departments of the district 
school the appellants in this case, for the term commencing October 1, then 
ensuing, at wages named in the resolutions, and subject to the condition of a 
liability to be discharged if they should fail to fill their situations respectively 
to the satisfaction of the trustees. 

2. G., one of the trustees, was formally or informally authorized to contract 
wath the appellants under the authority of said resolutions. 

3. The said appellants were employed by the trustee above named, but 
without any intimation on his part that any such condition as that named in 
the resolution, relating to the tenure- of their term of service being dependent 
upon giving satisfaction to the trustees, was a part of the contract. Each 
of the teachers on her part consented to an engagement understood to be for a 
term of six months, at wages specified, and subject only to the ordinary con- 
ditions that attach to any such contract. 

4. The appellants entered upon their term of engagement, and discharged 
their duties to the evident and expressed satisfaction of the trustees until 
December 10. On that day the trustees adopted resolutions to the effect that 
the teachers then employed had failed to give satisfaction, and that the school 
be closed and the teachers discharged on the Friday following, December 13. 

5. Notice was given to the appellants respectively of these resolutions, and 
causes of their discharge duly assigned, and they were directed to leave the 
school ; but, by the advice of the dissenting trustee, they still continue in pos- 
session, and to discharge their duties as heretofore. 

The question before the department, as previously stated, relates to the just 
and legal claim of these teachers for a continuance of their services in said 
school until the expiration of six months, and for the wages agreed to be paid 
to them for such term. 

In regard to this claim, it must be determined by the principles that govern 
and control the relations of principal and agent. The said trustee Gr., in con- 
tracting with these teachers, acted as agent for the board of trustees. In con- 
sidering how far the act of the agent is binding upon the principal we are not 
to look so much to the actual authority conferred, as to what third parties may 
reasonably have supposed the agent to be invested with. No principle of law 
is better established than this, it having been repeatedly afiirmed by the 
highest courts. The teachers had a right to presume that the terms offered to 
them were authorized by the board of trustees. They assented to no other 
terms than these, hence were parties to no other contract. They cannot be 
permitted to suffer from the laches of the board, who permitted them to take 
their situations without informing them of the terms prescribed by the 
resolutions. 

A contract made with a person authorized to represent the trustees is bind- 
ing upon them, though contrary to the letter of their instructions. If any 
damage results to the trustees from this disregard of their instructions, the 
agent is responsible to them, but the trustees cannot shield themselves from 
responsibility to the teachers. 

The conclusion is, therefore, that the contract with the appellant for a term 
of six months is valid and binding upon the trustees, and the services of these 
teachers cannot be discontinued before the expiration of said term. 

Appeal sustained. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, January 25, 
1862. 



400 Teacher. 

Where two trustees, in the temporary absence of the third, hired a teacher, Jidd, that the 
contract was not valid for a longer time than the majority of the trustees saw fit to 
continue the services of the teacher. 

This is the appeal of H. S., a teacher, from the action of the trustees in dis- 
charging him from employment as teacher before the expiration of his alleged 
term of engagement. 

The following are the material facts : At the annual district meeting, G. B. 
was elected trustee for three years. 

At this meeting the appellant was present and urged P., one of the trustees 
holding over, to decide upon his application to teach the school for the ensuing 
winter term. B., the trustee elected that evening, was then absent from the 
district and could not be consulted. 

Upon the suggestion, however, of the appellant, the two trustees, holding 
over conferred in regard to hiring the appellant to teach the winter school. 
The result was that the appellant was employed by them, and he commenced 
his term of service on the 2d of November following. 

On the 15th of February, at a meeting of the trustees, it was resolved to dis- 
continue the services of the said H. S. from that time, one of the trustees 
dissenting. 

The appellant alleges that his contract was for a term of 100 days, and asks 
to be allowed to complete the full term of his engagement or to receive pay 
therefor according to the terms of his contract. 

It is a principle well established that two trustees cannot act without con- 
sulting with the third, or giving him notice of consultation and action. Per 
E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, April 26, 1864. 

A contract made with a teacher by two of the trustees, without consultation with the tliird, 
may be confirmed subsequently by taking the proper legal steps. 

Concerning the hiring of a teacher, it is necessary that the trustees meet to 
call a meeting to act upon the contract. They may pass a resolution confirm- 
ing the contract already made by two of the trustees, but until such action 
has been had the contract has no binding validity. Per H, H. Van Dyck,' 
Superintendent, January 9, 1861. 

Where an outgoing trustee, in answer to an application of a teacher for the winter school, 
say? that if 'he had the power to contract he would hire him, it is not a contract, even 
though the trustee had authority to hire. 

The appellant called upon the trustee for the purpose of securing the school 
for the ensuing term. The trustee was favorable to hiring him, but expressed 
a doubt as to his having the right to contract with him for a term to com- 
mence after his own should expire ; but said he would contract with him, if he 
was assured that he had the legal right to do so. The teacher regards this as 
a contract, and claims enforcement of it. 

The department has ever discountenanced the policy, of tying the hands of 
the trustee newly elected to office, thus making him, or his administration, 
responsible for a policy initiated by his predecessor. Whatever features of 
legal construction leading to different conclusions the question may have, the 
department will leave to the courts to decide. 

But that question aside, or even determined according to the construction of 
the appellant, I cannot find in what transpired between him and the outgoing 
trustee that which comprises the essential element of a contract. There is, 
therefore, in my view, no occasion for the interference of this department. Per 
E. W. Keyes, I)eputy Superintendent, December 1, 1859. 

Under certain circumstances, the action of one of two trustees in hiring a teacher will be 

sustained. 

This is an appeal from the action of one of the trustees in hiring a teacher. 

There are but two legal trustees in the district, and they are unable to 
agree in the matter of hiring a teacher. N. G., one of the trustees, gave notice 
to G, K., the other trustee, of a meeting of the two to act upon the question. 



Teacher. 401 

but tlie said G. K. neglected to attend. Thereupon, tlie other trustee took the 
responsibility and hired a teacher, and, from his action, this appeal is brought. 
The hiring of this teacher, though irregular, appears to meet the approval 
of a great majority of the patrons of the school ; and, this being the case, and 
the proceeding, at the time, being demanded as the only practical mode of 
extricating the district from its embarrassment and having a school, the 
same is hereby approved, and the appeal is dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck 
Superintendent, February 14, 1861. 

Trustees have no right to employ teachers related to them within two degrees, except by- 
consent of two-thirds of the legal voters of the district. 

By a reference to section 9, chapter 647, Laws of 1865, you will see that a 
trustee has no right to employ his son-in-law to teach the district school, except 
he has consent of two-thirds of the legal voters present at any annual or special 
meeting voting on the subject. A son-in-law is by marriage related in the first 
degree. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, October 26, 1865. {Letters, vol. 
'J,i>. 409.) 

The approval of hiring certain relations for teachers must be had by a two-thirds vote at a 

district meeting. 

Under the statute of 1864, the approval of a majority of the inhabitants 
(Voters) of a school district, in my judgment, corrects the disability of relation- 
ship in the hiring of a teacher, and it cannot affect the question that such 
approval is given at any time subsequent to such hiring. 

The law has been amended now, so that in future such approval must be 
had by a two-thirds vote, at a district meeting. Per V. M. Rice, Superin- 
tendent, May 8, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 67.) 

Trustees of union free schools may hire teachers related to them within two degrees. 

It has been held by the Superintendent that the provision of the general 
school law prohibiting trustees from employing teachers who are related to 
them within two degrees, without first obtaining the consent of two-thirds of 
the inhabitants, does not apply to union free schools, or to schools under 
special act of the Legislature. The general rule governing such cases is, that 
Avlien the special or union free school act is silent upon a given question, then 
the provisions of the general act will apply, unless they are incompatible with 
the provisions of the special or free school acts. The restriction contained 
in the general act in regard to the hiring of teachers, if it applied to all union 
free school districts and to districts under special acts, would frequently cause 
these districts much trouble, for these reasons : 

1. The board of education consists usually of not less than nine members, 
and therefore vmder such a restriction a much larger class of teachers would 
be excluded than in ordinary districts ; 

2. These districts are usually much larger and more populous than ordinary 
school districts, many of them having a population of over ten thousand 
inhabitants, and it would be therefore a great hardship, if not impossibility, to 
call a special meeting of the inhabitants to legalize the hiring of one of the 
relatives of a trustee, as provided in the general act. 

For these reasons, as well as others that might be mentioned, I uniformly 
hold that the provisions of the general school act before referred to do not 
apply to such districts as are organized under special act, or as union free 
schools. Per V M. Rice, Superintendent, July 11, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 506.) 

Uncles and cousins of any person are not related to him in the second degree. 

Neither uncles nor cousins of any person are related to him in the second 
degree, according to the consanguinity tables in use in this State. Witliin the 
second degree are included fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers 
and sisters, both by blood and marriage. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
January 11, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 54.) 

61 



4m:^ TeACHEK/ 

Trustees cannot offset against the wages of a teacher a note of his which they or either of 
them have purchased. 

The appellant alleges that the trustees offer, in part discharge of the wages 
due him as teacher in the district, two notes given by him to other parties, and 
purchased bv them. 

*The only question is : Are these notes a valid and legal tender to the teacher 
in liquidation of his claim ? I must answer, they are not. The district owes . 
the teacher a certain sum. That sum he is entitled to collect ; and it cannot 
be offset by any claims, however valid and just, of third parties. The trustees 
hold those notes only in their individual capacity ; they owe the teacher only 
as agents of the district, and they cannot offset their private claims against 
the debts owing by them in their fiduciary capacity. Were the teacher to sue 
the trustees for the balance of his wages, no court would allow these notes as 
an offset for any part of his claim. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
June 6, 1860. 

If a teacher engages to teach by the month, the legal holidays will he allowed him. Three 
months from December 5, 1864, extend to and include March 4, 1865. 

' From December 5, 1864, for the next three months, there are only three 
legal holidays, Christmas, New Year's and Washington's birthday, and such 
school holidays as custom or express agreement has sanctioned in the districts 
together with any thanksgiving or fast days occurring within the term and. 
appointed by the President or Governor. 

If the teacher keeps the school open on a holiday, he is not entitled to have 
such day's ser^dce counted in lieu of another day not a holiday, except by 
agreement with the trustees. 

The statute provides, section 7, article 1, title 3, chapter 555, Laws of 1864 
that a deficiency, of not more than three weeks in the twenty-eight weeks 
required by law for the school year, shall be excused when such deficiency 
was caused by the attendance of the teacher at an institute during his term. 
The trustees may allow the teacher the time or not, as they shall elect. Per 
V. M. Rice, Superintendent, March 15, 1865. {Letters, vol. 3, p. 703.) 

The word "month," in law, means a calendar month of thirty days. 

The word " month," in law, means a calendar month of thirty days. I can- 
not tell you the number of days in a school month. If we accept this, " from 
a given day in one month to the same day in the following month is a month," 
then the month will vary as to the number of days for school according to the 
number of Sundays, legal holidays and Saturdays allowed to the teacher. Per 
E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, April 13, 1865. {Letters, vol 4, p. 32.) 

Discharge of a teacher before the expiration of Ms term— when justifiable. 

A teacher appeals from the action of the trustees in discharging him from 
school before the close of the term of his engagement. 

A contract with a teacher, without expressed conditions, is to be interpreted 
by the conditions implied in the very nature of the contract, and the purposes 
for which it is entered into. Every such contract implies distinctly that the 
teacher employed possesses the essentials of moral character, learning, ability 
and will. The license which he holds from the proper officer is prima facie 
evidence, only, that the applicant possesses these requisites, but it is not con- 
clusive ; the presumption raised by it may be rebutted by direct evidence, 
tending to show that the holder of such license lacks any or all of these quali- 
fications. The question now raised is upon the proceedings to be had, in order 
legally to effect a dissolution of a contract made with a teacher found or 
believed to be destitute of any of the essential qualifications for his position. 
The manner of proceeding upon an application to the proper authority for an 
annulment of the license held by the teacher is set forth with sufficient clear- 
ness in another part of the Code of Public Instruction. The annulment of the 



Teacher. 403" 

license dissolves all contracts entered into by virtue of its sanction. But can 
the fulfillment of a contract be avoided only in this way ? Until the license is 
revoked, are the trustees bound to retain a teacher obnoxious to the district 
through immorality, ignorance, or inefficiency ? The affirmative of tliis is a 
too popular fallacy. The admission of it would be a subversion of the principles 
already enunciated as pertaining to the essential nature of the contract. It 
cannot be supposed that in case a charge of gross immorality, specifically 
urged, carrying with it a strong presumption of its truth, were brought against 
a teacher, the trustees must wait for the tedious delay of a formal hearing in 
the case before a commissioner, and abide the event, which may be determined 
through inefficiency of evidence, while the moral conviction of the truth of the 
charges preferred is still strong and abiding. The presence among pupils of 
a teacher against whom such suspicions rest must of itself, from the sugges- 
tions to which it would give rise, promote conditions of mind opposed to the 
development of virtue and purity of heart. This consideration alone would 
justify the trustees in a summary dismissal of the teacher. This, to be sure, is 
an extreme case, but it is sufficient to illustrate and to establish the principle 
advanced, that the trustees may be justified in the discharge of a teacher before 
the close of the term specified in his contract. In determining what consti- 
tutes such justification, it is difficult, not to say impossible, to establish uniform' 
rules. The decision as to the propriety of the act, and the power to perform 
it, rests with the trustees. For an abuse of their discretion, or an unwarrant- 
able exercise of their authority, they are, of course, responsible. On the com- 
plaint of the party sustaining what he considers a grievance or wrong, the 
issue becomes one of fact, and it devolves upon the trustees to show by evidence 
that the teacher lacked the character, the ability, or the will, essential to a 
proper discharge of his duties, and that he failed thus to fulfill the obviously 
implied conditions of his contract. The mere fact of dissatisfaction on their 
part, or that of the inhabitants, is not sufficient to justify the discharge of a 
teacher employed for a definite period. 

The tribunal before whom the action is brought, as the court, a jury, or this 
department, are the constituted judges of fact, and will determine, from the 
evidence presented, whether the incompetence of the teacher, as resulting from 
ignorance or indifference, is fully proved, and hence his discharge, upon the 
grounds of a violated contract, clearly, justified. 

In the present case, the trustees offer evidence bearing upon the manage- 
ment and general deportment of the appellant in the school-room, and in his 
intercourse with the pupils, tending to show disregard to the proprieties and 
courtesies incident to his responsible position. Trifling and irrelevant conver- 
sation oft indulged and long continued with the pupils in school hours ; prying 
and impertinent questions in regard to domestic affairs ; low, and, at the least, 
suggestively vulgar, remarks to the older female pupils ; rude, boisterous and 
harsh language as a means of, or substitute for, discipline, are alleged and 
proved by the testimony of his pupils with a circumstantial minuteness that 
requires emphatic denial or plausible explanation to invalidate or palliate. 
The vague declaration concerning the colorable nature of the testimony, and 
the affidavits relative to the satisfaction uniformly attending his engage- 
ments as a teacher heretofore in the same vicinity, which are introduced by 
the appellant, are insufficient to rebu.t the presumption, raised by the evidence 
submitted to the trustees, that they were justified in their dismissal of the 
appellant. 

I must, therefore, hold that the trustees proceeded with full and sufficient 
justification, and decline to interfere with their action. Per H. H. Van Dyck» 
Superintendent, April 13, 1858. 

Where a teacher leaves a school voluntarily before the close of the term for which she was 
engap;ecl, even at the request of the trustees, she can recover wages only for the time 
actually taught. 

This is an appeal from the refusal of the trustees to pay the full amount of 
wages claimed for services as teacher. 



404 Teacher. 

The appellant alleges that she was hired for a term of two months, at three 
dollars per week, and that at the end of four weeks she was discharged from 
said school, or was compelled to leave, and she now asks that the trustees be 
directed to pay her wages for the full term. 

I think the appellant fails to prove that she was discharged, or was under 
any moral or physical compulsion to leave. The trustees desired her to leave, 
and so expressed themselves to her. But she was unwilling, and they did not 
insist. She afterward determined to leave, and sent for one of the trustees to 
take her home. This action on the part of the trustees cannot be considered 
as a breach of the contract. Her yielding to their suggestion to abandon the 
school was not compulsory. The trustees must pay the teacher for the time 
she taught, and she must be content with that. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy 
Superintendent, April 27, 1860. 

Dismissal of a teacher before the expiration of his term of engagement. 

On the appeal of J. A., a teacher, from the action of the trustees in discharg- 
ing him before the expiration of the term for which he was engaged, it appears 
that Mr. A. was engaged to teach the school for four months, for the sum of 
^60, and that after teaching two months and nine days he was discharged. 
Also that he has been ready at all times to fulfill his contract, but has been 
prevented from so doing by the trustees. The trustees justify their action 
upon the ground of the incompetency of the appellant. 

The incompetency of the appellant I do not think so conclusively proved as 
to sustain the presumption of a non-fulfillment of contract by him, though 
from the testimony on both sides I am disposed to rate him considerably below 
the grade of a first-class teacher. Still, the trustees can hardly expect to get 
all the manly and scholarly virtues for $15 per month. They paid him just 
average wages, and I should infer from the testimony that he taught just about 
an average school. 

I cannot, therefore, find suflEicient justification for the discharge of the 
appellant, and must declare my conviction that he is entitled to the sixty 
dollars agreed to be paid. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 13, 
1860. 

Where a teacher is engaged with the understanding that she may be discharged at the end 
of one month if her teaching is unsatisfactory, it will be implied that the engagement is 
for the ordinary term, and, if no dissatisfaction is expressed at the end of the month, she 
cannot be discharged subsequently to that time. 

Both parties concur in the statement that the positive engagement was for 
one month only, during which time the trustees were to determine whether to 
continue her or not. The appellant avers and the respondents deny an agree- 
ment to retain her three months longer if she gave satisfaction during the 
first month. No dissatisfaction was expressed, however, till some time after 
the expiration of the month, when the trustees discharged her. 

Held, that the fact of their reserving a month in which to observe the 
success of the teacher implied the expectation, on the part of the trustees, 
of retaining her for the ordinary summer term if her teaching was satisfactory. 
Upon this expectation she would naturally rely in the absence of any notice 
to close school at the end of the first month. They did agree to determine 
upon her qualifications during the first month, and they could not, without an 
arrangement with her to that effect, prolong the period of their observations 
indefinitely, and discharge her at their discretion. A month is certainly long 
enough to test a teacher's ability, and the trustees were bound in good faith to 
give their decision at that time. 

In the present case the action of the trustees was wrong, and they are 
directed to reinstate the teacher until she shall have completed the ordinary 
summer term of four months. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, August 
17, 1837. 



Teacher. 405 

Where a teacher after teaching three days of his term found the pchool-honse locked aj^ainst 
him, and without applyin;^ to the truf lee he loft and made no demand for opportunity to 
continue his school until fifteen days afterward, hdd^ that ho liad abandoned the contract 
voluntarily. 

This is an appeal from the refusal of th^ trustee to carry out a contract mado 
by a former trustee with the appellant. 

The appellant fails to establish that the contract was first violated by the 
trustee. He admits that he was suflfered to occa])y the school-house for threo 
days, and that then tlie door was locked against him. He does not say by 
whom this was done, and admits that the first demand he made upon the trustee 
for opportimity to continue his school was fifteen days after the time at which 
he alleges the door was closed against him. There is no evidence produced 
by him that he sought any opportunity to continue his engagement, or mado 
any demand for such opportunity, prior to the expiration of fifteen days. This 
I think elfectually concludes the case against him. By all ordinary construc- 
tion and usage I think tliis must be regarded as an abandonment of the con- 
tract on his part, which left the district to enter into another engagement. Per 
H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 30, 1861. 

Difference of opinion between the tcf.cher- and the trustee concerning the proper disci- 
pline of the school does not justify the removal of the former before the expiration of his 
term. 

This is an appeal from the action of the sole trustee, in discharging the teacher 
before the expiration of his term of engagement. The justification set up by the 
trustee for the discharge of the teacher is that there was some difficulty ^n 
the school upon matters of discipline ; that the trustee and the inhabitants 
desired the teacher to alter his rules of discipline, which he refused to do, and 
was consequently discharged. 

The justification is insufficient, or rather what is alleged as justification is 
no justification at all. Even granting the teacher was indiscreet and impolitic 
in his management, it does not afford justification for discharge. There has 
been no such departure from propriety as to constitute any violation of the 
contract on his part, and so long as this w^as the case the district was bound 
by the agreement. Appeal sustained. Per E. \V, Keyes, Deputy Superin- 
tendent, April 28, 1863. 

Where a teacher leaves his school before his term of engagement is concluded, becausie 
the trustees will not sustain him in the enforcement of reasonable rules, he is entitled to 
wages for the time taught. 

On an appeal of the teacher from the refusal of the trustees to pay him the 
sum of thirty dollars and sixty-six cents, earned by him as teacher of the 
district school, it appears that he had been hired for the term of three months, 
by the trustees, at the rate of sixteen dollars per month. It further appears 
that one of the pupils was guilty of insubordination, in openly and flagrantly 
disobeying the orders of the teacher, and he being a large, stout lad, the 
teacher wished to avoid personal contiict with him, and so called upon the 
trustees to interfere, and assist him in securing obedience. But they refused 
to give him any assistance ; and he, deeming his services under such a condi- 
tion of things of no value to the district, left the school. 

I cannot but think the trustees erred in their estimate of their powers and 
duties, in this case. The teacher is held responsible for the educational 
development of his pupils, and he is, therefore, entitled to the aid and support 
of the trustees in carrying out all reasonable and judicious plans for the pro. 
motion of this object. When, therefore, the trustees refused to sustain the 
teacher in his requirements, he could not but see that his plans for the educa^ 
tional development of his pupils were frustrated, and his usefulness, to a great 
extent, destroyed. 

The provocation to leave was serious, and I believe the act justifiable. It 
certainly is not just, whatever be the technicalities of law in the case, to 
deprive the teacher of wages for services actually rendered. Only imder 



406 Teacher. 

circumstances of aggravated injury to tlie district should the trustees be wil 
ling to take any mean advantage of technical construction, and deprive the 
teacher of wages honestly and faithfully earned. 

Under the circumstances, therefoj:e, it is my judgment that the appellant ia 
"entitled to the sum claimed by him. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
July 25, 1859. 

'A teacher who closes his school upon other than legally authorized days for closing, with- 
out the consent of the trustees, abandons his contract and is liable to be superseded. 

This is an appeal of V. H., a teacher, from the action of the sole trustee in 
(discharging him from the school before the term of his contract had expired. 
On a careful examination of the statements I discover two facts, viz., that 
'_^the appellant dismissed his school on Tuesday, January 24th, 1860, for the rest 
' of the week, without permission from the trustee, but rather in opposition to his 
expressed wishes, and that on Thursday, January 26th, the trustee discharged 
him from the remainder of his engagement. 

Among the clearly implied conditions of every contract to teach is this one, 
that the school shall be regularly taught from the beginning of the term until 
its close. The teacher cannot, therefore, close his school except upon the 
^regularly appointed days, unless with the approval of the trustee. In doing 
so he renders himself liable to the charge of abandoning the contract, and the 
..trustee has the legal right to regard the contract as concluded. Per H. H. 
Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 21, 1860. 

A teacher who closes his school for any time other than the legal holidays or Saturdays 
' allowed him, without the consent of the trustees, abandons his contract and forfeits the 
balance of his engagement. 

On an appeal from the action of the trustees, in discharging a teacher before 
his term of service "had expired, it appears that the appellant was hired to 
teach the school during the winter term of three and one half months, and 
that he commenced his term November 17, and taught till December 24. He 
then closed his school for a vacation during the holidays, giving notice that 
school would commence again January 5. This vacation was not provided for 
in his contract with the trustees, nor were they consulted concerning it, or 
even notified by the teacher of his intention in regard to it. On returning to 
the district to resume his labors, he was informed by the trustees that his 
:Services were no longer required, and from this decision he brings an appeal. 

The appellant, by his own showing, has abandoned his contract, and forfeited 
all rights under and by virtue of it, by closing his school without permission 
first obtained from the trustees. The teacher who closes his school for a single 
day not recognized as his by the statute or in his agreement, without the con- 
sent of the trustees, does so at his peril, for in such case the trustees may 
regard the contract as terminated, and employ another teacher. Appeal dis- 
missed. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, March 27, 1863. 

A candidate for a teacher's certificate should be examined as to learning, morals and ability 
to teach. 

When a candidate is refused a certificate on the alleged ground of " feelings of dissatis- 
faction on the part of some of the patrons of the school," a new examination will be 

, ordered. 

The town superintendent of Burns, Allegany county, refused Miss Jane 
E. Gilbert a certificate of qualification as a teacher, from which refusal she 
appealed. 

The evidence in this case renders it exceedingly difficult to ascertain pre- 
cisely upon what grounds Miss Gilbert was refused a certificate. It tends to 
•show that the superintendent expressed himself satisfied with her education 
and literary acquirements. If he entertained doubts as to her capacity to 
•impart instruction, the testimony fails to show that he took proper measures, 
•by visiting her school or otherwise, to arrive at an intelligent conclusion on 
this point. In a letter to her, he referred to " feelings of dissatisfaction on 



Teacher. 407 

the part of the patrons of the school " as ha\'ing been considered by him in 
arriving at his determination to withhold a certificate. Such feelings or 
opinions were no proper guide to the superintendent, and should have had no 
other effect than to induce greater care to examine the foundation of them for 
himself, and decide upon his own knowledge and responsibility. Their 
existence may be a proper element of consideration, in determining the trus- 
tees of a particular district to forego the services of a qualified teacher, but 
they are no test of competency, and should not have the effect (as they do, 
if adopted by the superintendent) of excluding a teacher from every district 
in the town. It follows that no good reason has been shown on the part of 
the superintendent for withholding the certificate. On the other hand, it is 
possible that his conclusion is correct, although founded upon insulficient 
evidence ; and there is not such affirmative testimony of Miss Gilbert's entire 
fitness to teach, before the department, as to warrant it in ordering the super- 
intendent to certify to her qualifications. To justify this, it should have such 
knowledge as would induce the State Superintendent liimself to grant ■ a 
certificate. 

The appeal can be sustained only so far as to relieve Miss Gilbert from the 
imputation that a valid judgment has been passed against her qualifications. 
Perhaps this condition of things should be satisfactory, as she is entitled, of 
course, to an examination in any other town where she may be a candidate 
for employment as an instructress. If, however, she is still desirous to act as 
a teacher in the town of Burns, she may present herself for examination 
before Wm. W. Payne, late town superintendent of Burns, Samuel W. Swaine, 
of Swainsville, and any other of- the former superintendents of Burns whom 
those gentlemen (who are hereby requested to act in the premises) may select. 
They will, in case of their acceptance of this commission, appoint a time and 
place for such examination, and cause reasonable notice thereof to be given 
to Mr. Whitney, that he may attend the same, if so disposed. All further 
directions are reserved until the coming in of the report of such committee, or 
further order. Per V, M. Rice, December 7, 1855. 

The infliction upon a pupil of unnecessary and cruel punishment is good cause for annulling 
a teacher's certificate. 

A teacher, for an act of disobedience, ordered a boy, fifteen years of age, to 
hold out a book, of the ordinary size used in schools, at arm's length, level 
with his shoulder. The boy, after holding it in that position from five to eight 
or ten minutes, let it fall and said he could not hold it any longer. On being 
ordered to hold it out again, he peremptorily refused. The teacher, then, with 
a curled maple rule, over twenty inches long, one and three-quarters wide, and 
half an inch thick, struck him from fifteen to twenty blows on his back and 
thighs, and in so severe a manner as to disable him from leaving school with- 
out assistance. A physician was called and found his back and limbs badly 
bruised and swollen. The teacher on the succeeding day sent to him a physi- 
cian, who pronounced him " very badly bruised." It was ten or twelve days 
before he so far recovered as to be able to attend school. 

The Superintendent expresses his unqualified disapprobation of a punish- 
ment so severe and unreasonable. If the disobedience of the boy had been the 
result of sheer obstinacy and willfulness, it could not justify the infliction of 
fifteen or twenty blows with such a bludgeon, upon the back and limbs of the 
boy, disabling him for a fortnight. Such a measure of punishment for such 
an offense would be sufficient ground for annulling a certificate. Per Young, 
March 29, 1843. 

The department will annul the certificate of a teacher for cruel and unreasonable discipline 
in the government of a school. 

Mr. Bly was employed as a teacher in district No. 7, Amity, by the trustees, 
on the 4th of December last, and soon afterward commenced his school, under 
a certificate of qualification granted by the town superintendent. From the 



408 Teachek. 

statement of the respondents, in answer to tlie appeal, it appears " that much 
dissatisfaction prevailed in the district, on account of the severe, not to say 
outrageous, manner pursued by the teacher in punishing the scholars." And on 
a visitation of the school on the day above referred to by the town and county 
superintendent, but twenty-eight out of fifty-eight children on the teacher's 
list were present. " The great part of the absentees, Bly acknowledged, had 
been driven from the school in consequence of his severity, etc. He also 
remarked to us, that ' if he could, get rid of a few more, he thought he could 
govern the rest.' " 

The respondents further state, during the [examination " the greatest con- 
fusion, insubordination and anarchy continued ; " that the teacher was informed 
at the close, and after the children had left, in the most kind and friendly 
manner, that some method better calculated to preserve order in his school 
must be adopted, and he was advised to " address his pupils in a spirit of kind- 
ness, etc.," at which he evinced great anger, announced his intention " to adopt 
and persist in his own course, and to receive dictation from no man." The 
superintendents then informed him that in their judgment the indiscriminate 
use of the rod Avas improper, that the " insubordinate conduct of his pupils 
was in a measure owing to his indiscriminate and severe use, not of a rod, but 
of a bush about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and three feet long, 
with several branches well twisted together," and that unless a reformation in 
this respect was promised, they should be under the necessity of depri'sdng him 
of his certificate. 

This he peremptorily refused to do, and distinctly informed the superin- 
tendents that he should continue the same course of discipline he had adopted 
for the government of his school. Under these circumstances, they deemed it 
their duty to annul his certificate. 

The practice of inflicting corporeal punishment upon scholars, in any case 
whatever, observes General Dix, has no sanction but usage. The Superin- 
tendent is not prepared in the present imperfect condition of educational science 
entirely to prohibit its use as a means of school discipline, but he will sustain 
town and county superintendents in every effort to restrict it to the smallest 
possible compass consistent v^dth the preservation of order and government, 
and he will in no case tolerate the slightest abuse in the discretion conferred 
in this respect by usage, or otherwise, upon teachers. 

In this case the town and county superintendents were amply justifiable in 
annulling the certificate, and their proceedings are therefore confirmed, and 
the appeal dismissed. Per S. Young, February 1, 1844. 



A teacher's certificate of qualification cannot be annulled withoiit giving him notice and a 
reasonable opportunity, if he desire, to appear and be heard in defense. 

The trustees of district No. 5, in Guilford, employed Mr. Matteson to teach 
their school for the winter term. The school commenced November 1, 1847. 
November 26, 1847, Mr. Carhart Adsited the school, examined Mr. Matteson 
and gave him a certificate. December 6, the superintendent stopped at the 
door of the school-house and told the teacher that complaints had reached his 
ears in regard to his mode of punishing scholars, and intimated that his certifi- 
cate might be annulled. December 20, the superintendent served a notice 
upon the teacher that he should annul his certificate unless certain complaints 
" arising from his mode of punishment " were cleared up. December 25, the 
teacher wrote the superintendent, requesting an investigation of the charges 
and complaints against him. January 5, the superintendent annulled the cer- 
tificate, and gave notice thereof to the trustees, without having given the 
teacher any opportunity to reply to or explain the charges made against him, 
and assigning, as his reasons therefor, the complaints mentioned in his previous 
notice and his own observations. The trustees all signed a paper, stating that, 
in their opinion, the charges against the teacher were of a trivial character 
and wholly unfounded, and that the course of the superintendent was " under 



Teacher. 409 

tanded, prejudiced and ungentlemanly," and "meets our unqualified disappro- 
bation." 

The conduct of the town superintendent in this case will hardly admit of a 
reasonable explanation. He visits a school twice, and then gives a teacher a 
legal certificate. In less than a month he gives the teacher notice of his inten- 
tion to annul his certificate, without having, in the mean time, visited the 
school or required a re-examination, and upon complaints not stated in writing 
or assuming any tangible shape, but, so far as appears at the time, mere hear- 
say reports and neighborhood gossip. The pretense that the superintendent 
had become satisfied, from "personal observations," that the teacher was 
unqualified, is very strangely inconsistent with the fact that he made no " per- 
sonal observations " after granting the certificate. The teacher requested speci- 
fications of the charges. None were given. He desired to be heard in answer 
to whatever could be alleged against him. No opportunity was allowed. 

A certificate of qualification should not be annulled without a statement of 
the complaint, and an investigation of its truth, and an opportunity given to 
the teacher to be present during such investigation. Such are the rules pre- 
scribed by this department in proceedings to annul a teacher's certificate, and 
they are a part of the law. The superintendent proceeded in this matter with- 
out a proper and needful statement of the charges and specifications, and 
without giving the teacher an opportunity to be heard in defense. 

It is, therefore, decreed that the order of the town superintendent, annulling 
Mr. Matteson's certificate, be set aside. Per Morgan, February, 1848. 

Refusal to annul teachers' certificate for inflicting proper punishment. 

On a petition asking this department to annul the license of A. B., a teacher, 
it is alleged that the said A. B. inflicted cruel and unusual punishment upon a 
pupil. 

The severity of the punishment is conceded, but not to the extent nor in the 
manner charged. The facts appear to be that the pupil flatly refused to obey 
the teacher, by not taking the seat he was directed to take. The teacher 
came toward the boy, intending to compel him by force to take the seat 
assigned to him. The boy, with an oath, bade the teacher not come near him, 
and, as the teacher approached, the boy struck at him several times. The 
teacher caught the boy, and with force put him in his seat, the boy meantime 
kicking, striking, yelling and swearing. To stop this outrageous and unseemly 
noise, the teacher took the most eflfectual means at his command ; he inter 
cepted the passage of air between the lungs and the vocal organs, long enough 
to suppress the disturbance, but not long enough to injure the boy. But the 
boy was not subdued by any such gentle restraint, for no sooner was he left 
alone than he ran out of doors. The teacher pursued and caught him, and 
brought him back to the school-room, not, it appears, \^'ithout some consider- 
able force, for the boy resisted ^v-ith all his strength ; and it would really not 
be strange if in the struggle he received some severe blows. 

And for this the Superintendent is asked to annul the certificate of the 
teacher. 

I decline to do any thing of the kind. The teacher, in the matter of the boy, 
did no more than lie was compelled to do ; he might have done much more, 
and still be acquitted of inflicting cruel and unusual punishment. It was not 
cruel, and if it was unusual it was only so because the conduct of the boy was 
unusual. Petition denied. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, March 24, 1862. 

Annulment of a teachei-'s license for incompetence known to the commissioner does not 
require legal notice. 

The annulment of a license for inability, found to exist on a personal 
examination by the commissioner, requires no notice at all, and for the obvious 
reason that testimony is not available to discredit the deliberate judgment of 
the commissioner, founded upon his own personal knowledge. Per V. M. 
Eice, Superintendent, March 12, 1863. 

52 



'410 Teacher. 

A teacher's license should be annulled for intemperance. 

It must be borne in mind that, in the matter of the character of a teacher of 
youth, the commissioner or other competent authority bases his certificate upon 
the assurance that the applicant is of good moral character. Were the schools 
throughout the State accessible to and in charge of teachers guilty of the habit 
of drunkenness, it would present a spectacle at which the moral sense of the 
people would stand appalled. I could never grant a certificate to such a person, 
setting forth, among other things, that he was qualified in respect to moral 
character to teach any district school, and if, unwittingly, I had given him 
such a testimonial, I should be compelled, upon evidence of his immoral prac- 
tices being submitted, to retract a statement so clearly at variance with the facts 
disclosed ; the only practical mode of doing which would be to annul the cer- 
tificate which he held. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, February 7, 1860. 

A commissioner cannot withhold a certificate from a teacher with whose character, leam- 
■ ing. and abilities he is satisfied, on the ground that said teacher is employed in a district 
against the feelings or prejudices of the inhabitants. 

On an appeal of the trustees from the refusal of the commissioner to grant a 
certificate to the teacher whom they had employed to teach the school in their 
district, it is established that, at the examination of said teacher, the commis- 
sioner found no fault with her qualifications in respect to moral character, 
learning and ability, but declined to give her a certificate upon the ground 
that she was a resident of the district in which she proposed to teach, and that 
there had been and still was much opposition to her teaching said school, and 
that he had pledged himself not to give a certificate to any person whose pres- 
ence in the school would be objectionable to any considerable number of the 
inhabitants. 

The motives of the commissioner in seeking to prevent the occasion of strife 
'and contention in the district are worthy ; and the means, if they were within 
the legal authority of that ofl&cer, would be justifiable. I cannot, however, 
deem the discretion of the commissioner in this instance legally exercised. 
His discretion in licensing a teacher extends only to determining upon the 
qualifications required by the law, and when these requirements are fulfilled 
he has no right to impose other conditions. 

' After the qualifications in respect to moral character, learning, and abilities, 
have been certified, the trustees alone are vested with the discretion of select- 
ing or rejecting an applicant upon the ground of personal or local con- 
siderations. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, May 23, 1859. 

A commissioner is justified in withholding a certificate from a teacher where evidences of 
his good character do not affirmatively appear. 

The basis of every certificate issued by the commissioner is his satisfaction 
concerning the qualifications of the applicant in respect to moral character, 
learning and ability. Under certain circumstances the commissioner has the 
rignt to presume that the moral character of the applicant is unimpeachable, 
but he may withhold the certificate until the applicant shows aflirmatively that 
he possesses good moral character. 

It must be borne in mind that the commissioner is the servant of the people, 
pledged to protect their interests and rights in matters relating to the educa- 
tion of their children, and he has no right to peril those interests by legalizing 
the presence and labors among them of a person concerning whose moral 
reputation there is a doubt. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 
20, 1859. 

A teacher who goes into school without being duly qualified according to law violates his 
contract, and the same is not renewed by his obtaining a certificate subsequently, unless 
a new contract is made. 

This is an appeal from the action of the trustee in discharging a teacher before 
the expiration of his alleged term of engagement. 



TeaciiivR. 41.1 

The appellant's own admissions condemn hiui. He entered tlie school and 
tanght nearly three weeks without any certificate. 'I'liis was wholly unauthor- 
ized. He was liable to discharo-e at any moment of tlie time. He liad violated 
his own contract. The trustee had no authority to autliori/.e him to continue 
the school without a license. The orioinul contract was annulled by the 
appellant when he went into the school without a license, and was not renewed 
by his obtaining a license subsequently. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
March 14, 1884. 

holders of State certificates are not exempted from examinations, by school coinmissioncrs 
or city superintendents, in tlic places wliere thoy seek situations as toacliersi. 

A State certificate does not of course authorize the holder to demand 
'employment of right, from any school officer, or board of officers. These have 
the right to demand just such evidence of qualification as they deum proper. 
Hence they may say to any applicant for a position who holds a State certifi- 
cate, " We will employ you if you can procure a certificate from tlie local com- 
m.issioner or from the city superintendent." If he refuse to comply, of course 
they may refuse to employ hioL Hence it follows that the board of education 
in the city of New York may prescribe such conditions of qualification as they 
see fit as a precedent condition to employment. If they require examination by 
the city superintendent, the teacher has no alternative but to com])ly. The 
holder of a State certificate is supposed to be so thoroughly qualified in all 
respects that he is ready to pass an examination at any time. He should seek, 
rather than avoid, the application of the several tests that can be applied to his 
character and scholarship. Per V, M. Rice, Superintendent, April lo, 1SG4. 
{Letters, vol. 3, p. 98.) 

Teachers' institute a training school for teachers. Prominent object, orijanization, govern- 
ment, discipline and instyiction of common district schools. Superintendent opposed to 
payiup; large sums of money to lecturers. 

The Superintendent directs me to say that a teachers' institute should be a 
training school for teachers, and while good, thorough elementary instruction 
in the branches to be taught in common schools should be imparted, still the 
great object of the institute should be kept prominently before the instructors 
and the teachers in attendance, viz., practical instruction in regard to the 
organization, government, discipline and instruction of common district schools. 
The money furnished by the State, to aid in defraying the expenses of organ- 
izing and holding teachers' institutes, should be paid so far as practicable 
toward the support of institutes conducted as above stated. 

The Superintendent is, therefore, strongly opposed to paying large sums of 
money for lecturers. You will consequently bear this fact in mind in making 
arrangements \^'ith lecturers. Do not engage many lecturers, nor agree to 
pay them much money ; the evenings may some of them be very properly 
.spent in the discussion of topics of practical interest, and in other exercises in 
which the teachers shall be called upon to do something. We wish teachers 
who not only know a great deal, but those who can do much in the school- 
room and do it well. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, October 26, 
1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 410.) 

The teacher is legally responsible for the safe keeping of the school register, and if it is lost 
or stolen through his carelessness he cannot receive any pay for his services. But if he 
can make oath that it was correctly kept, and not lost or stolen by any fault of his, the 
trustees may give him an order upon the supervisor for his wages. 

The teacher is legally responsible for the safe keeping of the school register, 
and if he by carelessness leaves the register in the school-house, and not under 
lock and key, he must suffer the consequences. In short, the teacher must 
show that he has used due diligence in taking care of the register, or, in 
other words, that its loss was no fault of his, before he is entitled to any pay 
for his services. If he can make oath that the register was correctly kept, 
and that he cannot produce it because it is lost or stolen without any fault of 



412 Trustees. 

his, the trustee would be justified in giving him an order upon the supervisor 
for his wages. The trustees should at once supply the teacher with a new 
register and cause it to be carefully kept for the remainder, of the school year. 
If the trustees make application in season, I have authority to authorize the 
commissioner, in his apportionment of 1867, to make to their district an equita- 
ble apportionment, although their record of attendance for the time school 
has been taught during the present school year is stolen or missing. Per V. 
M. Rice, Superintendent, March 19, 1866. {Letters, vol 5, p. 216.) 

Town superintendents (supervisors) can use no discretion in the matter of paying over 
public money on the order of the trustees. 

Town superintendents are by law required to pay over the library money 
apportioned to the several districts, to, or on the order of, the trustees of such 
districts respectively. The question of the legal or illegal expenditure of such 
money can only arise on the apportionment, and must be determined from the 
annual report of the trustees for the year preceding such apportionment. 
Where, therefore, an order of the trustees, legal on its face, is presented to the 
town superintendent (supervisor) for the payment of the whole or any portion 
of the library money of any district, he has no other alternative than to pay it, 
unless he knows, or has good reason to suspect, it has been wrongfully pro- 
cured, and even then he refuses pajTnent on his own responsibility should the 
order prove to be genuine and valid. 

It is true, trustees of districts have no legal authority to apply the library 
money to the purchase of maps, globes, or other scientific apparatus, without 
a vote of the district to that effect, but this is a matter with which the town 
superintendent (supervisor) has nothing to do. The trustees are responsible 
for the proper performance of their duty only to their district, their successors 
in office, and the Department of Public Instruction ; q,nd if, without a vote of 
the district, they give an order for the library money on purchasing apparatus, 
etc., such an order is valid, and the town superintendent (supervisor) cannot go 
behind it in search of the authority under which it was given. The designa- 
tion of a portion of such money as interest does not affect the right of the 
holder of the order to receive payment ; and, if the supervisor has not funds 
of the district in his hands to an amount sufficient to meet the order, he may 
Indorse the amount paid on the order, or take a receipt for the same. Per V. 
M. Rice, Superintendent, May 19, 1854. {Letters, vol. 1, p. 106.) 



TRUSTEES. 



An arbitration between the trustees of a school district and a person having 
a claim against it is proper and legal, and the award binding on the parties. 
Per Morgan, February 19, 1848. 

A school district cannot by vote authorize trustees to borrow money on its 
credit. If the trustees advance money to purchase a library, they may repay 
themselves out of money voted by tax for that purpose, or received from the 
State, but they cannot charge interest. Per Spencer, March 29, 1889. 

Trustees are not empowered to receive a note in payment of a tax imposed by them, and 
cannot maintain an action to enforce payment. 

The trustees of district No. 8, in the town of Mentz, took a note from S. P. 
Clark in payment of a tax assessed upon his farm. Upon appeal it appeared 
that Mr. Clark had been erroneously taxed in district No. 8, while he was yet 
a resident of district No. 7. Held, that the note was void, and could not be 
collected, even if the tax had been legally assessed. Per Spencer, March 24, 
1840. 



Trustees. 413 

When costs have been incnrred against district officers in suits by or against them in the 
discharge of their official duties, a majority of the voters of tlie district may allow the 
amount, and the trustees assess the same by tax. 

The inhabitants of district No. 4, on the 4th September last, audited the 
account of the trustees for costs and expenses incurred in certain suits com- 
menced by and against them and their predecessors in office, and directed the 
amount so audited and allowed to be collected by a tax. The Superintendent, 
on a careful examination of this case, is satisfied that the account was made out 
and presented in good faith, that the items were such as the district were fully 
competent to pass upon, and that the tax directed to be levied for their pay- 
ment was equitable and just. (8 Howard's Reports, 125.) Per Morgan, October, 
1849. 

The inhabitants of a school district have no power to direct the trustees to levy a tax to 
pay the expenses of an arbitration ia settling difficulties in a district. 

The decision of the county superintendent, declaring that the inhabitants of 
district No. 13, in voting a tax to defray or reimburse the expenses of an arbi- 
tration, and other liabilities which had accrued in settling the difficulties to 
which the district had been exposed for the past nine months, had transcended 
the powers conferred on them by law, is strictly in accordance with the previ- 
ous adjudications of this department, and with the well settled principles by 
which it has been uniformly governed in the disposition of cases of this nature, 
and must accordingly be affirmed. The law has distinctly defined the purposes 
for which a school district tax may be voted ; and the inhabitants can in no 
case go beyond them. That the expenses for which the tax in tliis case was 
imposed were incurred by the trustees, under the sanction and directions of a 
district meeting, cannot affect the principle ; the district had no legal authority 
to pass such a vote, and it was in no sense obligatory either upon the inhabi- 
tants or trustees. , The only mode by which the trustees can be indemnified for 
the expenditures incurred by them is by voluntary contribution. They cannot 
legally enforce the collection of a district tax for this purpose. Per Young, 
September 12, 1843. 

Inhabitants have no right to re-elect against his will a person whose resignation has been 

accepted. 

Daniel Lawrence, whose resignation of the office of trustee of district No. 2, 
Hamburgh, had been accepted by three justices of the peace of said town, was 
subsequently re-elected. 

The election was set aside on appeal. The law having constituted the jus- 
tices sole judges of the propriety of a resignation, their decision is final, and 
the inhabitants have no right to disregard it. Per Dix, May 9, 1838. 

The acts of trastees, de facto, holding office under color of an election, subseqtiently declared 
void and set aside, are valid and binding upon their successors. 

Samuel S. Lord and John S. Panlow were elected trustees of district No. 6, 
Lincklaen, at a meeting which was, on appeal, decided to be illegal, and the 
proceedings thereat void. 

Before the decision, however, the trustees had contracted to build a school- 
house, in accordance with the proceedings of the meeting at which they were 
elected, and had hired a teacher for the winter school, and agreed to pay him 
$24 of the public money, and had levied and partly collected a tax of $50 voted 
by said meeting toward building the school-house. 

Their successors refused to fulfill their contracts, and they appealed. 

Htld, that, until the decision declaring void the proceedings of the meeting 
that elected them, they were to all intents and purposes the legal officers of 
the district, so far as the public and third persons were concerned. They acted 
in their official and not in their individual capacity, for the district and not for 
themselves. The collection of the tax assessed by them could not be resisted ; 



414 Trfstees. 

all their contracts made within their official jurisdiction were legal and bind- 
ing. They were competent to transact all the business of the district. Their 
successors, under the decision, succeeded, not merely to ail their rights, but 
also to all their legal liabilities, and were bound to execute all their contracts 
entered into while acting under color of a legal election. Per Spencer, June 
25, 1841. 

Trustees have no lien on moneys belonging to the district, for expenses incurred hy them 

in its behalf. 
If they have been directed by the district to act, they can indemnify themselves by levying 

a tax without a vote of the district for that purpose. 

Mr. Charles Kendall, a trustee of district No. 3, Bethany, Genesee county, 
had in his hands eighteen dollars and eighteen cents belonging to said district, 
At a special meeting held May 6, 1848, said sum was appropriated by a vote 
of the district for the purchase of a stove and other purposes. 

Mr. Kendall claims that the district should pay him for the use of a stove 
bought by him and placed in the school-house without the authority of a vote 
of the district. The district refused to purchase the stove of Mr. Kendall, 
bought by him in good faith, and he retains in his hands three dollars for 
the use thereof. The good or bad designs, either of Mr. Kendall or of the 
district, can in no wise affect the case so as to render the district liable for the 
Btove. 

. Mr. Kendall also claims that he should be allowed three dollars, which he 
alleges he paid for the district, in pursuance of a vote of the district. It is not 
stated when nor for what purpose the three dollars were expended, nor are any 
dates given, except that the annual report of the trustees in 1847 acknowl- 
edged the three dollars as a debt due Mr. Kendall from the district. But the 
district clerk certifies that the records of the district contain no mention of the 
said three dollars. 

Mr. Kendall fails to establish a good claim against the district for the six 
dollars. Per A. G. Johnson, Deputy Superintendent, August 5, 1848. 

Trustees of a school district have the sole power of making contracts relating to their 
districts, and of accepting the work performed under them. 

The trustees of district No. 7, Depuyster, St. Lawrence county, by authority 
from the district, contracted with a builder to construct a school-house, to be 
completed by the 1st of November, 1848. The house was not completed until 
about a month after the time specified, and was not such an one in every^ 
particular as was contemplated in the contract. 

After consultation the trustees accepted the building, thinking it better to 
do so than to subject themselves and the district to further trouble. 

The acceptance of the building is appealed from, on the ground that the 
taxable inhabitants of the district have been wronged. 

The trustees of a school district have the sole power of making contracts 
relating to their district, and of accepting the work performed under them. 
And in the absence of fraud or bad faith, there appears to be no way of render- 
ing them liable for their acts. 

In the present case, there appears to be no evidence of bad faith or intention 
to defraud the district. This department cannot therefore interfere. Per 
Morgan, January 37, 1849. 

When a trustee is absent from a district, so as to be unable to act with his associates, the 
town superintendent (supervisor), on the application of the other trustees, will appoint a 
successor. 

Some time in the month of September last, Mr. Gilbert, who had been 
elected a trustee of district No. 9, visited the western part of the State in com- 
pany with his wife, whose parents reside there, for the benefit of her health. 
Ijeaving her, he returned, harvested his crops, and early in October again left, 
with the avowed intention of remaining until the ensuing spring. The other 



Trustees. 415 

two trustees being unable to agree in the management of the affairs of the dis- 
trict, and the employment of a teacher for the winter term, applied to the town 
superintendent to fill the vacancy which they supposed to exist in the district, 
in order to enable them to organize the winter school. 

For all practical purposes, it is evident that a proper case for the action of 
the town superintendent was presented ; Mr, Gilbert indeed may not have lost 
his legal rights as a resident of the district, but he had, at all events, ceased to 
be an inhabitant, and had expressly avowed his intention not to return to the 
district until the ensuing spring. 

The department is disposed to coincide with the county superintendent in 
the opinion that an actual vacancy existed, created, if not by " removal from 
the district," in the legal acceptation of the term, by a virtual "refusal to- 
serve," or incapacity to act, and that the interposition of the town superintend- 
ent by the appointment of a trustee in his place was legal. Per S. Young, 
December 26, 1846. 

Tmstees cannot retain moneys in their hands to compensate them for services which they 

may have rendered as trustees. 
The office is merely honorary. 

The trustees of school district No. 5 have retained in their hands different 
sums, amounting in the aggregate to sixteen dollars and fifty cents, as it is 
stated in the appeal, for their services in bringing teachers to the district, tak- 
ing them to be examined and carrying them home. 

The only case in which a charge for expenses of transporting teachers could 
be sustained would be where it was part of the contract with the teacher that 
lier expenses for traveling should be defrayed. In this case they would consti- 
tute, and should be charged against the teacher as, wages paid. The trustees 
are entitled to no remuneration from the district for their services in that 
capacity, the office being purely honorary. 

They can retain no money for themselves except when they might have paid 
it for similar services to third persons, and then only for purposes expressly 
enumerated in the statute ; carrying teachers to or from the place of their 
employment is not among those purposes. 

The appeal is therefore sustained, and the trustees above named are severally 
ordered to pay to the town superintendent, for the use of the district, the 
amount which appears by the account aforesaid to have been illegally expended 
and retained by them. Per V. M. Rice, February 19, 1855. 

The drawing of an order for public money is a ministerial act, which does not necessarily 
require the presence of the entire board of trustees. 

The drawing of an order is a ministerial act, which does not necessarily 
require the presence of the entire board of trustees. It is simply the execution 
of a contract, which is obligatory upon all of them, if, as is to be presumed, 
the contract was regularly made. Its validity is not questioned by the 
appellant. 

The respondents aver that Mr. Payne had refused to act with one of them, 
and present this as a reason for not consulting him upon drawing the order. 

This would not excuse the omission if the act was one which involved the 
exercise of judgment, and therefore required a meeting of the entire board. 
A trustee cannot be permitted to retain his office as a mere obstrviction to his 
colleagues. If he cannot act with his associates, he should resign ; and if, 
without resigning, he neglects to perform the duties of his office, it is the duty 
of the town superintendent to prosecute him for the penalty imposed by the 
statute. But, until he has resigned or been superseded, his colleagues should 
call upon him regularly to take part in their official action, to the end that 
when his neglect and contumacy shall be established by reiterated refusals, an 
application may be made to the State Superintendent for his removal. Per 
V. M. Rice, Superintendent, June 36, 1855. 



416 Trustees. 

It is the cinty of the tnisteess to employ a competent teacher, and have a school in their dis- 
trict at least six months (28 weeks) in a year. 
Trustee should not be teachers. 

The trustees of district No. 8, Preston, Clienango county, had for a long 
period neglected to employ a teacher, and no school had been kept in the dis- 
trict, except for a few days, by one of the trustees. They were requested, 
December 26, 1855, by all the taxable inhabitants of the district, to employ a 
teacher, but had neglected to do so. 

An appeal from their neglect was taken, and they failed to make a legal 
answer. 

It is a matter of course, under the circumstances, that the appeal shall be 
sustained, and the trustees required to proceed without delay to engage a 
teacher who shall be in possession of a proper certificate of qualification before 
commencing his labors. 

It is proper to remark that, while the employment of a trustee as teacher is 
nowhere prohibited, and his assumption of the task of instructing the school 
may, under some circumstances, be highly praiseworthy, yet the practice is to 
be discouraged. The fact that the teacher is one of the board that employs 
him and fixes his wages, necessarily gives room to a suspicion that he may 
have been able to make a contract more advantageous to himself and less 
advantageous to the district, than if some third party had been employed. 
Those who represent the pulolic should never put themselves in a situation 
where their private interests may conflict with those of their constituents. Per 
V. M. Rice, March 18, 1856. 

The trustees should call district meetinjrs when requested to do so by a respectable number 
of inhabitants for a legitimate object. 

One of the trustees of district No. 19, partly in Leicester and partly in Perry, 
resigned his office, and subsequently united with fifteen others in a petition to 
the remaining trustees to call a special meeting to fill the vacancy, and to trans- 
act such other business as might be deemed necessary. 

The trustees declined to make the call, on the ground that they were appre- 
hensive that the meeting, if called, might make such disposition of the public 
money as would interfere with previous arrangements and prove detrimental 
to the school then in operation. 

The filling of an existing vacancy was a proper and legal purpose, and the 
meeting, if called within thirty days after the happening of the vacancy, might 
have elected a person. Before an appeal could be decided, the time within 
which the inhabitants can be called together will have expired, and the vacancy 
must be filled by appointment. The trustees have no right to conjecture that 
a meeting will adopt measures to injure the school. The principle cannot be 
sanctioned for a moment that the trustees may refuse to call a meeting of the 
inhabitants, upon the ground that the latter may adopt measures at variance 
with the views of the former as to the interests and welfare of the district. 
The trustees are the representatives and servants of the district, bound to carry 
out and obey the will of the inhabitants, when legally expressed, and not war- 
ranted in attempting, in any manner, to thwart their wishes. Per Spencer, 
December 23, 1840. 

The official acts of two trustees, performed without notifying or consulting the other, are 

illegal and void. 

At a district meeting held in district No. 7, Guilford, Chenango county, Sep- 
tember 5, 1848, a resolution was passed directing the school to be kept in a 
room near Samuel Godfrey's, three years from the first day of April preceding. 

It appears that the school-house in district No. 7 was burned in January, 
1847. On the 20tli of February, 1847, a meeting was held in the district, at 
which a site for a school-house was designated. This meeting was adjourned 
to the twenty-seventh of the same month, when the vote establishing the site 
was rescinded. Two of the trustees called a special meeting, to be held on the 



Trustees. 417 

15th. of September 1847, without notifying or consulting the other trustee. At 
this meeting a tax was voted to pay for the site of a school-house, without 
designating the same, and also a tax to build a school-house. 

The two trustees made out a tax list, dated December 24, 1847, and delivered 
it with the warrant attached to ihe collector, on the fourth of January follow- 
ing, more than three months after the tax was voted. With the money thus 
raised, a school-house was built upon the site selected by the district, on the 
twentieth day of February, but which was annulled by said district at the 
adjourned meeting of the twenty-seventh of the same month. 

The proceedings in raising the tax and building the school-house cannot be 
sustained. The meeting called by two trustees without consulting or notify- 
ing the other trustee was illegal, and the votes of that meeting were void. 

It is therefore decided that the house built upon the site not established by 
the district, and with a tax not legally raised, is not the school-house of the 
district, and that the vote of the district taken at the meeting of the 5th of 
September, 1848, ordering the school to be kept " in the room near Samuel 
Godfrey's," was legal. Per Morgan, November 16, 1848. 

When a lyustee is unable to discharge his duty as such trustee, hy reason of imprisonment, 
the town superintendent (supervisor) may appoint his successor after the expiration of 
thirty days from the time of such imprisonment. 

The facts of this case appear to be as follows : 

Some three or four months previous to the annual meeting for the choice 
of district officers, one of the trustees for district No. 2, of the town of Evans, 
county of Erie, was arrested on execution, and committed to the jail limits of 
the county, where he has since been and still is confined. 

At the annual meeting of the district, a motion was made to elect a trustee 
in the place of the individual thus imprisoned, but the majority, thinking 
there was no vacancy to be filled, refused to elect, and subsequently the town 
superintendent appointed Chaimcey Stone a trustee, in the place of Enos Avery, 
the former incumbent. 

An appeal was taken to the county superintendent of Erie county, who 
reversed the action of the town superintendent, and annulled the appointment. 

Section 71, of Common School Laws, published in 1844, authorizes the town 
superintendent to appoint any person residing in the district to supply any 
vacancy occasioned by the death of the incumbent, refusal to serve, removal 
out of the district or incapacity of any officer, when the vacancy shall not 
have been filled by a district meeting within one month after the same shall 
occur ; and the only question now presented is, had either of these contingen- 
cies happened one month previous to the time the appointment was made ? 

It would not, I think, do to hold that no other than a legal incapacity should 
operate to create a vacancy, nor will it do to say that a refusal to serve may 
not be as strongly inferred from the acts of an incumbent as by a direct 
assertion that he will not discharge the duties of his office. 

Mr. Avery, no doubt, is an inhabitant of the district in every legal sense, 
yet in point of fact he is actually incapacited from the discharge of his duties 
as trustee, by reason of his confinement upon the jail limits out of his town 
and out of the boundaries of his district. 

The decision of the county superintendent is therefore reversed, and that of 
the town superintendent affirmed. Per N. S. Benton, October 8, 1846. 

Trustees have the power to call special district meetings whenever they shall deem it neces- 
sary and proper, even though a meeting for the same purpose stands adjourned for a 
period more or less remote. 

This is an appeal taken by three taxable inhabitants of school district No. 
11, in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga county, from the proceedings of the 
trustees of said district, in relation to a tax levied therein by the order of a 
special district meeting. The appellants state that, at a meeting held in said 
district, January 14, 1854, permission having been obtained from the town 
superintendent, a tax of $500 was voted for the purpose of building an addition 

53 



418 Trustees. 

to the scliool-liouse, whicTi tax was duly collected ; that the work was let to 
two bidders, for $535, without consulting the district, or being authorized by a 
special meeting, thus exceeding their powers ; that, at the annual meeting, the 
district refused to vote a tax for the additional $25 ; that a special meeting 
was called for the purpose of voting upon such tax, and held on the 18th of 
November, 1854 ; which meeting, without entertaining the proposition, resolved, 
by a vote of nineteen against ten, to adjourn twenty-five weeks ; that, directly 
afterward, the trustees called another special meeting, of which they gave 
notice themselves (the clerk having refused) ; that said meeting was held on 
the 25th of November, and by a vote of twenty -four against twenty-one levied 
the said tax of $25 ; that said meeting was held in the afternoon, contrary to 
the usual custom of the district, and at a time when a previous meeting, called 
to consider this very question, stood adjourned. 

There can be no doubt of the authority of the trustees of school districts to 
call special meetings whenever they shall deem it necessary and proper. 

The statute declares this right in express terms, without regard to the cir- 
cumstance that a meeting is already called, or stands adjourned for a period 
more or less remote. It is not difficult to imagine cases in which the interests 
of the district would sustain serious damage, if it was necessary to defe^ action 
till a period fixed by a previous meeting. Exigencies often arise, imperatively 
requiring that the inhabitants of a school district assemble within the shortest 
time practicable, and of these the trustees are to be the judges. 

The appeal is dismissed. Per V. M. Rice, January 22, 1855. 

A district meeting may prescribe the terms of a contract for building a school-house. 

The trustees of district No. 13, in the town of Bethany, refused to pay 
Daniel R. Prindle the sum of $72.50 upon his contract for building a school- 
house : First, on the ground that they had not executed the contract ; and, 
second, that the school-house was useless to the district, because the right of 
way to it, over intervening lands, could not be obtained. 

The district meeting which voted the tax for building the school-house had 
prescribed the terms of the contract, and the same was drawn up at the time 
by one of the trustees, and signed by the contractor. The trustees were 
directed to superintend the erection of the house according to its terms, and to 
fulfill it on the part of the district. The builder fulfilled his part, and the 
trustees recognized the contract by superintending and directing the work. 

The trustees, as the agents and servants of the district, are the proper and 
indeed only persons to make and execute bargains and contracts on the part of 
the district. But the meeting was competent to specify the terms of a contract, 
and in this case did so, and one of the trustees drew it according to the terms 
prescribed. The contractor executed it on his part, and performed it. The 
trustees, by recognizing it and directing the work, were in fact parties to it, 
although they did not sign it. 

The remaining objection is entirely groundless. The contractor for building 
the school-house cannot be in any way responsible for a failure of title to the 
site, or a right of way to it. The question of title and right of way is between 
the district and the grantors or owners of the land. 

Having collected the tax of $72.50 levied to pay for the house, they are 
legally and equitably bound to pay over the proceeds to the contractor. Per 
Young, February 3, 1843. 

The trustees of a distinct are the only legal authority by which the vote of a district can be 
carried into execution. 

At a special meeting held in district No. 2, Centreville, Allegany county, 
November 4, 1848, it was voted to change the site of the school-house, by a 
majority of votes. The district being an altered one, this vote was sufficient. 

The site selected is situated at the extreme southern part of the district, 
making the distance which children residing in the extreme northern part of 
the district would be compelled to travel about four miles. 



Teustees. 419 

The inhabitants authorized Mr. Asa Robbins to superintend the removal of 
the house, without being associated with the trustees. 

The trustees forbade Mr. Robbins to move the house from the old site. He, 
however, disregarding their remonstrance, located it upon the new site. 

The trustees of a district are the only legal authority by which the votes of 
the district can be carried into execution. And although the inhabitants at a 
district meeting may direct that the trustees shall contract with a certain 
person to perform certain work, and that such person shall be associated with 
the trustees in such work, they cannot authorize such person to do any act, nor 
can the district contract with him, except through the trustees. 

The vote directing Mr. Robbins to superintend the removal of the school- 
house without the intervention of the trustees was therefore illegal, and Mr. 
Robbins became a trespasser, after being forbidden by the trustees to move the 
school-house. Per Morgan, February 3, 1849. 

Where a huildins: committee, in concert with the trustees, are invested with discretionary 
power, by resolution of a district, and have entered upon the execution of their trust, by 
making contracts for materials, etc., the district cannot control or interfere with their 
plans. 

This is an appeal from the proceedings of a building committee appointed 
to take charge of building a new school-house, and from the refusal of the 
trustees to call a special meeting for the purpose of comparing drafts and 
models of architecture and adopting the best plan for building a school-house, 
wood-house and other fixtures belonging to the same. 

In reply to the appeal, the trustees and building committee allege that, on 
or about the 8th day of March last, at a special meeting called for the purpose, 
the district voted to build a new brick school-house, twenty by twenty-five and 
a half feet ; that Benjamin Wright and others then submitted their plans and 
drafts for building said house, which were voted down by the meeting. A 
vote was then passed, giving the trustees and building committee discretionary 
power in regard to building and furnishing said house in the best and cheapest 
manner, according to the size above mentioned. 

They further allege that, in pursuance of such vote, they went on and pur- 
chased brick and materials and entered into a contract for laying the brick 
and stone, and lathing and plastering the interior of the building, and pro- 
cured window frames and doors, and sash, with glass set, and that the walla 
of the house were now up and the roof nearly completed. 

Under such circumstances, the Superintendent is of the opinion that it is 
now too late to interfere with the proceedings of the building committee. The 
district might have restricted their powers, by a vote for that purpose, when 
they were appointed, but, having failed to do so, and having invested them 
with a discretion in the discharge of their duties, there is nothing in the case 
which calls for the interposition of this department. Per H. S. Randall, 
May 19, 1853. 

When a site has been designated and a tax raised for building a school- 
house, a building committee may be appointed by the meeting. But contracts 
are to be made and money to be paid out by the trustees, and the building 
committee must be regarded as the agents of the trustees, to carry out the 
direction of the meeting. As agents of the trustees, the latter will be respon- 
sible for the fulfillment of their contracts up to the amount of the tax. Per 
Spencer, June 19, 1841. 

The election of a tnistee at an adjourned meeting valid. 

If a trustee renders his annual account to an adjourned annual meeting, he will not be 
removed because it is unsatisfactory. 

Mr. Isaac Tracy, one of the trustees of district No. 5, Allen, Allegany county, 
omitted to make his annual report to the annual meeting, October 1, 1855, but 
claims that one was submitted and made by the clerk at an adjourned meetings 
October second. 



420 Trustees. 

One of the trustees elected at the first meeting refused to serve, and at the 
adjourned meeting another was elected to fill the vacancy. 

Mr. Tracy will not be removed because his account was not satisfactory. He 
is liable to a suit hereafter for any money that can be shown by that account, 
or otherwise, to have come into his hands, and which he cannot prove to have 
been legally expended or paid to a colleague or successor authorized to receive 
it. If, on the other hand, he entirely failed to render any account, he is liable 
to a penalty of twenty-five dollars, in addition to a judgment for any moneys 
proved to be in his hands. 

The election of a trustee on the second day of October must be held to have 
been valid and regular. Admitting that the meeting the previous evening 
adjourned for the sole purpose of having the annual account of the trustees 
submitted, the adjourned meeting was nevertheless competent to fill any 
vacancy which might then exist in district offices. Such a vacancy was created 
by the refusal of Mr. Lincoln to serve. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintend- 
ent, May 31, 1856. 

The Superintendent has power to remove a trustee from office, for corruption or intentional 
neglect of official duties, or for willful disobedience of the orders of the department. 

On the 20th of December last, the trustees in district No. 6, in' the town of 
Somers, were directed and required by an order of this department, within ten 
days from the service upon them of such order, to execute a certain tax list 
and warrant, made out by Jacob G. Purdy, one of the trustees, for the collec- 
tion of the amount voted at a special meeting held in said district on the 27th 
of September last, for building a school-house and out-buildings, and fencing 
the site, deducting therefrom the sum of $8.50, the balance remaining in the 
hands of said trustees, on the sale of the house belonging to said district. 

A copy of this order was served upon the two trustees, who refused to sign 
the tax list and warrant on the 25th of December. On the 2d day of January 
the trustees met by previous appointment. The tax list was produced, and the 
$8.50 above named deducted therefrom, when the two trustees for the first 
time interposed an objection that a certain piece of land was included in the 
tax list which was not taxable in the district, and insisted upon its deduction, 
although no legal claim to that effect had been made by the owner or occupant 
of the land within the time prescribed by law. On the ensuing day, the trus- 
tees had another meeting, but Carpenter and Ferris still declined, on various 
pretenses, signing the tax list, and have, up to the present period, refused or 
neglected to carry into effect the order of the department. 

This refusal is sought to be justified by them upon several grounds, among 
which the most important are that Purdy refused to make the necessary cor- 
rection of the tax list, and also to account to his colleagues for certain pecu- 
niary transactions of the district. Neither of these excuses can be received, 
if there were any error in the tax list, as presented to them for signature, it 
was clearly within their power, as the majority of the trustees, to have made 
the requisite correction in the mode prescribed by law. Whatever may have 
been the conduct of Mr. Purdy, it constituted no sufficient grounds for a refusal 
on their part to comply with an express order of this department. They have 
manifested a determination to resist the explicit direction of the Superintendent 
in the premises, and to evade the performance of their duties as trustees. In 
pursuance, therefore, of the authority vested in me by chap. 382, section 15 of 
the Laws of 1849, 1 do hereby remove the said Carpenter and Ferris from office 
as trustees of district No. 6 in the town of Somers. Per Morgan, January 28, 
1851. 

The State Superintendent will, on proper application, remove a trustee for unwarrantable 
neglect of official duty. 

Elisha Bedell, one of the trustees of school district No. 1, in the town of 
Hempstead, is charged with a willful disturbance and interruption of the 



Trustees. 421 

school taught by Mary Augusta Brown, in said district. Mr. Van Cott, another 
of the trustees, is charged with a refusal to unite with one of his colleagues 
in prosecuting for such offense, in accordance with the statute. 

It is in evidence that Mr. Bedell went to the school-room, and in the presence 
of the scholars used angry and abusive language to the teacher, openly counter- 
manded her orders in conducting the school, and caused the school to be 
thrown into disorder, and that both teacher and pupils were much frightened 
by his language and threatening manner, and for some time after she was 
imable to proceed with the school. 

The evidence is confirmed by the report of a committee of ten appointed by 
the inhabitants of the district, at the annual meeting, to visit and examine the 
school, who, in concluding their statement, observe that they " were com- 
pelled to the opinion that Mr. Bedell has thereby disqualified himself for the 
oflftce of trustee, and that it is evidently for the welfare of the school that he 
should forthwith resign his office." 

This array of evidence is met only by a general and imsatisfactory denial 
by Mr. Bedell. 

There can be no doubt, in the opinion of the Superintendent, from evidence, 
that Mr. Bedell has been guilty of a gross and unjustifiable violation of law 
and neglect of official duty. The same conduct in an individual not ofiicially 
connected with the school would unquestionably have incurred the penalty 
prescribed by law; and it certainly does not mitigate the offense, nor change its 
nature, that it was committed by an oflScer specially charged with the preser- 
vation of quiet and order in the school, and with the protection and guardian- 
ship of its interests. 

The act of 1845, to prevent disturbances in schools, above referred to, makes 
it the special duty of the trustees of any school district in which any such 
offense shall be committed, to prosecute such offender, before any officer ha^dng 
cognizance of such offense. Mr. Van Cott, one of the two remaining trustees, 
having been called upon for the performance of this duty, positively refused 
to comply with said request, and still refuses so to do. This is clearly an 
unwarrantable neglect of official duty, for which no defense is interposed ; 
and the said Elisha Bedell and Nicholas Van Cott are hereby removed from 
office as trustees of said district. Per Morgan, July, 1851. 



When a town superintendent (supervisor) connives with a trustee to procure his resigna- 
tion, and conceals it from the district, so that the inhabitants cannot electa successor 
within thirty days after the resignation, and the town superintendent then makes the 
appointment, the department will set the appointment aside and order a new election. 

Mr. Johnson, a trustee in district No. 4, Florence, proffered his resignation 
of office to the superintendent, which was accepted. This was done secretly, 
and obviously with the intention that the district should be unacquainted with 
it until after the expiration of thirty days, when the town superintendent could 
appoint a successor. It is stated that the town superintendent gave one of 
the trustees notice of the resignation, but it is clearly shown, and is not denied 
by the town superintendent, that this was done with a view of seeming to 
fulfill, rather than to carry out the meaning of the law, and allow the district 
to elect a successor, since this trustee was very cautious about letting any one 
know it. 

The district not being permitted to choose the trustee, the town superintend- 
ent made the appointment the day before the expiration of the thirty days. 
This department cannot suffer a district to be imposed upon or deprived of any 
pri\aleges by the management of officers or the intrigue of individuals. It is 
therefore ordered that the appointment of trustee made by the town superin- 
tendent of Florence, to supply the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. 
Johnson, as trustee of dis^ict No. 4, in said town, be set aside, and that the 
trustees of said district call a special meeting of the inhabitants to fill the 
vacancy. Per Morgan, February, 1849. 



422 Trustees. 

A trustee will be removed from office where it appears that he persistently refuses to assist 
his associates in making out a tax list ordered by a district meeting. 

On the petition of two of the trustees of a district for ' the removal of the 
third, on the ground of his refusal to unite with them in making out a tax list 
and warrant as directed by a vote of the district, the defense of the third 
trustee is, that acting under legal advice and counsel, he has refused to act 
with the petitioners as trustee in making out the tax list aforesaid, for the 
reason that all the proceedings of the meeting relative thereto were illegal and 
void. 

But it appears, on evidence that, on an appeal from the proceedings of such 
meeting, this department had declared the proceedings, including the vote to 
levy said tax, legal and valid. It further appears that, when the petitioners 
had made certain corrections in the tax list suggested by this third trustee, he 
still refused to sign the tax list as amended, and that he steadily refused to 
meet with the petitioners at any future time to make out a new tax list, or 
have any thing to do with it. It is therefore plain, that his motives were to 
defeat and avoid the making out of the tax list as voted by the district, and 
confirmed by this department. It is obviously the right and privilege of every 
man to take legal advice, as well in relation to public and official duties as to 
his private and personal affairs. But no man is suffered to interpose the plea 
of this privilege as a protection from the consequences of error or wrong doing 
in public or private concerns. When, therefore, under the advice of legal 
counsel, a school officer neglects or refuses to regard the direction of the dis- 
trict and the decisions of this department formally rendered and clearly 
announced, when the free action of the other district officers is obstructed, dis- 
sension perpetuated, difficulties and embarrassments multiplied, and all educa- 
tional interests sacrificed, it ceases to be a question of honesty of purpose on 
the part of the offender, and he must be visited with the severest penalty which 
such action incurs — removal from office. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
January 30, 1858. 

What will justify the removal of trustees. 

"Whenever this department finds, in the action of trustees, only a stubborn 
determination to follow out their own purposes, regardless of the legal or 
equitable rights of teachers, and of the wishes and interests of the inhabitants 
of the district, whereby serious injury has been sustained, and must yet be 
sustained if their policy is pursued longer, it will immediately direct their 
removal from the office whose trust they have violated. Per H. H. Van Dyck, 
Superintendent, July 15, 1858. 

A trustee win not be removed for refusing to concur with his associates in their policy in 
the management of district affairs, nor for supporting a private school. 

On a petition for the removal from office of one of the trustees of the district, 
on account of his refusal to concur with his associates in regard to certain 
measures of district policy, and also upon the ground of his having contributed 
to the support of a private school, it was held, that, although he may have been 
in error relative to the justice and legality of the policy, still his refusal to act 
with the other trustees, dictated by his convictions of right, is not such contu- 
macy as demands punishment. It is impossible to control the opinions of men ; 
we must be content to overrule them where they are wrong. In the present 
case, the majority of the trustees have the power to overrule the opinions of 
the other, and that is all that4he case requires. 

Nor, is the fact of his contributing to the support of a private school any just 
ground for removing him from the office of trustee. It is the privilege of every 
man to send his children and contribute to the support of such school as he 
regards best for his own and his children's interest. The fact of his being a 
trustee does not deprive him of any right in the premises. Per E. W. Keyes, 
Deputy Superintendent, June 28, 1858. 



Trustees. . 423 

Petition for the removal of a trustee for not agreeing with his associates., and for using rude 
and uucourteous language toward them, denied. 

On the petition of two of the trustees asking for the removal from oflBce of 
the third trustee, it appears that the third trustee refuses to co-operate with 
his associates in matters relatinjr to the administration of school affairs, and 
that his language toward them is rude and uncourteous. 

Concerning the disagreement of Mr. Simpson with his associates, they are 
the majority and can control, and it was never intended that this department 
should have power to make men agree, nor to punish them for disagreeing. 

In regard to the incivility of the third trustee toward his associates, the dis- 
trict is supposed to know whether or not those whom they elect to office have 
sufficient culture and refinement, sufficient dignity and purity of character, 
properly to adorn the office to which they are elected ; and if they see fit to 
elect one who is rude, vulgar and coarse in his language, this department will 
not and cannot interfere. Per H, H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 2, 1859. 

Petition for the removal of a trustee for not agreeing with his associates, and for not heing 
a suitable person for the office, denied. 

On the petition of certain of the inhabitants, asking for the removal from 
office of one of the trustees, the petitioners allege that he is not a suitable 
person to hold the office, and also that he has displayed a factious opposition to 
the wishes of the district, and refuses to co-operate with his associates in carry- 
ing forward certain measures that a majority of the district wish to see 
enforced. 

In regard to the first allegation, it is sufficient to answer that the inhabitants 
elected the trustee with a full knowledge of his character and responsibility, 
and of the powers and duties of the office. 

In regard to the second allegation, the trustee whose removal is requested is 
in the minority, and his associates can control the action of the board ; hence 
no necessitv for his removal appears. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, 
March 21, 1859. 

A tnistee will not be removed because he differs from his associates in opinion. 

This is a petition for the removal from office of one of the trustees of the 
district. 

The petition does not set forth such facts and circumstances as will justify 
the department in taking the action sought. 

The facts proved, in the main, are a difference of opinion between the 
trustee whose removal is sought and his associates. However much the 
department might differ with the said trustee upon the points in controversy, 
it does not justify his removal on the ground of that difference of opinion. Per 
H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, February 14, 1861. 

Where the trustees contracted with a man to build a school-house, and afterward con- 
tracted with another, who built the house ; held, that the remedy of the first contractor 
is at law, and not on an appeal to this department. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of two of the trustees, it appears that 
they entered into a contract wdth one McPherson to build a school-house, as 
authorized by the district, and that afterward they permitted one Barber to 
build the house. 

The course of the trustees appears to be marked by strange inconsistencies, 
but I do not see that these come within the purview of this department. The 
remedy of Mr. McPherson is at law, and not through this department. The 
appellants do not specify any particular remedy which they wish to have 
applied, and, from their statement of the case, it is not such an one as will 
enable this department to afford the parties any relief. The appeal must 
therefore be dismissed. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, Februarv 3. 
1860. ^ 



424 Tefstees. 

Trustees -will not be required to let the building of a school-house to the lowest bidder, 
unless so instructed by a vote of the inhabitants. 

By a vote of tlie inliabitants at a meeting duly convened, the trustees were 
directed to build a new scliool-liouse. They accordingly gave notice tliat tliey 
would receive proposals for building a bouse of given dimensions. The appel- 
lant put in a bid at $340. Other bids were put in, among them one by Mr. 
Davis at $350, which was accepted by the trustees. The appellant asks that 
the award be set aside, it not being given to the lowest bidder. 

Had the district directed the trustees to let the contract for building the house 
to the lowest bidder, there would appear on the part of the trustees a depart- 
ure from the authority with which they were vested, which would demand 
interference. But such is not the case, the trustees being left free to make 
such contract as they might deem most advantageous to the district. Nor did 
the notice which they gave place them under any obligation to the appellant 
in consideration of his bid being lower than that of any other. They were left 
free to make the award as they should deem most advantageous. It devolves 
upon the appellant to show either a legal claim by virtue of the notice given, 
or that the district is likely to suffer injury from the action of the trustees. 
Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, January 30, 1860. 

Trustees may employ a person to do the merely clerical work of computing and writing out 
the lax list, they making the comparisons with the assessment roil, and^'fixing valuations 
of property not on the roU. 

On an appeal from the acts of two trustees in making out a tax list, the only 
ground of complaint is that the trustees aflBxed their warrant to a tax list 
made out by a third party. 

If this charge were sustained in all particulars, it would certainly invalidate 
the tax list. But the statements of the trustees establish that the list was 
examined by them, and found to be correct. This comparison of the list with 
the assessment roll, and pronouncing it correct according thereto, is essentially 
the exercise of judgment which devolves upon the trustees. The writing it 
down is but a clerical act which they may employ any one to perform. 

The tax list being, therefore, essentially the work of the trustees, as the 
result of their judgment on examination and comparison, I must hold it to be 
a legal instrument. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, March 31, 1858. 

Where the action of trustees is appealed from on the grounds of illegality, the illegality 
must be proved as alleged. Until it is, the action of the trustees will be presumed to 
have been legal. 

The appellant avers that the trustees followed the assessment rolls of 1856 
in making out the tax list instead of the rolls of 1857. The point to be deter- 
mined is, did the trustees follow the last assessment roll of the town ? Upon 
this question the appellants produce no evidence. It -devolves upon the appel- 
lants to show affirmatively that the assessment rolls used by the trustees were 
not the last assessment rolls of the town in which their district lies. Failing 
to do this, as they do, it will be presumed that the action of the trustees was 
regular and legal. 

The appeal must therefore be dismissed, upon the ground that the appellants 
fail to make out a case of illegality against the trustees. Per H. H. Van 
Dyck, Superintendent, December 11, 1857. 

A trustee cannot be permitted to avail himself of his official position to adjust the amount 
of compensation for fuel furnished by him to the district. 

A trustee had furnished a certain amount of fuel for district purposes, in 
accordance with a resolution of the district. He afterward makes out a tax 
list for his compensation, which he calls upon his colleagues to sign, and which 
they refuse, to do, alleging that the wood so furnished has never been measured, 
and that an exorbitant price is charged for it. 



Trustees. 425 

EeU, that it was proper that the fuel should be paid for by tax, and that the 
amount found due the trustee should thus be paid. But the trustee cannot 
avail himself of his position as trustee to adj ust the amount of his own com- 
pensation, or to exercise any influence in adjusting it by his own vote. This 
accords with the well established doctrine that a person assuming to deal in 
behalf of the public and dealing with himself cannot be allowed to make any 
profit. Equity requires, therefore, that the price of the wood thus furnished by 
the trustee should be cut down to the lowest possible rate for which it might 
have been furnished. Per H. H. Van Dyck, Superintendent, July 31, 1857. 

A general vote of a meeting in favor of a peaceful adjustment of protracted controversies 
and lawsuits does not confer upon the trustees power to levy a tax for the purpose of 
paying any and all claims that may have arisen in consequence of such controversies. 

On an appeal from a tax list and warrant made and issued by the trustees 
it appears that the district has been engaged in controversies in the progress 
of which suits have been prosecuted by and against the trustees, costs and 
expenses incurred and taxes levied, payment of which has been refused. At 
a special meeting for the purpose of deliberating concerning the pending 
actions, controversies and suits, the sentiment and expressions of the meeting 
were unanimously in favor of a peaceful settlement of existing controversies, 
and resolutions favorable to such settlement were adopted. The trustees have 
interpreted these resolutions as giving them absolute power to settle and adjust 
the pending controversies, withdraw and compromise suits, adjust outstanding 
claims, and to levy a tax to pay all demands and expenses thus created and 
incurred. In the exercise of this authority they have levied the tax from 
which this appeal is brought. 

The fact is apparent and clear to my mind that the action of the meet- 
ing referred to did not invest the trustees with the exercise of the powers 
assumed. A general and indefinite vote, favorable to the peaceful solution of 
difficulties, hardly justifies an indiscriminate settlement of suits and doubtful 
claims, and the levy of a tax of nearly four hundred dollars to complete the 
settlement, I must hold that the trustees have very greatly exceeded any 
authority that I can find conferred upon them. They are acting without 
requisite authority. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, May 16, 1861. 

An agreement in writing between a trustee and a contractor to build a school-house must 
have an internal revenue stamp affixed in order to be valid. 

An agreement was entered into between the trustee and a contractor, under 
the authority of a district meeting, to build a new school-house for $900. The 
contract was made and signed on the 7th day of May, and placed in the hands 
of a third party for safe keeping. A revenue stamp, as required by the act of 
Congress, was procured and handed to the person having the contract in 
custody, but the same was not attached until after the meeting of the district 
that evening, at which meeting a resolution was passed rescinding the authority 
given to the trustee for contracting for a new school-house. 

The trustee claims that, the contract not having been stamped before the 
meeting took such action, the question had not passed beyond the jurisdiction 
of the meeting. 

In this conclusion the trustee is correct. The contract was not completed 
or binding upon either party until the law of Congress, which under the 
Constitution of the United States is supreme, had been complied with. Per 
V. M. Rice, Superintendent, July 7, 1864. 

A person elected as a librarian of a school district cannot be displaced except by a direct 
procedure on the part of some competent legal authority, on information in the nature of 
quo wairanto, or on appeal from the election, even though the incumbent be an infant. 

This was an appeal originally brought to the county superintendent of Sara- 
toga from the refusal of the trustees to deliver over to the charge of the appel- 
lant the library of the district, he having been chosen unanimously as librarian 

54 



426 Fnion School Disteicts. 

at the annual meeting of the district on the first Monday in October last. In 
their answer to the appeal, the trustees place their refusal upon the ground 
that the appellant is a minor, and could not, therefore, execute a valid bond 
for the preservation and safe keeping of the books belonging to the district 
library. The county superintendent very properly overruled this defense, 
holding that the appellant, though ineligible, must be recognized as the libra- 
rian de facto of the district, so far as the public and third persons are con- 
cerned, and that his right to the office could not be tried in this indirect way. 
No principle of law is better settled than that the actual incumbent of an office, 
holding under color of a legal election or appointment, can be displaced only 
by a direct procedure on the part of some competent legal authority on informa- 
tion in the nature of a quo vmrranto or otherwise ; and that his acts, so far as 
the public are concerned, will be recognized as valid and legal to all intents 
and purposes while he continues to execute the office under claim of title. In 
this case, the appellant was unanimously elected librarian of the district, not- 
withstanding his admitted ineligibility, and it does not rest with the trustees 
to deprive him of the office in this indirect mode. They might have appealed 
from such election, placing their appeal expressly upon the ground of his ineli- 
gibility, and the county superintendent might have set aside the election and 
ordered a new meeting to fill the vacancy. But, not having resorted to this 
remedy, they cannot refuse to deliver over to him the library of the district on 
the ground of such ineligibility ; nor are they v/arranted in assuming that the 
property of the district will be unsafe in his hands, on the ground of his want 
of responsibility. They may remove him from office whenever he willfully dis- 
obeys their directions in any matter relative to the preservation of the books 
and appurtenances of the library, or for any willful neglect of duty, etc., etc. 
But they cannot refuse to recognize him as the legally elected librarian of the 
district. 

They are, therefore, hereby directed to deliver the library of the district into 
his hands, and the decision of the county superintendent is hereby affirmed. 
Per Young, January 29, 1845. 



UNION SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Trustees have no right to refuse to call a special meeting for the purpose of 
considering the question of organizing a union free school, when requested by 
fifteen legal voters of the district to call such meeting. Per V. M. Rice, Super- 
intendent, March 21, 1866. {Letters, vol 5, p. 222.) 

The notice of a meeting to organize a union free school need not recite the names of the 

petitioners. 
If the notice contain irrelevant matter, it will be regarded as surplusage. 

A special meeting was held, pursuant to notice, on the 13th of July, 1867, 
for the purpose of determining whether a union free school with an academic 
department should be organized therein, which question was decided in the 
affirmative by the requisite majority. 

The appellants object to said proceedings, and ask to have them set aside 
for the following reasons : 

1. Because the names of the persons signing the original call are not affixed 
to the trustees' notice. 

2. Because the notice includes, as part of the object of the meeting, the estab- 
lishment of an academical department. 

3. On account of the alleged refusal of the chairman of said meeting to 
entertain certain motions offered by the minority. 

4. On account of the reception of the vote of one Charles Riely, who, it is 
alleged, is not a legal voter. 



Union School Districts. 427 

In answer to the first charge made by the appellant, it is sufficient to say 
that the law does not require trustees, in their notice of a meting to decide 
whether a union free school shall be organized, to recite the names of the 
signers of the original call. {See sec. 1, title 9, General School Act.) 

The insertion in the notice of the words " with the academical department 
attached " is simply surplusage. That was a matter over which the meeting 
could obtain no jurisdiction, whatever was stated in the notice. Such a depart- 
ment may be organized in a union free school district whenever, in the opinion 
of the board of education, it shall be necessary. The action of said meeting 
upon this subject can be of no binding force upon the board of education, nor 
does such action invalidate the other proceedings of the meeting. 

The testimony submitted in support of the third charge does not show that 
the chairman exceeded his powers, or abused the discretion ordinarily reposed 
in a presiding officer in any material point. The appellants complain that, 
after a vote had been taken upon the question of holding open the polls for 
fifteen minutes, and a division of the house called for, the chairman refused to 
order such division. It appears, however, that such division was not called 
for until the motion had been declared carried, and that thus, according to 
parliamentary usage, the chairman was right in refusing to order the division. 
So, too, complaint is made that votes were received after the polls were closed, 
or, rather, after the lists had been twice called over. But these votes having 
been received before the result was announced, the appellants cannot complain 
that they were illegally received. 

In regard to Charles Riely, the appellants claim that he was disqualified 
from voting because, during the late war, he shirked the draft by absconding 
to Canada. Sach conduct ought, in the opinion of the Superintendent, to 
disqualify a man from exercising any of the privileges of citizenship, but I 
am not aware of any statute in force in this State by which either deserters, 
shirks or rebels are disfranchised. It further appears that after Riely was 
challenged, his vote was not accepted until he had made the declaration 
required by law. The proceedings of said meeting seem to have been con- 
ducted with as much regularity and order as is usual in meetings of that 
character, and I must decline to interfere for the purpose of setting them 
aside. The appeal is hereby dismissed. Per V. M. Rice, September 7, 1867. 

The notice of a meeting to form a union free school district must state the qualifications of 

voters, as required by law. 
The trustees of a union free school district must be elected by baUot. 

It appears that the meeting decided to organize a union free school, and that 
the voters proceeded to elect Wm. P. Delamater, James H. Elmendorf, and 
James Robison, as trustees of said union free school district, but that they did 
not elect said trustees by ballot. The appellants ask to have the proceedings 
of said meeting declared void and set aside on the following grounds : First, 
because the notices were not made in accordance with law, the qualifications 
of voters not being therein stated, as required by section 1 of title 9 of the 
general school act of 1864 Second, because the trustees were not elected by 
ballot, as required by section 5 of the same title and act. These points are 
well taken by the appellants, and are sufficient to sustain the appeal. Much 
as the Superintendent desires to encourage the formation of anion free schools, 
anxious as he is to sustain trustees and inhabitants in such eflforts, he cannot 
go outside of the law to organize them. The provisions of law in regard to 
the organization of such schools are plain and easily understood, and, unless 
they are observed by trustees and inhabitants, those individuals will have had 
their labor in vain. The proceedings of said special meeting are hereby 
declared void. Nothing contained in this decision should be construed as 
preventing or prohibiting the trastees of said district from calling another 
special meeting of the inhabitants of the said district, at any time, for the 
purpose of determining whether a union free school shall be established 
thei-ein. Per V. M. Rice, May 21, 1866. 



428 Union School Districts. 

A meeting, though duly called, cannot acquire jurisdiction of the question of forming a union 
free school, when less than one-third of the legal voters of the district are present. 

It is only at a meeting called as directed by the statute, where at least one- 
third of the legal voters are present, that the question of organizing a union 
free school can be considered. 

Where a question of jurisdiction is raised, the facts establishing jurisdiction 
must be produced. Per E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 15, 1863. 

Where less than one-third of the voters of the district is present at a special meeting, the 
meeting cannot take action in the matter of organizing a union free school. 

This is an appeal from the proceedings of a special district meeting called for 
the purpose of organizing a union free school. 

I consider it to be conclusively established by the testimony that less than 
one-third of the legal voters of the district was present at the meeting when 
the question upon the formation of a union free school was considered and 
acted upon. Less than one-third of the inhabitants could not acquire jurisdic- 
tion of the question ; hence, the action of that meeting must be regarded as 
wholly void. Per E. W. Keyes, Acting Superintendent, January 1, 1862. 

In a meeting called to organize a union free school district, it requires an afarmative vote 
of two-thirds of those present and voting in order to establish such district. 

The meetings from the proceedings of which this appeal is brought were 
held on the 21st and 23d of November, 1866, for the purpose of determining 
whether said district should be organized as a union free school district, imder 
the provisions of title 9, of the general school act of 1864. The vote on the 
main question was taken at the meeting held on the 21st of Xovember. The 
appellants and others moved that the vote on the main question be taken by 
ballot, or by taking and recording the ayes and noes, but these propositions 
were voted down by said meeting, and the vote on the main question was 
taken viva voce, and declared by the chairman to have been in favor of the 
establishment of such union free school. The meeting then proceeded to 
transact certain other business, and then adjourned to the 23d of November. 
The meeting of the 23d simply ratified the proceedings of the former meeting, 
and then adjourned sine die. 

These appellants, believing that less than two-thirds of the voters present 
voted in favor of the establishment of such union free school, bring this appeal, 
claiming that it is irregular and illegal to vote on the question of organizing a 
free school otherwise than by ballot, or by ayes and noes. They also swear that, 
to the best of their knowledge and belief, less than two-thirds of the voters 
present and voting at said meeting, held on the 21st instant, voted in favor of 
establishing such free school. As the law requires a two-thirds vote of the 
persons present and voting at any such meeting, as a prerequisite to organiza- 
tion under the free school act, it is but fair to infer that the intent of the law 
is that the vote shall be taken in such manner that the precise number of 
voters for and against the proposition may be known. While it is not necessa- 
rily fatal to the proceedings of a free school meeting to have the vote on the 
main question taken viva voce, still, it throws the burden of proof upon those 
claiming that a free school has been organized under such vote, and they must 
show by conclusive evidence, if an appeal be taken from the proceedings, that 
at least two-thirds of those present and voting at such meeting voted to adopt 
the free school organization. This is what the respondents have attempted to 
do in the present case. They have procured, and submit in evidence, the affi- 
davits of fifty-five persons, who swear that they are legal voters in said district, 
that they were present at the meeting held therein on the 21st of November, 
as aforesaid, and that they voted to adopt the union free school organization. 
One of the fifty-five, Michael Conley, subsequently denies his affidavit, made as 
above stated, and swears that he did not vote in favor of the free school organ- 
ization. The respondents also submit the affidavits of several voters who were 



Union School Districts. 429 

not present at said meeting, but who testify that if they had been present they 
should have voted to adopt the free school organization. These last affidavits 
cannot aifect the case in any way, because the question is not how certain per- 
sons might have voted had they been present, but : " How did those vote who 
were present ?" It appears, then, that fifty-four persons voted to adopt the free 
school organization. Now, the appellants submit the affidavits of thirty-seven 
persons, who swear that they are legal voters in said district, that they were 
present at said meeting, and that they voted against the union free school 
organization. Thus, from all the testimony submitted, it appears that ninety- 
one votes were cast at said meeting, of which fifty-four were in favor of adopt- 
ing the free school organization, and thirty-seven against the same. Less than 
two-thirds of those voting on the question having voted to adopt the free 
school organization, a free school was not legally organized in said district, 
and the action of the chairman in declaring the district a free school district is 
hereby declared void, and is set aside. Per V. M. Rice, February 19, 1867. 

The trustees of a union free school districts are the legal successors of the 
trustees of the several districts consolidated, and, of course, are entitled to 
receive the several moneys apportioned on account of those districts. Per 
E. W. Keyes, Deputy Superintendent, April 10, 1865. {Letters, ml. 4, p. 28.) 

A " union free school district " is not entitled to elect a district clerk in addi- 
tion to the board of education. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, Sep- 
tember 27, 1865. {Letters, vol 4, p. 276.) 

A union free school district which has once determined upon the number of 
trustees constituting the board of education has no power to increase or 
diminish the number. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, November 24, 
1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 707.) 

In union free school districts, the clerk of the board is the district clerk, and 
as such is the proper person to give notice of special meetings of the voters. 
Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, May 11, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 377.) 

The board of education of a union free school must make to the school com- 
missioner the same kind of a report as is required of trustees. Per S. D. Barr, 
Deputy Superintendent, October 9, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 295.) 

Board of education of union free school districts can at any time appoint a new treasurer 

or collector. 

By examining section 7 of the union free School Law of 1864, you will find 
that the treasurer and collector of union free school districts hold their offices 
during the pleasure of the board of education. Hence, the board can at any 
time appoint a new treasurer or collector. In case of an appointment the 
board should by resolution direct the clerk to give the former incumbent 
notice that a person has been appointed to succeed him in the office, and require 
him to turn over to his successor all papers, funds and other matters connected 
with the office. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, May 11, 1866. {Letters, 
vol. 5, p 380.) 

Treasurer and collector of union free school district cannot be a member of board of 

education. 

It is not legal for the board of education to appoint a member thereof 
treasurer of the board. The treasurer of the board and collector must each 
execute and deliver to the board a bond conditioned for the faithful discharo-e 
of the duties of his office. The law contemplates a treasurer and collector 
separate and distinct from the board. It might become necessary for the 
board to sue the treasurer or collector. He, being a member of the board, 
could not unite with them in suing himself. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superin- 
tendent, October 13, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 324.) 



430 ' Union School Districts. 

Union free school districts not limited in the amount they can raise for the building of 
school-houses, nor need they obtain consent of super^-isoi where more than $1,000 is to 
be raised lor that purpose. 

Union free school districts are not limited as to tlie amount tliey can raise 
for the purpose of building school-houses, nor is it necessary to obtain the 
consent of the school commissioner where an amount exceeding $1,000 is to 
be raised. Section 18 of title 7 states the general rule only, and is therefore 
limited by section 10 of title 9, which gives a special rule for certain specified 
districts. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, October 3, 1866. {Letters, vol 5, p. 604.) 

Board of education of union free school districts has no power to levy a tax for payment 
of teachers' wages, without vote of district authorizing it, except an estimate of needful 
amount for this purpose has been presented by the board at some annual or special 
meeting, and inhabitants neglected or refused to vote said tax. 

The " board of education " of a union free school district have no power to 
levy a tax for the payment of teachers' wages without a vote of the district 
authorizing it, except where an estimate of the amount necessary for this 
purpose has been presented by the board to some annual or special meeting 
and the inhabitants have refused or neglected to vote said tax. {See sections 15, 
16 and 17, title 9, chapter 555, Laws of 1864.) Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superin- 
tendent, November 18, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 521.) 

Boards of education of union free school districts have no power to fix a different time for 
annual meetings than what the law has appointed. Meetings held on other days illegal. 

As the law has fixed the time for annual meetings of boards of education of 
union free school districts, these boards have no power to prescribe a different 
time. The Superintendent is of the opinion that the proceedings of an annual 
meeting held on the second Wednesday of October would be held invalid. A 
new meeting should be held on or after the third Tuesday of October, at which 
the regular business of the annual meeting should be transacted. Per V. M. 
Rice, Superintendent. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 650.) 

A viva voce vote to raise a tax for building in a union free school district is legal and bind- 
ing upon inhabitants. Union free school districts may raise any necessary sum for build- 
ing without consent of supervisors. New building must be erected upon site now owned 
and occupied by district, unless inhabitants direct otherwise. Board must not sell or 
tear down old house without consent of inhabitants, nor must they fence school lot, or 
supply house with school furniture, without directions from inhabitants. 

By virtue of section 10 of the free school act, your district had power to vote 
such sum as the inhabitants deemed necessary for the purpose of building a 
new school-house, and the same section gives the inhabitants power to direct 
that the tax voted by them shall be raised by installments without restricting 
them, as in the case of districts under the general act, to a vote " to be 
ascertained by taking and recording the ayes and noes." The Superintendent 
is of the opinion, therefore, that a viva voce vote to raise a tax for building in a 
union free school district is legal and binding upon the inhabitants. 

2. Union free school districts have power to raise any sum which the inhab- 
itants may deem necessary for building purposes, without obtaining the con- 
sent of the school commissioner in whose district they are situated, 

3. A taxable inhabitant is one who is liable to be assessed, whether he is 
actually taxed or not, 

4. Unless otherwise specially directed by the inhabitants, the board of educa- 
tion must cause the new building to be erected on the site now owned and 
occupied by the district. 

5. The board have no right to sell or tear down the old school-house, unless 
so specially directed by the inhabitants. 

6. Where the inhabitants have conferred upon the board the simple power to 
build a new house for the district, the Superintendent is of the opinion that the 
board cannot safely proceeed to fence the school lot, or supply the house with 
ordinary school furniture, without farther action on the part of the inhabitants. 



Union School Districts. 431 

They mjiy seat tlie house, or furnisli teachers' desks, etc., because those articles 
arc fixtures, and form properly a part of the house ; but more than this the 
Superintendent would not advise them to do unless authorized by the inhab- 
itants. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, October 24, 1864. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 653.) 

A pupil may be expelled from the school by order of the board of education 
for immoral conduct or persistent disobedience. 

The board has the right to prescribe the course of study and the text-books. 

The board has the further right to require regular and prompt attendance 
on the part of the pupils. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, January 22, 1866. 
{Letters, vol. 5, p. 94.) 

Free school districts cannot return to the old system. 

After it has been decided at a regularly called meeting, legally held by the 
district, to establish a union free school in such district, it is not in the power 
of the inhabitants to return to the old system ; and any resolution to that effect 
passed at any subsequent meeting of the district would be simply null and 
void. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, April 12, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 297.) 

Board of education of a union free school district cannot appoint as treasurer or collector 
a person who is not a taxable inhabitant of the district; but if the one appointed col- 
lector possesses personal property valued at fifty dollars, exclusive of such as is by law 
exempt from levy and sale on execution, he is a taxable inhabitant. 

It is not in the power of the board of education of a union free school district 
to appoint as treasurer or collector a person who is not a taxable inhabitant 
of the district ; but if the person appointed collector possesses personal property 
of the value of fifty dollars, exclusive of such as is by law exempt from levy 
and sale on execution, he is a taxable inhabitant within the meaning of the 
act. It is not conclusive evidence that he is not a taxable inhabitant because 
his name does not appear on the assessment roll of the town. Per V. M. Rice, 
Superintendent, November 20, 1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 534.) 

The trustees of a union free school district elected at the first meeting enter upon their 
office forthwith, and hold office until one, two or three years from the second Tuesday of 
October coincident with or following their election. 

The trustees of union free school districts may and should enter upon their 
duties immediately after their election, and they hold their office until one, two 
and three years " from the second Tuesday of October coincident with or fol- 
lowing their election." Among other things, it is the purpose of section five 
to make provision : First, for the term of office of trustees elected in and for 
union free school districts, at the annual meeting on the second Tuesday of 
October. Those elected at such time hold their office by Airtue of their elec- 
tion. Second, for the term of office of those who shall be elected when the 
district shall be formed prior to the second Tuesday of October, the time of 
holding the annual meeting. These hold their office, by virtue of their elec- 
tion, until the second Tuesday in the next following October, and one, two and 
three years thereafter, according to the class to which by the action of the 
meeting they may have been assigned. You will not fail to perceive that, after 
the first organization of union free school districts other than those whose 
limits correspond with those of any city or incorporated village, the term of 
office of trustees expires on the day of the annual meeting, and that, after the 
first annual meeting, no class hold office by virtue of their election for more 
than one, two or three years. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, December 21, 
1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 713.) 



432 Vacancy. 

VACANCY. 

A person elected at tlie same time clerk and trustee, and accepting the office 
of trustee, vacates the clerkship, and a new clerk must be elected or appointed 
in his place. Per Spencer, May 22, 1839. 

A trustee cannot be librarian. 

A librarian is subject to the direction of the trustees and responsible to them. 
There is an incongruity in a man being subject and responsible to himself. 
There is the same incompatibility between the offices of librarian and trustee 
as collector and trustee. Per Spencer, November 25, 1839. 

District officers cease to be such when set off from an old district to a new one. 

If a new district (15) was erected out of No. 2, and No. 2 was not declared a 
new district, it is in law the same district, although its territory may be dimin- 
ished ; and the trustees and officers in office at the time of the division, and 
residing in No. 2, will continue such during the year for which they were 
elected. But such of them as reside in district No. 15 and do not change their 
residence to No. 2 cease to be officers of No. 2, by virtue of the provision of the 
statute which declares, in reference to a local officer, that a vacancy is created 
by an incumbent ceasing to be an inhabitant of the district for which he was 
appointed. Per Spencer, May 15, 1839. 

Where a town superintendent (supervisor) decides that a vacancy exists iu the office of 
trustee, he should wait one month after announcing his decision before assuming to fill 
the vacancy. 

This is an appeal from a decision and order of the town superintendent of 
Beekmantown, on the 22d day of November last, deciding that there were two 
vacancies in the office of trustee in said district, and appointing two persons to 
fill such vacancies. 

From a careful examination of the papers, I am satisfied that the town super- 
intendent was correct in deciding that the vacancies existed ; but, the district 
being one lying partly in two different towns, it required the action of the 
town superintendents of both towns to fill the vacancies by appointment. 
(By section 30, article 7, chapter 555, Laws of 1864, the vacancy may be filled 
by the supervisor of the town in which the school-house is situated.) The 
appointments which were made were therefore void, although the town super- 
intendent, in proceeding to fill the vacancies, may have acted in perfect good 
faith. 

But, even if he had the right to fill the vacancy, I am of opinion that he 
should have waited one month after announcing his decision that the office 
was vacant, in order that the inhabitants might have an opportunity to supply 
the vacancies if they desired to do so. 

Therefore, it is hereby declared that the appointments so as aforesaid made 
were and are irregular and void, and the clerk of said district is hereby ordered, 
within ten days after he receives this order, to call a special meeting for the 
purpose of filling the vacancies which exist in the office of trustee in said dis- 
trict. Per H. S. Randall, March 26, 1852. 

A member of a board of education elected to and accepting the office of 
supervisor vacates his office as member of such board. The remaining mem- 
bers of the board have power to fill the vacancy until the next annual meeting. 

Until such appointment is made the remaining members of the board have 
full power to act on all matters, and their contracts with teachers for any term 
whatsoever are valid. Per E. W. Keyes, March 9, 1865. {Letters, vol. 3, p. 680.) 



Voters. 433 

A legal appointment by the supervisor, of a trustee to fill a vacancy, cannot be set aside by 
this department, nor be superseded by an election. 

On an appeal from the action of the supervisor, in appointing a person to fill 
a vacancy in the office of trustee, the facts are as follows : A vacancy had 
occurred in the office of trustee, and a special meeting was called, after some 
delay, for the purpose of filling it. Meantime, however, the supervisor had 
appointed a person to fill the vacancy, and an appeal from his action is there- 
upon brought to this department. 

This proceeding on the part of the supervisor was strictly legal, and, in the 
absence of all evidence showing fraud or collusion, it cannot be set aside. The 
request that this department direct the calling of a new meeting for the pur- 
pose of electing a trustee cannot be granted. The person appointed by the 
supervisor to fill the vacancy, holding his office by legal and valid appoint- 
ment, cannot be superseded by the action of a district meeting. Per E. W. 
Iveyes, Deputy Superintendent, May 6, 1859. 

Appointment of trustee by supervisor to fill vacancy is not for the balance of unexpired 
term, but only till nest annual meeting. 

An appointment of trustee by the supervisor, to fill vacancy, is not for the 
balance of the unexpired term, but only till the next annual meeting. If the 
vacancy is filled by a district meeting, the rule is diffi^rent. A resident of 
the district, and legal voter at town meetings, may or may not be qualified to 
vote at school meetings. The qualifications of voters at school meetings are 
very clearly set forth in section 12, title 7, chapter 555, Laws of 1864. Per 
V, M. Rice, Superintendent, October 15, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 623.) 

An Incapacity existing at the time of the election of trustees, which the voters have dis- 
regarded, must be judicially declared by this department, before a vacancy is created 
that will authorize a new election. 

Where one of the trustees elected at a district meeting was an alien by 
birth, and had never filed in the office of the Secretary of State an affidavit of 
having taken the incipient steps to be naturalized, necessary to enable him to 
hold real estate, it was held that he was not entitled to vote at a school district 
meeting, and that, upon the general principle that no person is qualified to 
hold an office who is not himself entitled to vote, his election as trustee was 
void. But the proceedings of a subsequent special meeting of the district, 
assuming to decide that he was ineligible, displacing him, and electing 
another person in his place, Avere totally unauthorized, and such election was 
illegal and void. A district meeting can only elect in case of a vacancy caused 
by death, removal, or incapacity occurring after the election of the officer. An 
incapacity existing at the time of the election, and which the voters chose 
to disregard, must be judicially declared by this department or some other 
legal tribunal, upon direct proceedings for that purpose, before a vacancy can 
be created authorizing a new election. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintend- 
ent, June 23, 1857. 



VOTERS. 

In an appeal to set aside the proceedings of a meeting on account of illegal 
voting, it is not enough to allege that a man was not a legal voter. The 
specific grounds of disqualification should be set forth. Per Dix, December 
1, 1838. 

An election will not be set aside because of illegal votes when they do not affect the result. 

At the election of a trustee in district No, 2, Rochester, Ulster county, 
January 15, 1856, four illegal votes were cast for the successful candidate, who, 
however, had ten majority. 

55 



484 YOTEES. 

The reception of tlie four illegal votes did not affect tlie result, and the 
appeal^ must be dismissed. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, February 
28, 1856. 

Proceedings carried by illegal votes vriW be set aside on appeal. 

^ Neither the Department of Public Instruction, nor the moderator of a school 
district meeting, has any right, under the statute, to prohibit any male person, 
who makes the declaration required by law, from voting ; but'^ it will be the 
duty of this department to correct and set aside all proceedings consummated 
or carried by votes clearly illegal, the result depending upon them. It is the 
duty of the person acting as chairman or moderator of a district meeting to 
permit any person challenged to make the declaration required by statute, and 
any refusal to perform this duty will be good ground for setting aside the 
proceedings of a school district meeting. Per N. S. Benton, July 12, 1847. 

An alien who is a legal voter may hold office in a school district. 

Mr. George Oliver, an alien, who was entitled to hold real estate, havirg 
taken the necessary legal steps for that purpose, was elected trustee of school 
district Xo. 1, Bombay, on the 4th day of October, 1842. 

The Superintendent is unable to see any good cause why any inhabitant 
of a school district, legally authorized to vote therein, should ^not be admitted 
to a free participation in the offices of the district, or rather why he should 
claim an exemption from the burdens which the law devolves upon the 
other inhabitants of the district in supervising its affairs from year to year. 
There is in reality very little analogy in cases of this description, to those 
against which our laws in reference to aliens were intended to provide. I am 
therefore disposed to hold any and every legal voter in a school district eligible 
as an otficer therein. Per Young, Xovember 18, 1842. 

In electing trustees, the form of the ballot is not material, if it unmistakably exp.-ess the 

voters preference. 

The statute requires, when trustees are elected at the annual meeting, that 
" the voters shall designate by their votes for which term each of the trustees 
is elected." The language by which such designation shall be shown is left 
to the voter's selection. Where two trustees are to be elected for different 
terms, the -words on the ballot " long term " and " short term " sufficiently 
indicate the intention of the voters. But it cannot be said that this form of 
ballot is the only legal form. Any form that sutficiently designates the voter's 
intention must be held good under the statute. 

The principle governing is that a simple informality, or an immaterial 
omission, shall not deprive a lawful voter of his voice in the election.. Per V. 
M, Rice, Superintendent, May 8, 1862. 

Qualifications necessary to entitle aliens to vote at district meetings. 

On an appeal from the proceedings of a special meeting, it appears that the 
meeting had voted, by a clear majority, to enlarge the site and build a new 
school-house. It is claimed by the appellants that the meeting was controlled 
by illegal votes. 

It is insufficient proof of their right to vote at district meetings that certain 
persons have declared their intention of becoming citizens, and forwarded their 
declaration to the Secretary of State, by mail, in time, as they say, to have 
reached him before the meeting was held at which they voted. Such persons 
must clearly prove the actual filing of their declaration of intentions before 
they can be regarded as legal voters at such election. Per E. W. Keyes, 
Deputy Superintendent, May 2, 1859. 



Voters. 435 

A chairman of a school district meetin<j: is entitled to a vote upon all questions involving 
the levying of a tax. 

This is an appeal from tlie proceedings of the annual meeting held in said 
district on the oth day of April last, in voting a tax of $400 for the purpose of 
building a school-house therein. It appears by the papers in the case that 
the resolution by which the tax was authorized was passad by a vote of six to 
five against the same. The appellant claims that the resolution was illegally 
passed, because, 

1. The clerk of the meeting refused to call the name of the chairman, deny- 
ing his right to vote ; 

2. That had the chairman been allowed to vote, he would have voted against 
said resolution ; and 

'6. That one of the votes in favor of said resolution w^as given by a person 
who was not a legal voter in said district. 

In their answer to the appeal, the trustees concede that the chairman was 
not permitted to vote upon said resolution, but they deny that he was lawfully 
entitled to vote thereon, on the ground that he was chairman of the meeting 
and only entitled to a casting vote. 

The trustees having made this concession have clearly shown that the pro- 
ceedings of the meeting were not legally conducted, inasmuch as a legal vote 
was rejected, which if received might have affected the result of the vote upon 
the resolution. The chairman was equally entitled to vote upon the question 
of raising a tax with the other tax payers and voters of the district, and the 
meeting had no ri :ht to deprive him of his privileges or others of the benefits 
which I hey might have received had his vote been counted. 

It is therefore ordered that the proceedings of the meeting aforesaid, so far 
as the same relate to the resolution authorizing a tax of $400 for the purpose 
of building a school-house, be and the same are hereby set aside. Per H. S. 
Randall, June 25, 1852. 

Who are legal voters at district meetings, and what vote is necessary to raise tax by install- 
ments. 

The qualification of voters in school district meetings is defined in section 
59, chapter 480, Laws of 1847. {No. 84, School Laws and Forms Jor 1848. See 
also sec. 12, title 7, page 89, 07ite, General School Act.) 

Every person, to be a voter in a school district meeting, must, therefore, be 
a male, twenty-one years of age, and a resident of the district. Any person 
having these three qualifications, and " entitled to hold lands in this State, 
who owns or hires real property in such district, subject to taxation for school 
purposes," is a voter. 

This clause authorizes aliens, who have declared their intention to become 
citizens of the United States, and who have filed a certificate of such intention 
in the ofiice of the Secretary of State, to vote, provided they own or hire real 
property in the district. It also authorizes tenants of houses or lands, subject 
to taxation in the district, to vote, whether they pay the taxes or not. Legal 
voters at town meetings, w4io have paid a rate bill for teachers' wages within 
one year preceding, are also voters in the district where they reside. 

Auy person who has a family, and is a legal voter at town meetings, and has 
personal property liable to be taxed in the district, exceeding fifty dollars in 
valae, exclusive of such as is exempt from execution, is also a voter. 

A man without a family, having personal property exceeding fifty dollars in 
value, liable to taxation, is also a voter, because his property is none of it 
exempt from execution. 

Hence, it follows that while, on the one hand, in some cases, aliens, not legal 
voters at town meetings, may be legal voters at district school meetings ; on 
the other hand, in all cases, legal voters at town meetings, who do not own or 
hire real property, and who have not personal property exempt from execution 
exceeding fifty dollars in value, are not legal voters in district school meetings. 
And, as to be •' a male of full age, and a resident of the district," is an essential 



436 YOTEES. 

qualification of every voter, women are necessarily denied the privilege of vot- 
ing in any case. 

A district meeting, legally called and assembled, may, by a majority of those 
present and voting, vote to raise $400 ($1,000) or less, for the purpose of build- 
ing a school-house, and, also, any sum necessary for the purchase of a site. 
And, if the town superintendent shall certify in writing that a larger sum is 
necessary for building a school-house, and shall specify the sum, any amount 
not exceeding the sum so specified may be raised by. a majority of the legal 
voters present and voting at the meeting. {Sec. 70, ch'oj-). 480, Laius of 1847.) 

School districts are not permitted to mortgage or incumber their school- 
house lot. But in order to enable a district to raise a large sum of money, 
without the necessity of laying a tax for the whole of it in one year, section 
71, chapter 480, Laws of 1847, provides for raising a tax by installments. 

The words "taxable inhabitants," in this section, being used without limita- 
tion or qualification, must be construed to mean all who are liable to be taxed, 
and who attend the meeting, citizens, aliens, women, minors, residing in the 
district. The number of taxable inhabitants can be ascertained from the last 
assessment roll of the town. A majority of such inhabitants attending, to be 
ascertained by taking and recording the ayes and noes, is necessary to the 
validity of a vote to raise a tax by installments. But this majority must be 
made up of legal voters, for, although this section of the statute requires a 
majority of all the taxable inhabitants attending to have their names recorded 
in the aflarmative, it does not make all the taxable inhabitants legal voters for 
the purposes of such a vote. Who then are legal voters under this section ? 
The same persons, and no others, authorized to vote by section 59. hereinbefore 
quoted. Neither women nor minors, nor persons not liable to be taxed, can 
vote upon the question of raising a tax by installments. Therefore, a man 
who hires - a house and is a legal voter at district meetings in ordinary 
cases, but who is not on the assessment roll, and pays no taxes, cannot vote 
upon this question. If one person owned all the land of a school district, and 
it was all assessed to the owner, the tenants could not vote upon this question, 
unless they were assessed for personal property. Non-residents, although tax- 
able, are not such " taxable inhabitants," vv^ithin the meaning of this section, 
as to be enumerated in estimating the number of taxable inhabitants in the 
district, and they are not voters in any case. The tax raised by virtue of this 
section must also be raised by equal annual installments. For example : If it 
be voted to raise $1,000 in five equal annual installments, the sum to be raised 
each year must be $200, and not, as some have supposed, $200 with the interest, 
that is $207 at the end of the first year, $214 at the end of the second year, 
and so on. Trustees and others must therefore make their contracts accord- 
ingly. Per Morgan, September 26, 1848.* 

An alien, though he has taken the incipient measures to be naturalized, is not qualified to 
vote at a school district meeting in the district where he resides, unless an affidavit of 
that fact be filed and recorded in the office of the Secretary of State. 

This is an appeal taken by five of the inhabitants from the proceedings of a 
special school district meeting, holden in district No. 6, in the town of Mon- 
tague, Lewis county, in the early part of October, 1854. . 

The appellants aver that persons not duly qualified to vote did vote at said 
meeting, and that their votes afiected the result. It seems that the only 
material vote of the meeting was carried by two majority, whereas the right of 
three persons to vote, who voted \^4th the majority, was doubtful. One of them 
was a man working for a resident of the district, but whether he was of legal 
age and possessed the other requisite qualifications is by no means certain. 

* Since this decision was made, the law has added to the qualifications— a person "who 
has permanently residing with him a child, or children, .of scliool age, some one or more of 
whom shall have attended the district school for a periq.^ of at least eight weeks withm 
one year preceding." (See p. 98, ante.) . , ^j j 

The installments are required now to be equal, but notan»u,ftl, and interest may be added, 
as they become due and payable. (Seep. 121, ante,) 



Voters. 437 

The other two persons, Messrs. Fuller and Boyd, are aliens, and only during 
the week that the meeting of May, 1854, stood adjourned to, did they file 
their intentions of becoming citizens. An alien, though he has taken the 
incipient measures to obtain naturalization, cannot hold real property or be a 
qualified voter at a school district meeting in the district where he resides. 

He is required to make a deposition or affirmation in writing, before an 
officer authorized to take the proofs of deeds to be recorded, that he is a 
resident of and intends always to reside in the United States and to become a 
citizen thereof as soon as he can be naturalized, and that he has taken such 
incipient measures as the laws of the United States require to enable him to 
obtain naturalization, which shall be certified by such oflficer, and be filed 
and recorded by the Secretary of State in a book to be kept by him for that 
purpose, and such certificate, or a certified copy of it, shall be evidence of the 
facts therein contained. 

As Messrs. Fuller and Boyd did not comply with the requirements of the 
statute, and therefore could not become owners of taxable property, the con- 
clusion becomes a necessary sequence that the vote was void. Per V. M. Eice, 
October 30, 1854. 

The ri^ht to vote at a school district meeting does not depend upon the fact that the person 
offering to vote has been actually taxed, but rather upon his liability to taxation. 

A motion to reconsider a vote of a district meeting may be made by a person voting with 
the minority, unless the meeting have a different rule. 

The objections of the appellants are that two persons voted at the district 
meeting, for the change of site, who are not enrolled upon the tax list as tax- 
able inhabitants ; that, by the list referred to, there are twenty-six taxable 
inhabitants ; that only twelve " taxable inhabitants " voted in favor and twelve 
against the resolution changing the site ; that the motion to reconsider a former 
resolution adopted at a previous meeting, in regard to the site, was made by a 
person who, at such previous meeting, voted against the resolution of which 
he moved a reconsideration. 

The rule of legislative proceedings, which requires a motion for reconsider- 
ation to be made by one who voted with the prevailing party, is not binding 
upon the district meetings, unless expressly adopted by them. There is, there- 
fore, no force in the objection based upon a departure from this rule, as it does 
not appear to have been acted upon by the inliabitants of district No. 14. 

The respondents allege that fourteen persons voted for the change of site. 
This is not inconsistent with the allegation of the appellants, for they acknowl- 
edge that twelve " taxable inhabitants " thus voted, and they aver that two 
persons whom they deny to be legal voters also voted for the resolution. It 
was then properly passed, provided the two persons named had a right to vote. 
Their title is impeached on the naked ground that they are not enumerated on 
the tax list. This evidence is not sufficient to bar their right to vote, which 
depends not on the fact that they are actually taxed, but upon their liability 
to taxation. It devolves upon the appellants to disclose affirmatively such 
grounds of objection to one who has been admitted to A^ote, as, if taken for 
true, in the very words stated, will repel every presumption by which his 
claim might be sustained, by showing the absence of some essential qualifica- 
tion. Tliis the appellants have failed to do, and the objection must be disre- 
garded and the appeal dismissed. Per E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, 
September 15, 1855. 

Right of inhabitant to vote at school district meeting depends not on his being taxed, but 
on his liability to be taxed. 

The right of an inhabitant to vote at a school district meeting does not 
depend on his being taxed, but on his. liability to be taxed. The last com- 
pleted assessment roll of the town controls trustees as to the valuation of 
property therein enumerated. If they ascertain that persons have been 
omitted who ought to be taxed, or that real estate has been omitted belonging 



438 YOTEES. 

to persons who are taxed for other property, it is their duty to assess such 
persons and property, giving the proper notice. Their omission, however, 
does not affect the right of the persons overlooked, to vote or hold office. Per 
E. P. Smith, Deputy Superintendent, October 4, 1855. {Lttters, vol. 2, p. 597.) 

The fact that a man hires a house by the month or by the week, and pays 
the rent by his labor, and not in cash, does not change or take away his right 
to vote at school meetings. The rent of the house forms a part of the consider- 
ation paid for his labor. Per S. D. Barr, Deputv Superintendent, October 28, 
1865. {Letters, vol. 4, p. 430.) 

Chairman of board of edncation may vote. 

The chairman of a board of education has a right to vote on all questions 
acted upon by the board, the same as any other member. Per V. M. Rice, 
Superintendent. 

A husband cannot vote at district meeting because his wife owms real estate. He must have 
personal property of his own above the value of $50. and possess all other necessary legal 
qualifications. Any one ■who possesses such qualifications, and owns or hires real estate 
in a district subject to taxation for school purposes, is a legal voter at school district meet- 
ings. No person who is entitled to vote at town meetinjjsls a legal voter at school district 
meetings, unless he be a resident, and has real estate taxed for school purposes, or owns 
property above the value of $50. '• By a majority of the votes of those present " means 
" by the majority of those present and voting." "No special or annual meeting can delay 
the collection of a tax voted at a previous meeting. 

By the laws of this State a married woman may hold and dispose of real 
estate, entirely independent of the husband, and the husband has by law no 
property or interest in the wife's separate estate. Consequently the husband 
can acquire no right to vote at school district meetings simply because his 
wife owns or hires real estate. If, however, he has personal property of his 
own above the value of $50, except such as is by law exempt from levy and 
sale on execution, he is a legal voter at such meetings, unless there should be 
certain other disqualifications, such as alienage, nonage, etc. 

2. Any person possessing the proper qualifications of age, citizenship, etc., 
who owns or hires real property situated in the district, liable to taxation for 
school purposes, no matter to whom the same is taxed, is a legal voter at 
school district meetings. 

3. Xo person who is entitled to vote at town meetings is a legal voter at 
school district meetings unless he is a resident, and owns or hires real estate, 
liable to taxation for school purposes, situated in such district, or unless he 
owns personal property exceeding $50 in value, exclusive of such as is exempt 
from execution (or has permanently residing Avith him a child or children of 
school age, over one or more of whom shall have attended the district school 
for a period of at least eight weeks within one year preceding). 

4. The words of the statute "by a majority of the votes of those present " 
have been in a number of instances construed to mean " by the majority of those 
present and voting." That is the only reasonable and consistent interpretation 
of the statute, and it is undoubtedly what the Legislature meant when the 
law was enacted. 

5. If the vote at the adjourned annual meeting to raise $2,400 to build a new 
school-house was legal and regular, then the action of the special meeting held 
January 2 was irregular. The special meeting was held too late to rescind 
the vote of the adjourned annual meeting, and no special nor annual meet- 
ing has the power legally to delay the collection of a tax voted at a previous 
meeting. The adjourned annual meeting voted, according to your statement, 
to raise $1,200 immediately, and $1,200 the first of May next, for the purpose 
of building a new school-house. The only way in Avhich a tax may be levied 
and collected by installments is prescribed in section 19, title 7, chapter 555, 
Laws of 1864. {See jmge 121, aiife.) Unless the meeting complies with that 
Bection, that tax list cannot be raised in such a manner. Your district did not 



Voters. 439 

comply with the requirements of the section above named, and the tax which 
was voted cannot be raised by installments. The direction of the nieetin*^ that 
$ 1 ,200 of the amount should not be collected till the first of May next is sim- 
ply surplusage and is not binding- upon the trustees, because the meeting 
had no power to give such a direction. The trustees should make out their 
tax list at once for the whole amount voted by the annual meeting, $2,400. 
You will recollect, however, that before a tax exceeding $800 ($1,000), for the 
building of a school-house can be levied, the consent of the school commissioner 
must be obtained. {See sec. 18, title 7, chapter 555, Laivs of 1864.) Per V, M. 
Rice, Superintendent, January 11, 186G. {Letters, vol. 5, -pP- 5^ 58.) 

A negro of full age residing in your district, and owning or hiring real 
estate therein, is entitled, to vote at your school district meetings, even though 
he has not real estate assessed at $250. Per V. M. Rice, Superintendent, 
October 25, 1866. {Letters, vol. 5, p. 662.) 

Deserters are not by law disqualified to vote at district meetings. 

The Legislature of this State has not passed an act disfranchising deserters ; 
consequently, if otherwise qualified, they are entitled to vote at school district 
meetings. Per S. D. Barr, Deputy Superintendent, November 28, 1866. {Letters, 
vol. 5, p. 719.) 

Qualifications of certain office holders. 

The Revised Statutes {part 1, chapter 5, title 6, article 1) pro\'ide that 
" no person shall be capable of holding a civil office, who, at the time of his 
election or appointment, shall not have attained the age of twenty-one years, 
and who shall not then be a citizen of the United States. A citizen is a 
person in the United States, native, or naturalized, who has the privilege of 
exercising the elective franchise, or the qualifications which enable him to 
vote for rulers, and to purchase and hold real estate." Per V. M. Rice, Super- 
intendent, July 6, 1854. '{Letters, vol 1, p. 206.) 

Moderator of a school meeting may vote. 

A moderator of a school district meeting, being a legal voter, has the same 
right to vote as though he did not preside. 

The same principle applies as -with the speaker in our Assembly, the House 
of Representatives, the English House of Commons, and the president of the 
Senate, when he is a member of that body, etc. 

Duty of moderator, when vote is challenged, to find if person offering it is a legal voter. 

It is the duty of the moderator, when a vote is challenged, to ascertain 
whether the person offering it is a legal voter ; and, if he fails to make the 
necessary investigation, he is negligent in his duty. Per V. M. Rice, Superin- 
tendent, December 3, 1854. {Letters^' vol. 1, p. 424.) 

The law does not declare the quantity of real estate necessary to entitle a man to vote at 

district meetings. 

The law gives no limit to the value of the real estate which the resident of 
a school district must hold in order to entitle him to vote at district meetings. 
He may lease but a mere shanty, and pay the rent in money, work, taxes or 
improvements, still he is a voter, even though he may have been exempted 
from the payment of teachers' wages on account of indigence. Per V. M. Rice, 
Superintendent, January 30, 1855. {Letters^ vol. 2, p. 101.) 



DIGEST OF DECISIONS 

OF THE 

NEW YORK STATE COURTS, 

RELATING TO COMMON SCHOOLS. 



Dividing districts. The town superintendent, with the supervisor and 
town clerk, annexed a part of district No. 14 to district No. 3, the residue of 
No. 14 being annexed to No. 13, and district No. 14 annulled. The trustees of 
Nos. 3 and 14 consented to these alterations, and notice of the alteration was 
given to the trustees of No. 13, who had not consented. Held, that the altera- 
tion took effect immediately as to the part annexed to No. 3, although the 
trustees of district No. 13 did not consent. {Supreme Court, 1846, Williams v. 
LarJcin, 3 Denio, 114.) 

Meeting- out of the district. Persons elected as trustees at a meeting 
held without the limits of the district, and who subsequently acted as such 
without objection, lidd to be officers de facto. {Supreme Court, 1858, MyevY. Cris- 
pcll, 28 Barb., 54.) 

A tax was voted at a school meeting held within the district, on adjournment 
from a previous meeting which was held without the district ; but it did not 
appear that at the original meeting any inhabitant was not notified, or com- 
plained then or afterward of the irregularity, or that there was any absentee 
from the adjourned meeting, or that any objection or complaint of the irregu- 
larity of the proceedings was made at the second meeting. Held, that the court 
might presume a waiver of the irregularity, if it were such, and a unanimous 
assent to the irregularity of the adjourned meeting. Id. 

Annual meeting. The provision of 1 Revised Statutes, 480, section 74, 
requiring the clerk to post notices of annual meetings, is merely directory to him. 
If the meeting convenes at the time and place fixed at the previous annual meet- 
ing, it is enough, unless the omission to post notices was fraudulent. But the 
regularity of such meeting cannot be sustained on the mere ground that it 
was an adjourned meeting. {Supreme Court, 1844, Marchant v. Langworthy, 6 
Bill, 646.) 

This decision was affirmed in the court of errors in 1846, but no written 
opinions were rendered. (3 JDenio, 526.) 

A general notice of the object of a special meeting is sufficient. So 
held, when, under a notice that the object of the meeting was for the purpose 
of buying or building a school-house, and transacting such other business, 
etc., the meeting proceeded to buy a school-house. {Supreme Court, 1846, 
William.s v. Larkin, 3 Denio, 114.) 

Trustees not liable for clerk's fraud. Though the clerk fraudulently 
misrepresent the object of the meeting to some of the inhabitants, and so 



Digest of Decisions of N. Y. State Courts. 441 

prevent their attendance, the trustees, if they are not parties to the fraud, are 
not thereby rendered trespassers in assessing and levying a tax voted at the 
meeting. {Supreme Court, 1845, Randall v. Smith, 1 Dtnio, 214.) 

Fixing amount of tax. The vote was to raise $400 by tax, to build a 
school-house, and directed the trustees to sell the old building, and treat the 
avails of the sale as so much of the fund in hand. Held, valid. {Supreme Court, 
1843, Trumbull v. White, 5 Hill, 46.) 

A vote was passed authorizing the trustees to sell the old school-house and 
build a new one in its place, and the vote, by fixing the dimensions of the 
house, had the effect of restricting the expense to a sum below the amount 
of $400, limited by law for the expense of a new house. Held, that under the 
act of 1811 {Laws of 1841, 238, sec. 14), providing that when the trustees of any 
school district are required, or authorized by law, or by a vote of their district, 
to incur any expense for such district, they may raise the amount thereof by 
tax in the same manner as if the definite sum to be raised had been voted. 
The trustees were authorized by such a vote to incur the expense. The statute 
should not be so construed as to confine its operation to small incidental 
expenses. {Supreme Court, 1847, Acktrman v. Vail, 4 Dtnio, 297.) 

A school district voted "to raise, by tax on the district, a sum which, 
together with the amount that should arise from the sale of a school-house in 
district No. 4, should amount to the sum of $315 ; " and, there being no power 
to sell the school-house mentioned, the trustees raised, hj tax, the whole sum 
of $315. Held, that the fair construction of the resolution was that, in the con- 
tingency of nothing being realized from the sale of the school-house, the trus- 
tees were authorized to raise the entire amount of $315 by tax, and that the 
amount to be raised was sutficiently definite to satisfy the law. (5 Hill. 46 ; 4 
Denio, 298 ; 3 id., 115 ; Supreme Court, 1858,. Myers v. Crisped, 28 Barb., 54.) 

Fixing site. The meeting cannot delegate their power to designate the 
site of a school-house. If they vote a tax to build a school-house, when the 
trustees shall think proper, the trustees are trespassers in proceeding to collect 
the tax. (18 Johns., 351 ; 9 Wend., 36 ; Supreme Court, 1837, Benjamin v. HuU, 17 
Wend., 437.) 

It seems that it is not necessary to designate a site for the school-house before 
imposing a tax to build. Id. {Williams v. Larkin, 3 Denio, 114.) 

Tax before acquiring title. It is no objection to the tax that the title to 
the property has not been acquired. {Supreme Court, Williains v. Larkin, 3 Denio, 
114.) 

Repairs. A vote of the district to raise a tax, directing that it shall not be 
levied until the repairs it is designed to pay for are made, held valid under 1 
Revised Statutes, 478, section 61, subdivision 5. {Supreme Court, 1840, Folsom v. 
etrteter, 24 Wend., 266.) 

Inoperative vote. When a tax voted became inoperative through the 
neglect of the trustees to assess it, held, that a subsequent meeting might vote 
another without any formal reconsideration. {Supreme Court, 1845, Randall v. 
Smith, 1 Denio, 214.) 

Rescinding. The district meeting cannot repeal a resolution imposing a 
tax after a part of it has been collected. {Supreme Court, 1848, Smith v. Dilling- 
ham, 4 Barb., 25.) 

Otherwise, it seems, if nothing beyond preparing the warrant and tax list has 
been done. {Gale v. 2Iead, 4 Hdl, 109.) 

Building committee. No power is given to the inhabitants to invest a 
building committee with authority to advertise, or make a contract for build- 
ing a school-house, or to do any other act binding upon the trustees, without 
their assent. The inhabitants and trustees are alike dependent upon the stat- 
ute for all their powers. {Supreme Court, Sp. Term, 1852, People ex rel. Moon v. 
Banfield, 6 Howard's Pr., 437 ) 

Who are taxable. Under section 25 of the act of 1819, providing that 
every person owning or holding real estate lying within such district, who 
shall improve and occupy the same, by his agent or servant, a non-resident of 

56 



442 Digest op Decisions of 

tlie district, owning land witMn it wliicli lie liad leased to anotlier, wlio occu- 
pies it, " does not improve and occupy it by his agent or servant " so as to be 
taxable. {Saprtrae Cuart^ 18o2, Dubuis v. Tuorne, 8 Wtud., 518 ; to contrary effect 
is Mijtr V. Crispdl, 28 Barh., 54.) 

Luder Laws of 1817, chapter 480, section 87, providing that every person own- 
ing or holding real property in any school district, who shall improve and 
occapy the same by his agent or servant, shall be considered a taxable inhabit- 
ant 01 such district, in respect to the liability of such property to taxation, a 
non-resident of the district who owns property and occupies it himself, not by 
an agent, etc., is taxable. The word "owner" was probably inadvertently 
oniittei from tlie statute. {Supreme Court, 1858, Myer v. CrisptU, 28 Barb., 54 ; 
to the contrary effect is Dubois v. Thonie, 8 Wend., 518.) 

Tue plaintiff was an actual resident of school district Xo. 4, in which his 
farm lay, but he improved and occupied a lot of thirty-seven acres, belonging 
to him, which lay in district Xo. 6 ; but this lot was not a part of his farm, nor 
attached to it, nor adjoining. Htid, that this lot of thirty-seven acres was 
properly taxed for school purposes in the sixth district. {Supreme Court, 1858, 
Jlytr V. Crmpdl, 28 Barb., 54.) 

What assess.mext roll is to be followed. The provision of 1 Revised 
Laws of 1818, page 262, section 8, requiring a district school tax to be raised by 
assessment, agreeably to the levy on which the town was taxed " the preceding 
year," is to be construed as if, instead of the preceding year, it had said the 
preceding tax list. {Supreme Court, 1815, Ryder v. Cuddtrback, 12 Johns., 412.) 

The tax should be assessed according to the last assessment roll of the toAvn, 
and a more recent roll, which has not been perfected, should be disregarded. 
{Suprerae Court, 1831, Alexandtr v. Eoyt, 7 Wuid., 89. See 1 Rev. Stat, [dd ed.], 
547, sec. 117.) 

If the trustees assess property not valued in the last assessment roll of the 
town, it is their duty to give notice to the persons interested ; but their omis- 
sion to do so does not necessarily make them trespassers. (7 Wend., 89 ; 11 id., 
90 ; Supreme Court, 1845, Randall v. Smiih, 1 Deuio, 214.) 

Liquidating amou:::sT. When the district has not voted any specific sum, 
the act of liquidating the true amoimt under the act of 1841, 238, section 14, 
and apportioning it, can be done only when the three trustees are together, 
although it may then be done by two of the three. (2 Rev. Stat., 555, sec. 27 ; 
Suprtine Court, 1847, Lee v. Parry, 4 Denio, 125.) 

Assessment must be after the tote. On the 7th of October a district 
meeting voted a tax, and in pursuance thereof an assessment Avas subsequently 
made, and a warrant to collect the tax made out, signed and dated. At a 
special meeting afterward, held on the 25th of Xovember, the vote to raise the 
tax was repealed. At a third meeting on the 5th of December, the repealing^ 
vote was itself repealed. The trustees, deeming the original tax thus con- 
firmed, renewed the warrants and enforced them. Held, that they were liable. 
Re\-iving the original vote for the tax did not revive the validity of the assess- 
ment and warrant. The whole proceedings must be construed as they would 
have been, if the original vote to lay the tax had passed on the 5th of Decem- 
ber. The law plainly contemplates that the assessment shall be made after 
the tax shall have been voted. {Court of Errors, IMo, Mead \. Gale, 2 Denio, 
232 ; atfirming S. C, 4 Hill, 109.) 

Erroneous apportionment. Trustees of a school district in making out 
their tax list from the town assessment roll, act ministerially, and, if they take 
the roll which has not been completed instead of the last roll, and issue their 
warrant accordingly, they are liable as trespassers. {Supreme Court, 1831, 
Aiexa.ader v. Hjyt, 7 Wend., 89 ; overruled in Supreme Court, 1855, Hdl v. Scl- 
lick, 21 Barb., 207, and cases there cited.) 

The apportionment of the tax among the taxable inhabitants of a district is 
to a certain extent a judicial act, and if the trustees confine themselves within 
the limits of the statute, though they should err in point of law, or in judg- 
ment, they are not civilly nor criminally answerable if their motives are pure. 



New York State Couets. 443 

(8 Cow., 184; 1 Cai., CO; Supreme Court, 1833, Easton v. Calendar, 11 Wend., 90; 
approved ia Folsom v. Slreeier, 24 VFe/irf., 266 ; RandaU v. Smith, 1 Z^enw, 214.) 

An error of judgment in including tlie collector's fees in the tax, or in omit- 
ting some of the taxable inhabitants in the list, does not render the trustees 
liable as trespassers. {Supreme Court, 1833, Ea-'iton v. Calendar, 11 Wend., 90.) 

Though the trustees err in allowing compensation to a teacher for a longer 
time tliau she taught, the rate bill and warrant are not therefore void, but are a 
protection to the trustees and collector. {Supreme Court, 1851, Finch v. Cleveland, 
10 Barb., 290.) 

The trustees are not liable as trespassers for an error as to the basis of the 
apportionment, any more than for an error in the amount. (11 Wtnd., 90 ; 1 
JJeuio, 214; Id Barb., 290; Supreme Court, 1855, HHIy. Sellick, 21 Barb., 207.) 

Equalization. Under Laws of 1847, 696, section 72, providing for an equali- 
zation of the apportionment, when the school district embraces a part of more 
than one town, upon a comparison of the valuations of real property upon the 
several assessment rolls of the towns with each other, so far as such district is 
concerned, and providing for the adjustment of the relative proportion of 
taxes that ought to be assessed upon the . real property of the parts of such 
district so lying in different towns, the trustees are not liable for making their 
assessment in disregard of a determination made by town superintendents of 
common schools, miless it appears that a previous application upon the subject 
was made to tlie superintendents by the trustees of the district or persons 
liable to pay taxes upon real property therein. Id. 

Collectok's fees. In the apportionment the collector's percentage should 
not be included ; he is directed by the warrant to collect that. {Easton v. 
Calendar, 11 Wend., 90.) 

Naming the person assessed. Though when property is owned by an. 
individual, his name, and not a mere description of him, should be inserted in 
the tax list and warrant (under 1 Revised Statutes, 481, 484, requiring it to 
contain the name of each person liable), yet, when the property of a decedent 
is in possession of the widow and heirs, it is sufficient to designate them in 
the list and warrant as " the Avidow and heirs " of the decedent. {Supreme 
Court, 1833, Wheeler v. Anthony, 10 Weyid., 346.) 

Time. The provision of 1 Revised Statutes, 483, section 82, requiring a school 
district tax to be assessed, and the tax list to be made out within one month 
after the meeting at which the tax was voted, is directory merely in respect 
of time ; and if it does not appear that there was a change in the taxable 
persons or property in the district, between the expiration of the month and 
the time the tax list was made out, the tax is valid. (Citing 3 Mass., 230 ; 6 
Wend., 486 ; 2 Str., 1123 ; 7 Hill, 9 ; and distinguishing Gale v. Mead, 4 Hill, 
lOD ; Supreme Court, 1846, Gale v. Mead, 2 Beaio, 160.) 

The statute requiring the tax to be assessed, and the tax list therefor to be 
made ou.t by the trustees, and a proper warrant attached thereto, within thirty 
days after the district meeting in which the tax shall have been voted, is 
merely directory as to time. It being for the benefit of the public, those acts 
may be done after the time specified in the statute has elapsed. (2 JJenio, 160 ; 
Supreme Court, Sp. Term, 1855, Thomas v. Clapp, 20 JSarb., 165.) 

Alteration. When the tax has been levied and collected, the power of 
the trustee is ended. Though it has been recovered back from them, they 
cannot alter the tax list so as to collect a different sum. {Supreme Court, 1837, 
Benjamin v. Hall, 17 Wend., 437.) 

Power to assess is personal. The authority which the trustees are 
required to administer in apportioning the tax is personal, and cannot be 
delegated. (3 Comst., 396 ) One of three trustees cannot, after the other two 
have, without his presence, made an assessment or apportionment, ratify and 
adopt it by indorsing his approval, in the absence of the others. {Supreme 
Cuurl, 1853', Keeler v. Frost, 22 Barb., 400.) 

Requirement of the warrant. The pro\isions of Revised Statutes, 484, 
eection 88, required that the warrant should command the collector to proceed 



444 Digest of Decisions op 

in tlie same manner as on executions issued by a justice of tlie peace. By the 
Laws of 1831, 248, section 2 ; 1832, 547, section 1, this provision was repealed, 
and it was required that the warrant should command the collector to proceed 
in the same manner as on warrants issued by the board of supervisors to the 
collectors of towns. Htld, that a warrant issued in the old form, after the 
latter provision took effect, was void, and afforded no protection to the officer. 
{Supreme Court, 1837, Ciark v. Hullock, IG Wend., 607.) 

The provision of the act of 1831, directing warrants for taxes for erecting or 
repairing school-houses to be executed as warrants issued by the supervisors 
to town collectors, is to be applied to Avarrants for all school taxes ; and what- 
ever the tax, the collector is clothed with the powers of a town collector. 
Hence he may take the property of any person which is lawfully in the 
possession of the person liable to pay the tax. {Supreme Court, 1835, Keeler v. 
Chiclmter. 13 Wend., 629.) ' 

Waeraxt exceeding tax. The warrant directed one dollar more than the 
amount of the tax voted to be collected. Held, that the plaintiff, suing in 
trespass for selling his property under it, as he did not take the objection at 
the trial, could not take it on error. The inclusion of the additional dollar 
might have been proper for expenses under the statute. {Supreme Court 1846, 
WtUiams V. Larkin, 3 Denio, 114.) 

Signature. That a renewal signed by only a majority of the trustees is 
sufficient. {Fulsom v. Sc^eeter, 24 Wend., 266') 

It is not material that all be present when the warrant is signed. The 
signing of the warrant is a ministerial dutv. {Supreme Court, Special Term, 
1855, Thomas v. Clapp, 20 Barh., 165.) 

Time of. That the warrant is not void because not signed thirty days before 
issue. {Finch v. Cleveland, 10 Barl)., 290.) 

A trustee who does not sign a renewal of the warrant is not liable for 
its execution. (.2 Seld., 331 ; Supreme Court, Special Term, 1855, Thomas v. Clapp, 
20 Barb., 165.) 

A renewal of the warrant is equivalent to a new warrant. (4 Barb , 444 ; 8 
mil. 498 ; 4 id., 109 ; 24 Wend., 269 ; 17 Barb., 145 ; Supreme Court, Special Term, 
1855, Thomas v. Clapp, 20 Barb., 165.) 

Under the power given to the trustees of school districts, by 1 Revised 
Statutes, 478, section 1 02, to renew warrants for the collection from delinquents 
of such sum or sums of money as remain unpaid, they have the power to issue 
a new warrant for the same purpose. (24 Wend., 269 ; 3 Hill, 498 ; Supreme Court, 
1843, Seaman v. Bmson, 4 Barb., 444 ; Special Term, Thomas v. Clapp, 20 id., 165.) 

Approbation of superintendent. Under section 13 of an act amenda- 
tory of the several acts relating to common schools, passed April 17, 1843, 
requiring the written approbation of the town superintendent whenever more 
than one renewal of the warrant should become necessary, one renewal of the 
warrant may be made by the trustees without the approbation of the town 
superintendent. {Supreme Court, 1848, Seaman v. Benson, 4 Barb., 444.) 

Levy on farm divided by county line. If a farm is divided by the 
division line between two districts, it is to be considered as lying in the district 
in which the dwelling is, and the collector may make levy upon any part of it, 
even though such part is in another county than the dwelling. {Supreme Court, 
1832, Ward v. Aylesworth, 9 Wend., 281.) 

Liability of collector. A school district collector is bound to see that 
the trustees act within the scope of their legal duty ; and, if they assess the 
propert V of a person not taxable, he is a trespasser in executing their warrant. 
(10 Co. B.. 76 ; 1 //. Black-stone, 68 ; 4 Taunt., 634 ; Supreme Court, 1816, Suydam 
V. Heys, 13 Johns., 4A4: ; but Savacool v. Boughton, 5 Wend., 170.) 

If the trustees have jurisdiction of the subject-matter, the collector is pro- 
tected by a tax list and warrant, regular upon their face. (9 Johns., 230 ; 3 id., 
474; 5 Wend., 170; Supreme Court, 1851, Alexander v. Hoyt, 7 Wtnd., 89.) _ 

Distraining. An officer who collects a district school tax is not subject to 
the provisions of 2 Ile\dsed Statutes, 428, sections 20-24, relating to the duties of 



New York State Courts. 445 

officers distraining on property, when no special provision is otherwise made. 
{Supreme Court, 1848, Pangburny. Smith, 4 Bmb., 246.) 

Officers — neglect to serve. The penalty imposed by section 22, of the 
act of 1819, upon any clerk, trustee or collector, who should refuse to serve, or 
who, not having refused, should neglect the performance of the duties of his 
office, is not incurred by an individual instance of negligent or willfa] omis- 
sion of duty by one who has entered on the general duties of the office. 
{Supreme Court, 1826, Sj^aford v. Hood, 6 Coio., 478 ; followed in Fitch v. Miller, 

13 ire?u7., 66.) 

The remedy which the inhabitants of a school district have against a trustee 
who neglects to discharge the duties of his office stated. ( Whit/ord v. Scott, 14 
How. Pr., 302, 1857.) "A trustee of a school district, who refuses to discharge 
his duties as such, can be punished by indictment." (2 Rev. Stat., 696, sec. 38 ; 
2 Hill, 196 ; 1 Benio, 457 ; 3 id., 381.) Such a refractory trustee is also liable to 
pay a penalty of $10 for each refusal to perform any duty required by law 
{Laics of 1847, p. 696, sec. 79 ; id., p. 713, sec. 145) ; and he may be removed from 
office by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. {Laius of 1849, jj. 537, 
sec. 15.) 

Neglect to account. Under 1 Revised Statutes 486, section 100, impos- 
ing a penalty of twenty-five dollars on every trustee who shall refuse or neg- 
lect to render an account, or to pay over any balance found in his hands, the 
penalty is a several penalty imposed on each defaulting trustee, and not a pen- 
alty against them jointly. {Supreme Court, 1845, Marsh v. SJnite, 1 Denio, 230.) 

Powers of trustees to remo^^e encroachment. A trustee of the dis- 
trict has the right to remove a fence wrongfully built upon the school lot. 
{Supreme Court, 1847, Thayer v. Wright, 4 Denio, 180.) 

Power of trustees to contract. The trustees of a school district are a 
quasi corporation, possessing power in certain cases, and for certain purposes, 
to bind their district and create a corporate liability, which will attach to their 
successors in their official capacity. They, therefore, have the power to liqui- 
date the indebtedness of the district, e. g., to a teacher, for wages earned by 
him as such, in the employment of the district, and, by giving a note therefor 
signed by them as trustees, to bind the district. When a note thus made 
expresses on its face that it is given on account of the wages of the payee, as 
teacher in the school district of which the makers are trustees, the payee, by 
accepting the note, admits this to be the true consideration, and therefore can- 
not hold the makers personally liable upon the note. {Supreme Court, 1856, 
Horton v. Garrison, 23 Barb., 176") 

The trustees of a school district are a corporation for certain purposes, and 
may receive the note of a tliird person for money due to them in their corpo- 
rate capacity ; and till the note is impeached, or some defense made against it, 
thev are under no obligation to show how they came by it. {Supreme Court, 
1834, Brewster v. Colwell, 13 Wend., 28.) 

Two trustees of a school district cannot act as such in the performance of 
their duties, except upon a meeting of all three, whether the third one refuses 
to act or not. (4 Denio, 125 ; Supreme Court, Qth district, 1857, Whitford v. Scott, 

14 How. Pr., 302 ; compare Horton v. Garrison, 23 Barb., 126.) 

Trustees of common schools sued by a teacher for ser\'ices rendered by 
employment by one of them only, but with the knowledge and permission of 
the others, cannot defeat the recovery on the ground that the contract was 
invalid for not being made at a meeting of the three. {Angell and Ames on 
Corp., 216, Supreme Court, 1853, Fister v. La Rue, 15 Barb., 323 ; and compare 
Finch V. Cleveland, 10 id., 290.) 

Clerk also collector. The same person may be appointed clerk of the 
school district and collector at the same time, there being no prohibition in 
the act, and nothing incompatible in the two offices. [Supreme Court, 1819, 
Howland v. Luce, 16 Johns., 135.) 

Election to fill vacancy caused bv refusal to serve, sustained. {Randall v. 
Smith, 1 Denio, 214.) 



446 Digest of Decisions of 

The Superintendent of Common Schools has no general jurisdiction over 
money in the hands of school commisssioners,. and he has no authority to 
direct them to retain money which may thereafter be, apportioned to school 
districts ; and his order to such effect is not in itself a protection, unless it 
shows on its face that an appeal was pending before him. {Supreme Coui% 1845, 
Btnnett v. Burch, 1 Denio, 141.) 

Ricitals in the Superintendent's order do not prove his jurisdiction. Id. 

Action on bond. The town superintendent refused to examine a candi- 
date as to her learning and ability, for the reason that he was satisfied her 
moral character was not good. The applicant appealed to the State Super- 
intendent, who examined as to her moral character and decided that there Avas 
no objection to her on that score, and directed the town superintendent to 
examine her. The town superintendent examined her as to learning and 
ability, and offered her a certificate as to her qualifications on those points. 
JIdd, that it was all he could be required to do. By the appeal the question 
of moral character was disposed of, and the State Superintendent's decision on 
that question, together with the town superintendent's certificate of learning 
and ability, would entitle the applicant to teach. {Supreme Court, 1855, People 
ex rel. Owen v. Masters, 21 Barb., 252.) 

Annulling teacher's certificate. Under the Laws of 1847, 690, section 
37, the town superintendent cannot annul a teacher's certificate of competency, 
except on ten days' notice, to the teacher and the trustees of the district, of a 
hearing on the question. Notice of an intention to annul it is not an annul- 
ment. The order must be in writing. {Supreme Court, 1851, Finch v. Ckveland, 
10 Barb., 290.) 

The city superintendent of common schools for the city and county of New 
York has jDOwer to annul a certificate granted to a teacher. {Supreme Court, 
1853, People ex rel. Melver v. Board of Education, 17 Barb., 299.) 

Dismissal. That the trustees cannot dismiss a teacher without cause and 
against his consent, before the expiration of his contract. {Finch v. Cleveland, 
10 Barb., 290.) 

A SCHOOL-HOUSE built by the contributions of the inhabitants was burned 
by the enemy, and compensation was subsequently awarded by the govern- 
ment, the village having been in the mean time organized as a school district. 
Held, that the money belonged to the school district, not to those who contrib- 
uted to the building. {Chancery, 1837. Potter v. Chopin, 6 Paige, 639.) 

Libraries. When neither the inhabitants of the district nor the trustees 
have made any regulations or directions touching the rights of the inhabitants 
and the duties of the librarian, an action will not lie by an inhabitant against 
the librarian for refusing to her or to her children access to the library and 
permission to take books therefrom. The remedy is through the trustees, in 
whom by statute (1 Rev. Stat. [4:th ed.], 908-908) the title to the library is vested. 
{Supreme Court, 18o6, Kennedy v. Ray, 22 Barb., 511.) 

Appeal. Under 1 Revised Statutes (2d edition), 481, section 124, as amended 
by the act of 1830, a controversy between the trustees ot a district and one of the 
commissioners of the town, in regard to the paying by the latter of money in 
his hands to the former, is a subject of appeal to the Superintendent ; and, if, 
instead of appealing, they sue, and have judgment, but the court certify that 
it appeared that he acte'd in good faith, he is exonerated from costs by the 
Laws of 1841, 242, section 33. {Same Stat, 1 Rev. Stat. [Bd ed.], 556, sec. 177 ; 
Supreme Court, 1846, ex parte Benneit, 3 Denio, 175.) 

As to what decisions of a town superintendent may be reviewed by the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, see People ex rel. Given v. Masters, 21 
Baib., 252. Title 12 of chapter 555, Laws of 1864, has removed all doubts 
about the right of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to hear and decide 
appeals upon all questions arising under all the acts relating to common 
schools. 

Collection op costs, etc., of suits against school officers. It is 
not necessary that an account of costs, etc., of school oflficers, under the second 



New York State Courts. 447 

section of chapter 172, of the Laws of 1847, should be submitted to the taxable 
inhabitants of the district previous to its being laid before the board of super- 
visors for its action ; nor that a majority of the taxable inhabitants, previous 
to the action of the board of supervisors thereon, should determine that the 
amount of such costs, charges and expenses, should be ascertained by the 
board. Section 1 of that actj as amended by the Laws of 1849, chapter ^88, is 
intended to apply to costs, etc., which a majority of the taxable inhabitants are 
willing to pay, and enables the district to levy and collect the tax. The other 
sections apply to the costs, etc., which the district ought to pay, bat are unwill- 
ing to do so, and will not pay except upon compulsion."- (Saj^rcme Cuurt, 
Sptcial Term, 1852, People ex rel. Gale v. Trustees of No. 13, 8 How. Fr., 125 ; anil 
see the opinion of the court on issuing the mandamus in this case, 6 id., 382 ; 
approved in People ex rel. Atkins v. Van Leuven, 8 How. Pr., 358 ;*but compare to 
the contrary >S. C, 10 id., 143 ; and compare 10 id., 468.) 

The board of supervisors of a county have no authority to direct that the 
judgment in an action against the trustees individually, and not in their offi- 
cial capacity, shall be collected from the taxable inhabitants of the district, 
unless the latter have, under Laws of 1847, page 163, voted to indemnify the 
officers thus sued. {Supreme Court Circuit,- ISoi, People ex rel. Atkins v. Snyder, 
10 Row. Pr., 143.) 

The jurisdiction of the board of supervisors to grant an order under Laws of 
1847, 163 ; 1849, 545 ; does not depend upon any action of the inhabitants in 
the district. {Supreme Court. 1854, Perq^le ex rel. Gale v. Green. 10 Roiu. Pr., 468.) 

Asylum societies. Law of 1848. The provision of chapter 75, of the 
Laws of 1848, 85, declaring that the orphan asylum societies of the city of 
Brooklyn shall participate in the distribution of the common school moneys 
raised in said city, is not to be construed to apply to the public moneys arising 
from the State fund. First, the language restricts the right to moneys raised 
in that city. Second, if the broader construction were given, the act would 
be unconstitutional. {Supreme Court, 1851, People v. Board oj Education of Brook- 
lyn, 13 Barh , 400.) 

The dictura of the court in No. 2 does not prevent the execution of the act, 
chapter 261, Laws of 1850, page 500, permitting all the incorporated orphan 
asylums in the State to share in the distribution of the school moneys. 

Common school fund. A statute (Laws of 1848, 85) authorizing an orphan 
asylum, Avliose trustees have a right to reject or admit applicants, to share in 
the revenues of the common school fund, is unconstitutional. Such an asylum 
is not a common school. {Supreme Court, 1851, People v. Board of Education of 
Brooklyn, 13 Barh., 400.) 

Trustees, etc., of school district. The principle that the official character 
of public school officers may be established by proving that they are generally 
reputed to be and have acted as such officers, without producing their com- 
mission or other evidence of their appointment, is applicable to the trustees or 
collector of a school district. {Supreme Court, 1831, Ring v. Grout, 7 Wend., 341 ; 
1832, McCoy v. Curtice, 9 id., 17.) 

The trustees of a school district, justifying as such, are not bound to prove 
that the district was duly organized ; it is enough if they show that it had been, 
in fact, organized. {Supreme Court, 1847, Stevens v. Newcomh, 4 Denio, 437.) 

A ministerial officer is protected in the execution of the process of a 
court or officer of even limited jurisdiction, although the court or officer has 
acquired no jurisdiction of the person, if it appears on the face of the process 
that the subject-matter of the suit is within their jurisdiction, and nothing 
appears on the face of the process to show a want of jurisdiction in other 
respects. (Citing 2 Strange, 710, 1002 ; Willis, 30 ; G T. R.. 242. 653 ; 9 Johns., 229 ; 
and disapproving, 3 Cranch., 331, and cases supra.) So liell in case of an execu- 
tion on a justice's judofment. {Supreme Court, ISHO. Savacoolx. Bowjhton. 5 Wend., 
170 ; followed 1834, citing also 5 Wend., 231, 240 ; 9 id., 17, 35 ;" 7 id., 89, and 

* Note. A different mode of enforcing the claims of school officers is provided by sec- 
tions 6, 7^ 8, 9, 10 and 11, title 13 of chapter 555, Laws of ISW. See ante^ p. 22.9. 



448 Digest of De<3isions op 

distinguisliing, 6 id., 438 ; Coon v. Congden, 12 id., 495 ; 1853, Henry v. Lowell, 16 
Barb., 208 ; Court of Appeals, 1849, Sheldon v. Van Buslcirk, 2 N. Y. [2 Contst], 
473; approved, Court of Errors, 1831) [distinguisliing, 13 Johns., 444, and 3 
Crunch., 331], Par/cer v. Walrod, 16 TFe«r?., 514 ; affirming, S. C, 13 id., 296 ; 
^. T:, Supreme Cmrt. 1834. Parmelee v. Hitchcock, 12 '/c^. 96.)- 

So held, of a justice who issued a process in compliance with the highway 
acts, to enforce a tax assessed on a person not legally liable to be taxed. 
{Supreme Court 1812, Beach v. Fur man, 9 Johns., 229, approved, and the adverse 
case of Suydam v. Keys, 13 Johm., 444, disapproved in S^/vacool v. Boughton, 5 
Wend., 170 ; and see Chegary v. Jenkins, 5 K Y. [1 Seld.\ 376.) 

So, also, in the case of a tax collector, in collecting a tax upon property, 
which in fact was entitled to exemption from assessment. {Court of Appeals, 
Chegary v. Jenkins, 5 K Y. \1 Sdd.], 376.) 

So held in the case of a tax collector, where the trustees' apportionment of 
the tax had been made upon a wrong principle. {Supreme Court, 1831, Alexander 
V. Hoyt, 7 Wend., 89.) 

So held, also, when the meeting which laid the tax was illegal. {Supreme 
Court, 1846, Abbott v. York, 2 Denio, 86 ; S. T., 1832, Reynolds v. Moon. 9 Wend., 35.) 

So held in the case of a sheriff taking B's goods from A's possession, under a 
writ of replevin against A, specifying the goods. {Supreme Court, 1855, Foster v. 
Fettihone, 20 Barb.. 350, disapproving Thompson v. Reynolds, 14 id., 508.) 

This principle applies to every tribunal of special and limited jurisdiction, e. g., 
the Superintendent of Common Schools, and this whether his determinations 
are termed orders or judgments. {Supreme Court, 1845, Bennett v. Burch, 1 Beiiio, 
141.) ^ "" 

Also, when the objection was that the justice whose process was executed 
was only an officer de facto. (1830, Wilcox v. Smith, 5 Wend., 231 ; S. T., 1848, 
Weeks v. ElHs, 2 Barb., 320.) 

And in case of de facto trustees of a school district. (1832, McCoy v, Curtice, 9 
Wend., 17 ; Reynolds v. 2Ioon, id., 35.) 

So, also, when the objection was, that the judgment on which the process 
issued had been satisfiecl. (1830, McGuiniy v. Htrrlck, 5 Wend., 240; 1831, Leiuis 
V. Falmer, 6 id., 367 ; S. T., Court of Appeals, 1848, Buckman v. Cowell, 1 K Y. 
[1. Com St ], 505.) 

In the case of a tax collector, nothing is necessary but a regular warrant. 
{Cozirt of Appeals, 1849, Seldon v. Van Buskirk, 2 N. Y. [2 Comst.^, 473 ; but com- 
pare Van Rensselaer v. Whitbeck, 7 K Y. [3 Seld.'], 517 ; reversing S. T., 7 Barb., 133.) 

When the illegality of a tax appears on the face of the warrant, the collector 
who levies it is liable in trespass. {Chancery, 1834, Bank of Utica v. City of Utica, 
4 Paige, 399 ; Supreme Court, 1837, Clark v. Hallock, 16 We^icZ., 607 ; S. T. applied 
in the case of an attachment. Court of Appeals, 1851, Castellanos v. Jones, 5 iV. Y. 
[1 >Se/c/.], 164.) 

If the warrant issued by the trustees of a school district for the collection 
of a school tax directs the collector to collect the amount of the assessments 
together with five cents on each dollar, contrary to the Laws of 1845, chapter 
180, section 31, which direct the collector's fees not to be inserted in the war- 
rant, this is an excess of authority in the trustees so far as relates to the fees, 
and the warrant is no protection to the collector. {Supreme Court, 1854, Stroud 
V. Butler, 18 Barb., 327.) 

Exempt property. An officer is not protected by the execution in taking 
property which is exempt from execution. {Supreme Court, 1853, Huyt v. Van 
Alstt/ne, 15 Barb., 568.) 

Tardy execution. If the collector of school taxes sells property after the 
expiration of the time limited in the warrant, he acts without authority and 
becomes a trespasser. {Supreme Court, 1854, Stroud v. Butler, 18 Barb., 327 ; dis- 
tinguishing, Sheldon v. Van Baskirk, 2 N. Y. [2 Comstf\, 473.) 

Implied power to sue. When a public office is instituted by the Legisla- 
ture, an implied authority is conferred on the officer, as incident to his office, to 
bring ail suits which the proper and faithful discharge of his official duties 



Njiw York State Courts. 449 

requires. So held of overseers of tlie poor. (Supreme Court, 1820, Overseers of 
Pittstoxon V. Overseers of PlaUsburyh, 18 Johns., 407 ; 1826, Todd v. BirdsaU, 1 Cow., 
260 ; 1828, Grant v. Fancher, 5 tU, 300 ; 1830, Armine v. Spencer, 4 Wend., 408 ; 
1843, Supervisor of Galivay v. Stimson, 4 M7Z, 136. «S'o /^eZcZ of tlie supervisor of 
a town. (Supreme Court, 1824, Jansen v. Ostrander, 1 Co?y., 670.) 

Implied liability to be sued. For the same reason the overseers of the 
poor may be sued, and as well for liability incurred by their predecessors as 
one incurred by themselves. (Supreme Court, 1823, Todd v. BirdsaU, 1 Cow., 260 ; 
S. T, 1829, Palmer v. Vandenburgh, 3 Wend., 193.) 

So held of trustees of school districts in an action for a teacher's wages, 
under a contract Avith their predecessors. (2 Rev. Stat., 476, sec. 108 ; Supreme 
Court, 1831, Silver v. Curamings, 7 Wend., 181 ; 1843, Williams v. Keech, 4 Hill, 
168.) 

Trustees of a school district who go out of office before the time of payment 
upon their contract arrives cannot be sued. Id. 

The bond op a tov^^n collectoh, taken in the name of the supervisor, 
passes to his successor, and should be sued in the name of the supervisor in 
office when the default happens ; except that when the latter is dead, the suit 
should, under Laws of session 44, chapter 195, be in the name of his personal 
representatives. (Supreme Cou'rt, 1824, Jansen v. Ostrander, 1 Coiu., 670.) 

Residence. A person, though he can have but one domicile, may have two 
residences. When one resided in a hired house in the city during the winter, 
and at his country seat, in another county, during the summer, and was assessed 
as a resident of the city first, and afterward as a resident at his country seat, 
held, that the first assessment was proper, and his remedy was to have objected 
to the second assessment. He could not, after paying the second assessment, 
resist the collection of the first. (N. Y. Superior Court, 1853, Douglas v. Maym; 
etc., of N. Y., 2 Duer, 110.) 

Lands owned by a non-resident, but occupied, may be assessed either against 
the occupant or the non-resident owner. (Court of Appeals, 1852, Van Rensselaer 
V. Cottrell, Seld., notes No. 1, 2, 3 ; affirming S. C, 7 Barb., 127,) 

Non-residents. Assessors are not authorized by the statute to insert in 
the assessment rolls the names of non-resident owners of real property. In 
the case of a non-resident, the land is to be assessed w^ithout naming the 
owner. Hence the collector cannot levy a tax upon any personal property of 
non-residents. The warrant does not authorize the seizure and sale of the 
property of persons not named, or whose names it is apparent from the face 
of the papers the assessors had no right to set down. (Supreme Court, Sp. Term, 
1853, K Y. & Harlem R. R. Co , v. Lrjon, 16 Barb., 651.) 

School. Buildings used for a private boarding-school are not exempt from 
taxation, by 1 Revised Statutes, 388, section 4, which exempts every building 
erected for the use of a college, incorporated academy, or other seminary of 
learning, and every building for public worship, every school-house, court- 
houseand jail. The word "school-house" means only buildings for public 
schools ; and the words "other seminary of learning " are to be understood as 
incorporations by force of the general words preceding. (Appeals, 1855, Chegory 
v. Ilaijor, etc., of N. Y, 13 A^. Y. [3 Kern.]. 220 ; to similar effect K Y. Superior 
Court, 1855, Chegary v. Jenkins, 3 Sandf, 409.) 

Trustees. Under 1 Revised Statutes, 389-399, the individual property of 
an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, may be taken for a tax imposed 
upon him in his representative capacity, where no property of the testator, 
intestate or cestui que trust can be found. It is a personal tax upon the executor, 
etc., in his special character as trustee. If there be joint executors, etc., each 
is taxable only for that portion of the trust property in his possession or under 
his control. (Supreme Court, 1830, Williams v. Holden, 4 Wend., 223.) 

Apportioning school tax. The authority which the trustees of a school 
district are required to administer, in apportioning a tax, involves the exercise 
of judgment and discretion, a power which cannot be delegated. (3 K Y., 396 ; 
Supreme Court, 1856,ZeeZer v. Frost, 22 Barb., 400.) 

57 



450 Digest of Decisioxs of 

ExpiRATiOX OF TVAUEANT. The poTvers of a school district collector, 
derived from a warrant issued for the collection of a tax or rate bill, cease with 
the expiration of the time limited in the warrant for collection, when his 
liability for not collecting, etc., becomes fixed, unless the warrant is renewed 
by the trustees. Without a renewal he is then a tresspasser if he executes it. 
{Supreme Court, 1854, Stroud v. Butler, 18 Barl., 327.) 

Renewing, Under 1 Revised Statutes, 484, sections 98, 103, which provides 
that the warrant to collect school taxes must be signed by the trustees or a 
majority, and that the trustees may renew it, a majority of the trustees may 
renew the warrant, and it mav be renewed more than once. {Supreme Court, 
1840, Folsom v. Streeter, 24 Wend., 266.) 

Under the power to renew a warrant, they may issue a new warrant. 
{Supreme Court, 1848, Seaman v. Beyison, 4 Barl., AAA.) 

WTien a warrant for the collection of a school tax is not issued until after its 
renewal, it becomes, by the renewal and delivery to the collector for collection, 
a valid and effectual process, for all purposes, as of the date of the renewal. 
(4 Hill, 109 ; 3 id., 495 ; Supreme Court, 1853, ParJcer v. Brovrn, 17 Barl., 145.) 

Seal. The trustees of a school district made out and issued their warrant 
without a seal, though a seal was required by the statute, and, after several 
renewals Avithout seal, renewed it with seal. Held valid, as in effect a new 
warrant. {Supreme Court, 1842, Smith v. Randall, 3 Hill, 495; followed, 1845 
in a further decision in S. C, 1 Benio, 214; to similar effect, 1853, Parker v. 
Brown, 17 Barb., 145.) 

Regularity of tax. The question whether an individual banker was 
taxable in the town or ward in which the assessment was made cannot be 
raised to affect the validity of the tax warrant, regular on its face, as against 
the officer executing it ; nor, when the process is against an individual bank, 
by the name in which it does business, which name is apparently that of a 
corporation, and such bank has a place of business within the jurisdiction of 
the assessors and of the officer executing the process, can its owner be per 
mitted, as against the officer levying on the money or property of the bank, to 
claim that it is not a lawful corporation, and not taxable by its apparent - 
corporate name. (5 Wend., 170 ; 5 y. T., 376 ; Supreme Court, 1858, Patchin v. 
Bitter, 27 Bm-l., 34.) 

School tax. For two weeks after receiving the warrant of the trustees of 
a school district, the collector acts, under it, as the mere receiver of such taxes 
as shall be voluntarily paid to him. {Laics of 1849, 535, sec. 5.) If he assumes 
to enforce payment during that time, he is a trespasser. {Supreme Court, 1853, 
Packer v. Brown, 17 Barh., 145.) 

A tax can be said to be " collected " only when it has been paid by those on 
whose propertv it has been levied. {N. Y. Com. Pleas, Sp. Term, 1857, Fitzpatrick 
V. Flagg, 5 Alhott's Pr,, 213.) 

Collector. The warrant is a protection to the collector, notwithstanding 
an error in the description of the lands assessed. ( Court of Apjpeals, 1852, Van 
Rensselaer v. Cottrell, Seld.. notes Xo. 1, 2, 3.) 

Changing site. Although, by Laws of 1847, chapter 480, section 73, the 
consent of the suiDervisor of the town is necessary to change the site of a 
school-house, it is not essential that such consent should have been given 
before the district meeting votes for such change, (17 Wend., 439 ; Supreme 
Court, 1862, Colfxm v. Beardsley, 38 Barb., 29.) 

Power of trustees in respect to vacancies. Under laws of 1851, 
chapter 386, section 10, subdivision 7, which authorizes the trustees, by a vote 
of a majority, to declare vacant the seat of any trustee who shall refuse to 
attend three stated meetings, the tender by a trustee of his resignation, with 
its acceptance by a majority, renders his seat vacant. {K T. Com. Pleas, 1863, 
Gilder sleeve v. Board of Education, 17 Abbott's P/-.,. 201.) 

Power of trustees in respect to teachers. The power of the board 
of trustees to employ teachers under the same- statute, coupled with the 
general authority to conduct and manage the schools, necessarily implies 



NjEAv YoEK State Courts. 451 

tlie right to remove tliem ; especially under a by-law of the board of educa- 
tion, regulating the proceedings on such removal. Id. 

The power of the city superintendent, under the same statute, to annul the 
certificate given to any teacher, is distinct from the power of the trustees to 
remove the teacher Id. 

A certificate issued imder the Laws of 1851, chapter 386, section 11, making 
it the duty of the city superintendent, under general regulations of the board 
of education, to examine into the qualifications of persons proposed as teachers 
of common schools in the city of New York, and to grant certificates, need 
only specify in which class of schools, and in what capacity, the person is 
qualified to teach. Id. 

And when under this statute, and a by-law of the board of education, which 
required that the certificate given shouM express the grade of the teacher, the 
superintendent gave a certificate expressing the grade, and that the teacher 
was qualified as first assistant of a gi ammar school, lield, that in the absence 
of e^ddence of any further regulation of the board, the teacher might lawfully 
serve as principal of the primary department of a grammar school. Id. 

Removal of eesidence. The ofl&ce of a trustee of common schools in the 
city and county of New York becomes vacated by the removal of the incum- 
bent from the county. (1 Rev. Stat., 122 ; N. Y. Com. Pleas, 1863, Gildersleeve v. 
Board of Education, 17 Ahh. Pr., 201.) 

How FAR PROCESS IS A PROTECTION". The insertion by trustees of a school 
district in their warrant for the collection of a school tax for the same, of a 
charge which they are not authorized to collect, without a vote of the district, 
does not render the warrant void except for the excess, and does not render 
them personally liable in damages for enforcing it, but they are liable only to 
an action for recovering back the excess. {Supreme Court, 1860, Colton v. Beards- 
Ity, 38 Barb., 29.) 

Warrant. After a warrant for the collection of taxes had been used to 
collect an assessment, the assessment was detached from it, and a second 
assessment attached to it, and the warrant thus altered was delivered to the 
collector for collection. Held, that it was in legal effect a new warrant, and 
valid as such. {Supreme Court, 1860, Colton v. Beardsletj, 38 Barh., 29.) 

Taxation. The fact that a bank owns stocks, bonds and other securities of 
the United States, in amount exceeding its capital and surplus earnings, and 
that the total value of all its other personal property does not exceed the 
amount of the debts it owes, will not exempt it from taxation on account of 
personal property, on the ground that the capital of the bank is its surplus*- 
after paying all its debts, and that in the given case it will require all its per- 
sonal property, other than its investments in United States securities, which 
are not taxable. {The People ex rel. The Lockport City Bank v. The Board of. EducOr- 
tion, Supreme Court, 1866, 46 Barb., 588.) 

The relator was a bank organized under the general banking law of 1838, 
■with a capital of $104,000. The cost of its real estate was about $14,000, its 
surplus profits were about $34,000 or $35,000, and it had about $203,500 of 
United States stocks or bonds, and had about $65,000 of other, stocks deposited 
as security with the bank department of the State, and about $120,000 of 
United States stocks. It held and owned stocks and bonds, and other securi- 
ties of the United States, to an amount exceeding its entire capital, including 
all its surplus profits, earnings and reserved funds; and the total value of all 
its other personal property and estate did not exceed the amount of debts due 
the bank. The bank was assessed, on account of its personal property or estate, 
the STim of $102,400, being, as alleged, the whole amount of its capital stock 
paid in, and of all its surplus profits, or reserved funds, less ten per cent thereof, 
after deducting therefrom the value of its real estate. Held, that the relator, 
not having shown that any of its capital stock was invested in United States 
securities, or that it was assessed for any part of its property invested in such 
securities, was not entitled to a writ of mandamus, commanding the assessors 
to amend the assessment and the assessment roll, by striking therefrom the 
assessment of the bank, for or on account of personal property. Id. 



452 Digest of Decisions of 

The provision of tlie statute requiring the assessors to set down in the 
assessment roll the full value of all the taxable personal property of the 
person, after deducting the just debts owing by hini, has no relation to 
the taxation of moneyed corporations. 

The effect of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the 
cases of The People ex rel. The Bank of the Coram onvjealth v. The Commissioners of 
assessments, etc., in the City of Neio York, and The Same ex rel. The Bank of Com- 
merce V. The Same (2 Wal, 200), was neither more nor less than that the State 
cannot by any system of taxation assess and tax the securities of the United 
States, whether held or owned by corporations or individuals ; nor can such 
holder or owners be taxed on account of such securities, or their value. Id, 

That decision does not declare the act of the Legislature " in relation to the 
taxation of moneyed corporations and associations" passed April 29, 1863 
{Laws of 1863, p. 435), to be unconstitutional. The effect of the decision, how- 
ever, may be to annul the act, and render it inoperative in cases where the 
capital of the bank is wholly, or in part, invested in securities of the United 
States. In such cases the statute might, perhaps, be impracticable ; or, possi- 
bly, oui' courts would hold the statute operative to the extent of the capital 
stock not invested in United States securities. Id. 

The capital of the Exchange Bank at Lockport was $150,000 ; the value of 
its real estate was $7,000, and its surplus earnings, less than ten per cent, 
were $41,151.16. Its State stocks and bonds and mortgages, deposited with 
the Superintendent of the Banking Department, amounted to $18,300, and its 
United States stock so deposited amounted to $32,000. Its other bonds and 
mortgages amounted to $14,000. It held and owned, in all, $72,000 in United 
States stocks. The total value of all its personal property and effects, exclusive 
of the stocks, bonds and other securities of the United States, held and owned 
by it, did not exceed the sum of $112,000, over and above the debts due and 
owing by it. It was assessed on account of its personal property for $165,980. 
Held, that the proper mode of assessment v/as adopted, under the act of the 
Legislature of 1863, relative to the taxation of moneyed corporations, etc., that 
is, by taking into the account the capital stock, the value of the real estate and 
the surplus earnings less the ten per cent, and that upon this principle the 
assessment was not excessive. {The People ex rel. The Exchange Bank at Lockport 
V, The Board of Education^ etc., Supreme Court, 1866, 46 Bard., 598.) 

Held, also, that it was incumbent u^Don the bank to show that the assess- 
ment included and operated upon a portion of its property invested in United 
States securities ; and that, this not liaAing been shown, no case was made for 
a mandamus, directing the assessors to correct the assessment roll for personal 
property, by reducing the amount therein, from $165,980 to $112,000. Id. 

The supreme court will not iuterfere to review or overrule decisions of the Department of 

Public Instruction. 

At the Monroe special term, June, 1867, E. Darwin Smith, Justice, delivere'd 
the opinion of the court, as follo^vs : 

This is an action under the Code, section 432, brought by the Attorney- 
General in the name of the people, upon the relation of Jerome Hill, to try the 
■title of the defendant Collins to the office of trustee, and of the defendant Van 
Voorhees to the office of collector of school district No. 9, in the town of Victor, 
•county of Ontario. Such action is a substitute for the writ of quo icarranto, 
■ and may be brought where any person shall usurp, intrude into, or unlawfully 
hold or exercise any public office, civil or military, or any franchise within this 
State. The only issue which can be raised or tried in the action is the title to 
the office and of ouster as against the defendant, or of dismissal of the com- 
plaint if the people fail in the action. The question whether the relator or 
the defendant, Collins, is the legal trustee of said school district, has been pre- 
sented to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, been passed upon by him, 
and expressly adj udicated in favor of the defendant, in a decision made by him 
on the 18th day of February last. This decision covers the whole question 



New York State Courts. 453 

which can be tried and decided in this action, and the question presented to 
this court is whether this action will lie to re\'iew such decision of the Super- 
intendent, notwithstanding such decision. 

I have no doubt this decision is binding and conclusive upon these parties, 
and that this action cannot be maintained. The Legislature clearly intended 
that all questions relating to the holding of school district meetings, and any 
and all official acts of school officers, trustees, commissioners, supervisors or 
others relating to the conduct of common schools, or concerning any matter, 
act or duty required or performed under the law providing for the organization 
and maintenance of common schools or any law relating or pertaining thereto, 
should or might be presented on appeal to the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, and should be decided by him ; and, when so decided, the act, 
section 1, title 12, of the act of 1864, relating to public instruction. Session 
Laws, page 1244, expressly declares that " the decision of such Superintendent 
shall be final and conclusive, and not subject to question or re\dew in any place 
or court whatever." I have no doubt this is a valid act, and that the Legisla- 
ture had ample power to pass it. It was designed to save and prevent litiga- 
tion in the courts in respect to the many questions of dispute constantly arising 
in the school districts of the State in respect to school officers and the conduct 
of such officers in the management and control of the affairs of the common 
schools. It seems to me that it was a ^vise and judicious provision to settle 
school controversies promptly and summarily, and save districts and district 
officers the trouble, vexation, strife and expense of litigation in the courts. 
But, if it were other^vise, the courts are bound to obey the law and refrain 
from any review of the proceedings or decisions of the Superintendent. The 
Superintendent has decided that the defendant is the lawful trustee of this 
school district, and that decision, I think, must end this controversy. His 
decision is final, and the parties must submit to it. Such decision disposes 
of all the questions which can be litigated, and leads to the conclusion that 
the injunction must be dissolved, and it is dissolved, with costs to abide the 
event. 



LIST OF THE TITLES OF 
ALL THE GENERAL AND SPECIAL ACTS OF NEW YORK 

EELATING TO SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 



[The following list, alphabetically arranged, is supposed to contain the titles 
of all acts relating to schools and education passed by the Legislature of 
this State. A few, which were merely appropriation bills, have been purposely 
omitted, and perhaps some others have been overlooked.] 

A. 

An act to confirm the proceedings of the joint school district, composed of district No. 
5, in Adams, and district No. 6, in the town of Henderson, in the county of Jefferson. 
Passed April 1, 1846. Sess. Laws, p. 52. 

An act to incorporate the Albany Lancaster school society. Passed May 26, 1812. Sess. 
Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), p. 390. Section 10 required the city to pay $500 a year 
toward the support of the school. 

An act to amend the act entitled " An act to incorporate the Albany Lancaster school 
society." Passed February 12, 1813. Sess. Laws, p. 21. Eepealedthe sixth section, and 
changed the sum entitling a person to a scholarship to $25. 

An act to incorporate a school for people of color in the city of Albany. Passed April 12, 
1816. Sess. Laws, p. 83. The act incorporates the "Albany school for educating people of 
color," vests in the trustees the title of a lot of land, and permits them to hold real and per- 
sonal estate with an income not to exceed $1,000 annually. 

An act relating to common schools in the city of Albany. Passed April 17, 1830. Sess. 
Laws, p. 260. Authorizes the election of commissioners of common schools in the several 
wards of the city east of Perry street, and the organization of a board, with power to organ- 
ize districts and appoint trustees. The school moneys were to be apportioned to the city 
and to the county separately. The Lancaster schools were to share in its distribution. The 
part of the city west of Perry street formed a separate district. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act relating to common schools in the city of 
Albany." Passed January 25, 1831. Authorizes a tax on district No. 6, to build a school- 
house. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act relating to common schools in the city of Albany." 
Passed April 11, 1831. Sess. Laws, p. 153. Authorizing taxes to build school-houses. 

An act relating to the second school district in the city of Albany. Passed April 25, 1832. 
Sess. Laws, p. 472. Authorizes the trustees to erect a school-house, mortgage the lot and 
building, and to exact ten per cent on each rate bill for tuition, to pay the principal and 
interest. 

An act further to amend the act entitled "An act to amend the several acts relating to 
the city of Albany, and to combine the same into one act," passed April 13, 1826. Passed 
May 1, 1834. Sess. Laws, p. 416 Section 3 repeals the thirteenth section of said act, giving 
$500 yearly to the Lancaster school. Section 13 continues in force the act of April 11, 1831, 
relating to common schools in the city of Albany, for five years from May 1, 1834, 

An act to provide for the erection of district school buildings in each district east of 
Perry street in the city of Albany. Passed April 20, 1837. Sess. Laws, p. 205. Raises by 
tax $25,000, in ten annual installments, for building school-houses, and authorizes the loan- 
ing of that sum to the city from the capital of the common school fund. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act relating to common schools in the city of 
Albany." Passed May 9, 1837. Sess. Laws, p. 406. The first two sections relate to the 



A List of Acts Relating to Schools. 455 

raising and apportionment of taxes for the support of schools. The third and fourth sec- 
tions forbid districts east of Perry street from voting taxes, or disposing of district prop- 
erty, and required them to keep a record of proceedings of school meetings. 

An act relative to the common schools in the city of Albany. Passed May 8, 1837. 
Sess. Laws, p. 390. Apportions $100 to each school east of Perry street, and $25 to each 
district west of said street, for repairs and contingent expenses ; and directs school moneys 
to be apportioned to the Albany orphan asylum for the payment of the wages of teachers. 

An act amendatory of the several acts relating to district schools in the city of Albany. 
Passed April 8, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 115. 

An act to amend an act relating to the district schools of the city of Albany, passed 
April 8, 1844. Passed May 13, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 265. 

An act to authorize the city of Albany to raise money by tax to build a district school-, 
house. Passed April 12, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 482. 

An act authorizing an additional sum of money to be raised in the city of Albany, for 
school purposes. Passed April 17, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 676. 

An act in relation to common schools in the city of Albany, west of Perry street. Passed 
June 18, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 1037. 

An act amendatory of the several acts relating to district schools in the city of Albany, 
Passed April 14, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 951. 

An act to create a board of public instruction in the. city of Albany; to establish free 
schools therein, and amendatory of the several acts relating to the district schools in said 
city. Passed April 7, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 986. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to create a board of public instruction in the city 
of Albany ; to establish free schools therein, and amendatory of the several acts relating to 
the district schools in said city," passed April 7, 1866. Passed January 31, 1867. Sess. 
Laws, p. 37, vol. 1. 

An act to authorize the inhabitants of joint school district No. 5, in the town of Attica, 
county of Wyoming, and town of Alexander, county of Genesee, to raise money. Passed 
April 2, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 286. 

An act to divide the town of Alfred, in the county of Allegany. Passed March 16, 1821. 
Sess. Laws, p. 94. Erects the towns of Independence and Almond, and directs the moneys 
derived from the sales of the gospel and school lots to be divided. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 3, in the' town of Amherst, county 
of Erie, to raise certain moneys for school purposes. Passed April 5, 1866. Sess. Laws, 
p. 850. 

An act for the collection of a school district tax in joint district No. 3, in towns of Ash- 
ford and East Otto, in Cattaraugus county. Passed April 10, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 699. 

An act in relation to school district No. 12. in the town of Attica. Passed April 3, 1829. 
Sess. Laws, p. 176. Authorizes apportionment of moneys to district. 

An act authorizing the application of the common school moneys in the village of Athens 
and in the city of Btudson to the education of poor children. Passed April 15, 1814. Sess. 
Laws, p. 244. This law modified the general law, and set apart the public money in Athens 
and Hudson for the benefit of the poor exclusively. 

An act to incorporate the city of Auburn. Passed March 21, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 119. 
Title 8 of this act related to schools. 

An act to regulate the free schools in the city of Auburn, Passed April 10, 1850. Sess. 
Laws, p. 751. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to regulate the free schools in the city of Auburn," 
passed April 10, 18.50. Passed March 23, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 365. 

An act to amend an act to regulate free schools in the city of Auburn, passed April 10, 
ia50. Passed March 19, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 349. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to amend an act to regulate free schools in the 
city of Auburn," passed April 10, 1850, passed March 23, 1857. Passed February 19, 1864. 
Sess. Laws, p. 33. 

An act to incorporate the Cayuga asylum for destitute children. Passed April 10, 1852. 
Sess. Laws, p. 279. Section 12 made the school kept in this asylum a separate district 
school, and gave it a distributive share in the public money and in the school money raised 
in the city. 

An act to authorize the mayor and common council of the city of Auburn to raise money 
by tax to pay for building a school-house in district No. 5. Passed April 14, 1855. Sess. 
Laws, p. 955. Authorizes a tax of $250. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 7, in the town of Augusta, Oneida 
county, to convey real estate. Passed April 21, 1865. Sess. Laws, p. 938. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 7, town of Augusta, Oneida county, 
to convey a certain lot of land. Passed March 16, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 321. 

An act for the relief of Stephen Sprague, Orange Spaulding and Robert R. Cowan, late 
trustees of school district No. 12, in the town of Aureliue. Passed March 22, 1833. Sess. 
Laws, p. 96. Authorizes a tax to pay the costs of a suit against them. 



456 A List of Acts 

B. 

An act to authorize the hoard of education of the BaldwinsviUe union school district to 
borrow money. Passed April 19, 18G7. Sess, Laws. p. 1125, vol. 1. 

An act in relation to school district No. 3, in the town of Batavia. Passed April 25. 1839. 
Sess. Laws, p. 210. 

An act to authorize the inhabitants of consolidated school district No. 2. in the village of 
Batavia, Genesee county, to raise money. Passed March 29, 184*7. Sess. Laws, p. 45. 

An act to enable the trustees of consolidated school district No. 2, in Batavia. to levy a 
tax for the support of a school therein. Passed June 25, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 566. 

An act to enable the trustees of school district No. 7, in the town of Bath, to hold by deed 
a certain lot therein meutionr^d. Passed March 31, 1S15. Authorizes certain persons to 
convey, by deed, fifty acres of land to the trustees of district No. 7, to be held in trust for 
the benefit of the common schools in the settlement known as Pleasant Valley. 

An act to authorize the trtistees of union school district No. 5, in the village of Bath, in 
the county of Steuben, to raise money by tax. Passed Jantiary 24, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 10. 

An act in relation to schools in the viDage of Binghamton. Passed April 19, 1861. Sess. 
Laws, p. 752. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to schools in the village of Bingham- 
ton." passed April 19, 1861. Passed April 25, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 843. 

An act to amend chapter 322, of the Laws of 18fil, entitl^-d " An act in relation to schools 
in the village of Binghamton." Passed April 14, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 1250. 

An act to incorporate the city of Binghamton. Passed April 9, 1867. Sess. Laws, p* 
588, vol. 1. Title 11, p. 645, relates to common schools. 

An act in relation to district No. 1, in the town of Booneville. Passed May 5, 1837. .Sess. 
Laws, p. 344. Authorizes the sale of site, the purchase of a new site and the erection of a 
school-house, and the raising of a tax to defray the cost. 

An act to authorize school district No. 11, in the town of Brasher, in the county of St. 
Lawrence, to sell their lot. Passed September 20, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 419. 

An act relative to the common schools of the city of Brootlyn. Passed April 2, 1836. 
Sess. Laws, p. 136. Authorizes taxation for the building of school-houses. 

An act relative to school district No. 6, in the city of Brooklyn. Passed April 3, 1837. 
Sess. Laws, p. 120. Confirms the proceedings of a school meeting in changing the site, and 
the sale of a school-house. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of Brooklyn. Passed March 23, 1&43. Sess. 
Laws, p. 39. 

An act further to amend an act entitled " An act relating to common schools for the city 
of Brooklyn," passed May 23, 1&43. Passed April 6, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 298. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act relating to common schools for the city of 
Brookhm." Passed March 23, 184f. Sess. Laws, p. 514. 

An act to enlarge the act entitled " An act relative to common schools in the city of 
Brooklyn." Passed March 23, 1&43. Passed May 14, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 327. Authorizes 
the formation of school districts for colored children. 

An act to appoint a superintendent of common schools of the city of Brookljm. Passed 
January 28, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 14. 

An act to reorganize and regulate the common schools and the board of education in the 
city of Brooklyn. Passed April 4, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 237. 

An act to amend an act to reoriranize and regulate the common schools and the board of 
education in the city of Brooklyn, passed April 4, 1850. Passed March 17, 1857. Sess. 
Laws, vol. 1, p. 237. 

An act to authorize the board of education of the city of Brooklyn to sell a certain school 
lot. Passed April 10, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 771. 

An act to amend "An act to revise and amend the several acts relating to the city of 
Brooklyn." passed April 4. 1850. Passed June 19, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 442. Section 15 
relates'to the money to be raised by tax for the support of schools. 

An act to consolidate the cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburgh and the town^of Bushwick 
into one municipal government, and to incorporate the same. Passed April 17, 1854. Sess. 
Laws, p. 829. Section 13, title 11, relates to schools and the board of education. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to consolidate the cities of Brookhm and Wil- 
li.amsbur^h and the town of Bushwick into one municipal irovernment, and to incorporate 
the same"," passed April 17. 18.54. Passed April 6, 1857. Section 11 authorizes the board 
of education to maintain a normal school. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to reorganize and regulate the common schools 
and the board of education in the city of Brooklyn," passed AprU 4, 1850. Passed March 
7, 1862. Sess. Laws, p. 84. 

An act to authorize the appointment of an assistant superintendent of common schools 
in the city of Brooklyn. Passed April 3, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 803. 



Relating to Schools. 457 

An act for the relief of common schools in the city of Brooklyn. Passed April 11, 1866. 
Sess. Laws, p. 1118. 

An act to authorize the city of Brooklyn to borrow money, upon certificates of indebted- 
ness, for the purchase of school sites and the building of school-houses. Passed April 23, 
1867. Sess. Laws, p. 1527, vol. 2. 

An act to provide for the .existing deficiency in moneys applicable to the support of com- 
mon schools in the city of Brooklyn. Passed March 3U, 1867. Sess. Laws, p. 308, vol. 1. 

An act confirming the reports of the trustees of certain school districts in the county of 
Broome. Passed April 13, 182!). Sess. Laws, p. 222. 

An act in relation to school district No. 1, in the town of Brownville, in the county of Jef- 
ferson. Passed May 4, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 391. 

An act relative to district No. 8, in the town of Brutus. Passed January 31, 1846. Sess. 
Laws, p. 6. 

An act to provide for free schools in the town of Bushwick. Passed October 16, 1847. 
Sess. Laws, p. 427. 

An act in relation to schools in the town of Bushwick, Kings county. Passed April 1. 
1852. Sess. Laws, p. 158. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to provide for free schools in the town of Bush- 
wick," passed October 16, 1847. Passed June 18, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 816. 

An act further to amend an act entitled " An act to incorporate the city of Buffalo," passed 
April 20, 1832. Passed March 12, 1838. Sess. Laws, p. 37. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to incorporate the city of Buffalo." Passed May 
11, 1S37. Sess. Laws, p. 437. 

An act further to amend an act entitled " An act to incorporate the city of Buffalo," passed 
April 20, 1832. Passed May 12, 1838. Sess. Laws, p. 37. 

An act further to amend the charter of the city of Buffalo. Passed February 14, 1839. 
Sess. Laws, p. 18. Section 22 of this act made the city schools free to all children under 
sixteen years of age. 

An act to consolidate and amend the act to incorporate the city of Buffalo, passed April 
20, 1832, and the various acts amendatory thereof. Passed April 7, 1843. Sess. Laws, p. 116. 
Title 9 relates to " common and other schools." The common schools are free to all white 
children under sixteen years of age, and free schools are provided for all colored children. 

A.n act to amend an act entitled "An act to consolidate and amend the act to incorporate 
the city of Buffalo," passed April 20. 1832, and the various acts amendatory thereof, passed 
April 17. 1843. Passed March 29. 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 224. 

An act to revise the charter of the city of Buffalo, and to enlarge its boundaries. Passed 
April 13. 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 447. Title six relates to schools. They were made free to 
all white children over the a^e of five and tinder the age of eighteen. 

An act to amend an act entitled '' An act to revise the charter of the city of Buffalo, and 
to enlarge its bottndaries," passed April 13, 1853. Passed April 4, 1856. Section 13 relatea 
to taxation in school districts. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to revise the charter of the city of Buffalo, and 
to enlarge its boundaries," passed April 13, 1853, and the several acts amendatory thereof. 
Passed April 16, 1861. Sess. Laws, p. 620. 

An act to incorporate the Buff^ilo juvenile asylum. Passed April 7, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 
175. Section .30, p. 177, permits the schools of the asylum to share in the school fund. 



An act to authorize the erection of a school-house in the village of Canandaigua, and for 
the maintenance of a school for colored children, to be kept therein. Passed April 14. 1852. 
Sess. Laws, p. 430. 

An act to repeal the act entitled " An act to authorize the erection of a school-house in 
the village of Canandaigua, and for the maintenance of a school for colored children, to be 
kept therein," passed April 14, 1852; and to authorize the trtistees of said village to sell 
the said school-house and the lot on which it stands. Passed April 8, 1859. Sess. Laws, 
p. 447. 

An act to authorize the tnistees of school district No. 3, in the town of Castleton, and 
county of Richmond, to mortgage the property belonging to the district for certain pur- 
poses. Passed June 30, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 950. 

An act to establish free schools in district No. 1, in the towns of Castleton and Southfield, 
in the county of Richmond. Passed April 10, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 471. 

An act to enlarge the powers of school districts Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7, in the town of Castle- 
ton, in the county of Richmond. Passed April 14, 18.55. Sess. Laws, p. 942. 
. An act to amend an act entitled " An act to establish free schools in district No. 1, in the 
towns of Castleton and Southfield, in the county of Richmond," passed April 10, 1855. 
Passed April 1, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 103. 

58 



458. ■ A List of Acts 

An act for the collection of unpaid taxes in school district No. 1, in the towns of Cas- 
tleton and Southfield, Richmond county. Passed March 31, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 
453. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to establish free schools' in district No. 1, in the 
towns of Castleton and Southfield, in the county of Richmond," passed April 10, 1855. 
Passed April 2, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 200. 

An act to incorporate the Catskill Lancaster school society". Passed March 14, 1817. 
Sess. Laws, p. 77. Section 7 authorizes the society to receive the school moneys appor- 
tioned to district No. 1. 

An act to repeal "An act to incorporate the Catskill Lancaster school society," passed 
March 14, 1817, and for other purposes. Passed April 20, 18.30. Sess. Laws, p. a32. Section 
2 makes the village of Poughkeepsie a permanent school district, and requires the public 
moneys to be paid to the trustees of the Poughkeepsie Lancaster school society. 

An act relative to the town of Cameron, in the county of Steuben. Passed April 18, 1831. 
Sess. Laws, p. 197. Directs the overseers of the poor to apply $50 to the support of schools, 
and, from time to time thereafter, to pay the commissioners of common schools such sums 
as the inhabitants, or a majority of them, at any annual town meeting, should direct. 

An act in relation to joint school district No. 1, of the towns of Camillus and Geddes, in 
the county of Onondaga. Passed April 13, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 378. 

An act to levy a tax in joint school district No. 7, in the towns of Canton and DeKalb, in 
the county of St. Lawrence, to reimburse Sylvanus Styles and Theodoras Frisbie certain 
expenses incurred in behalf of said district. Passed May 7, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 234. 

An act for the relief of the trustees of school district No. 10, in the town of Chatham, in 
the county of Columbia. Passed April 11, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 338. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 12, in the town of Chenango, to sell 
a school lot. Passed February 19, 1834. Sess. Laws, p. 15. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 3, in the town of Chenango, in the 
county of Broome, to sell and convey their school lot. Passed May 5, 1834. Sess. Laws, 
p. 506. 

An act to establish a free school in district No. 3, in the town of Cherry Valley. Passed 
April 11, 1853. Sess, Laws, p. 305. 

An act to confirm the official acts of Hiram W. Jackson, of the town of China, as superin- 
tendent of common schools. Passed March 26, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 189. 

An act to further amend the act entitled " An act to incorporate the trustees of Clarkson 
high school, and to provide for the management and support of such school," passed April 
6, 1859. Passed April 11, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 1119. 

An act to amend the first section of an act passed April 6, 1859, entitled " An act to incor- 
porate the trustees of Clarkson high school, and to provide for the management and support 
of such school." Passed February 18, 1860. Sess. Laws, p. 47. 

An act for building a school-house and maintaining a school in the town of Clermont. 
Passed March 27, 1791, Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner^s ed.), vol. 2, p. 248. Authorizes the 
appropriation of moneys in the hands of the overseers of the poor, from excise and fines, 
for the erection of a school-house and for maintaining a school-master in said town. 

An act to authorize and require the trustees of joint school district No. 14, of Clay and 
Cicero, to levy and collect a tax for the relief of Hiram M. Wright and Joseph Rector. 
Passed April 7, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 33. 

An act for the relief of George Kill. Passed May 26, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 570. Refers to 
district No. 10, in the towns of Clay and Lysauder. 

An act to incorporate the Clyde high school. Passed April 24, 1834. Sess. Laws, p. 221. 
Erects districts Nos. 14 and 17 into a permanent school district by the name of the " Clyde 
high school." 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate the Clyde high school," passed 
April 24, 1834, and for other purposes. Passed April 12, 1842. Sess. Laws, p. 328. 

An act to reduce the number of trustees of Clyde high school, and for other purposes 
concerning said school. Passed November 30, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 509. 

An act relating to the Clyde high school, in the town of Clyde. Passed April 14, 1858. 
Sess. Laws, p. 313. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 5, CobleskUl, Schoharie county, to 
sell real estate. Passed March 30, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 547. 

An act to establish free schools in the village of Cohoes. Passed April 10, 1850. Ses8. 
Laws, p. 740. 

An act entitled an act to amend the charter of the village of Cohoes. Passed April 12, 
1855. Sess. Laws, p. 631. Sections 49 to 76 relate to schools. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to amend the charter of the village of Cohoes," 
passed April 12, 1855. Passed April 15, 1857. Sess. Laws, p. 307, vol. 2. 

An act confirming the acts of the commissioners of common schools, in the division of 
the school district composed of parts of the towns of Colesville and Windsor, in the county 
of Broome. Passed April 16, 1834. Sess. Laws, p. 147. 



Relating to Schools. 459 

An act in relation to school district No. 7, of the town of Cortlandt, county of West- 
chester, empowering the trustees of said district to extend the time for the payment of 
loan, and authorizing them to sell part of school site. Passed April 10, 1860. Sess. Laws, 
p. 373. 

An act to legalize the formation of school district No. 18, in the town of Cortlandt, West- 
chester county. Passed April 18, 1861. Sess. Laws, p. 751. 

An act authorizing the commissioners of common school? in the town of Covert, in the 
county of Seneca, to alter the time of apportioning the public school money to the trustees 
of the several school districts of said town. Passed May 1, 1829. Sess. Laws, p. 518. Re- 
quires them to meet on or before the first Tuesday in June. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 5, Cobleskill, Schoharie county, 
to sell real estate. Passed March 30, 1866. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 547. 

An act to make the town of Cambria a part of the first school commissioner's district of 
Niagara county. Passed March 28, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 270. 

An act to make the town of Chester a part of the second school commissioner's district of 
Orange county. Passed February 15, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 70. 

An act for the collection of unpaid taxes in school district No. 1, in the towns of Castle- 
ton and Southfield, Richmond county. Passed March 31, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 453. 



An act for the more easy pleading in certain suits, and for the relief of school districts 
Nos. 6 and 14, in the town of De'erfield, and county of Oneida. Passed March 30, 1820. 
Sess. Laws, p. 106. Authorizes districts to plead general issue, and gives double costs to 
defendants in case of nonsuit or discontinuance. 

An act in regard to union free school district No. 1, in the town of Deer Park, and to 
enlarge its boundaries, and authorize the board of education thereof to raise money to 
purchase sites, and to build or purchase school-houses. Passud April 14, 1866. Sess. Laws, 
p. 1248. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in regard to union free school district No. 1, in 
the town of Deerpark, and to enlarge its boundaries, and authorize the board of education 
thereof to raise money to purchase sites, and to build or purchase school-houses," passed 
April 14, 1866. Passed April 23, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 1536. 

An act authorizing the election of three trustees and a district clerk in school district 
No. 16, located in the village of Delhi. Passed February 26, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 23. 

An act to provide for the erection of a new school-house in school district No. 16, in the 
town of Delhi, in the county of Delaware, .and to change the site thereof. Passed April 2, 
1852. Sess. Laws, p. 178. 

An act changing the time for holding the annual school meeting in district No. 16 of village 
and town of Delhi. Passed April 30, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 1045. 

An act to authorize school district No. 20. in the town of Denmark, Lewis county, to levy 
and collect a tax. Passed April 19, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 93. 

An act to transfer the town of Delhi from the first to the second commissioner district of 
the county of Delaware. Passed April 22, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 1476. 



An act to establish free schools in school district No. 4, in the town of East Chester, in 
Westchester county. Passed June 8, 1853. Sess, Laws, p. 723. 

An act to amend " An act relative to the common school fund of the town of Edmeston, 
county of Otsego." Passed February 26, 1828. Sess. Laws, p. 15. 

An act to amend chapter 44 of the Laws of eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, being 
an act relative to the common school fund of the town of Edmeston, in the county of 
Otsego. Passed March 31, 1865. Sess. Laws, p. 415. 

An act to confirm and make valid and eifectual the several proceedings taken to organize 
the union free school of the town of Ellicott. Passed April 23, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 770. 

An act in relation to common schools in the village of Elmira. Passed April 4, 1859. 
Sess. Laws, p. 297. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to common schools in the village of 
Elmira," passed April 4, 1859. Passed February-19, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 95. 

An act to incorporate the city of Elmira. Passed April 7, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 248. Sec- 
tion 9, of title 10, relates to schools. 

An act relative to Erasmus Hall. Passed April 1, 1814. Sess. Laws, p. 91. The trustees 
of Erasmus Hall are made trustees of the school district composed of what is called the 
" Old Town," in Flatbush, and the commissioners of common schools of the town are 
required to pay over to them the school moneys to which that part of the town was entitled. 
The money was to be expended in the education of such poor children sent to said academy 
as in the opinion of the trustees were entitled to gratuitous education. This law was 
re-enacted in the Revised Statutes of 1827, and appears to be still in force. 



460 A List of Acts 

An act to incorporate the village of Edgewater. Passed March 22, 1866, p. 441, vol. 1. 
Subdivision 16, of section 1, of title 3, relates to schools. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to incorporate the village of Edgewater," 
passed March 22, 1866. Passed April 22, 1867. Sess. Laws, p. 1400, vol. 2, amends the 
former act. 

An act to incorporate the village of Edgewater. Passed March 26, 1866, p. 441, as amended 
by chapter 517, p. 1400 of the Session Laws of 1866. 



An act granting relief to the trustees of school district No. 3, in the town of Fabius. 
Passed January 27, 1838. Sess. Laws, p. 7. Authorized to sell a part of their school-house lot. 

An act to authorize the trustees of Farmer's Hall academy to be trustees of a common 
school district, and for other purposes. Passed April 12, 1822. Sess. Laws, p. 196. The 
first section makes the trustees of the academy trustees of the school district comprising 
the village of Goshen for six years, provided a majority of the taxable inhabitants give their 
consent, and such consent, given every six years, may continue them in office. Section 2 
permits an apportionment of school moneys among the districts in Elizabeth town and 
Essex, in the county of Essex. Section 3 repeals the act of April 15, 1814, relative to the 
village of Athens. 

An act to authorize the assessment and collection of certain money within school district 
No. 11, in the town of Farmington. Passed April 25, 1832. Sess. Laws, p. 452. Authorizes 
a tax for $138.60. 

An act to provide for the payment of certain expenses of the trustees of school district 
No. 11, in Farmington, in the county of Ontario. Passed April 24, 1833. Sess. Laws, p. 271. 

An act to legalize the proceedings of the trustees and electors of school district No. 17 
(formerly No. 23). of the town of Fishkill, and to authorize the present trustees to raise 
money to pay certain debts and expenses. Passed March 4, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 34. 

An act in relation to school district No. 18, in the town of Fishkill. Passed April 13, 
1861. Sess. Laws, p. 530. 

An act to make the common school in district No. 4, in the town of Fishkill, Dutchess 
county, free, and to provide a tax for that purpose. Passed February 28, 1865. Sess. Laws, 
p. 88. 

An act to authorize school district No. 11, of the town of Fishkill, to borrow money to 
build a school-house, and for other purposes. Passed April 19, 1867. Sess. Laws, p. 1062, 
vol. 1. 

An act in relation to common schools in the town of Flatbush, in the county of Kings. 
Passed April 30, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 360. 

An act in relation to common schools in the town of Flatbush, in the county of Kings. 
Passed May 12, 1846. Sess. Laws, p. .301. 

An act to authorize a sale of the real estate of school district No. 2, of the town of Flat- 
bush, in Kings county. Passed November 27, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 505. 

An act relative to the managers of a free school in the town of Flushing, in Queens 
county. Passed April 10, 1818. Sess. Laws, p. 121. Authorizes the commissioners of com- 
mon schools of the town of Flushing to pay to the managers of the free school association 
the school moneys apportioned to school district No. 5. 

An act to establish free schools in district No. 5, in the town of Flushing. Passed March 
10, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 87. 

An act to amend "An act to establish free schools in district No. 5, in the town of Flush- 
ing," passed March 10, 1848. Passed March 21, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 160. 

An act to amend an act to establish free schools in district No. 5, in the town of Flushing, 
passed March 10, 1848. Passed April 15, 1854. Sess, Laws, p. 617. 

An act to establish free schools in district No. 3, in the town of Flushing. Passed April 
16, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 431. 

An act authorizing the board of education of Forestville union free school district No. 16, 
of the towns of Hanover and Sheridan, in the county of Chautauqua, to borrow money, 
to be used in the erection of a new school-house. Passed March 15, 1865. Sess. Laws, 
p. 217. 

An act directing a grant of land for the site of a school-house in school district No. 2, in 
the town of Fort Covington, in the county of Franklin. Passed February 16, 1821. Sess. 
Laws, p. 45. Directs the grant of a square acre of land. 

An art for the relief of Nathaniel Colver, and for other purposes. Passed March 21, 1823. 
Sess. Laws, p. 89. The fourth section directs that the school lot shall be laid out in an 
oblong square, having a from of two chains and fifty links on High street. 

An act to establish a board of education in the village of Fort Covington. Passed April 
11, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 285. „ ^ 

An act to authorize the board of education of the village of Fort Covington to sell the 
sites of the present school-houses in said village, and for other purposes. Passed March 
26, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 517. 



Relating to Schools. 46,1 

An act authorizing the town of Fort Edward to dispose of certain public moneys. Passed 
April 18, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 276. Appropriates $150 poor money to the support of schools. 

An act for the relief of the trustees and collector of school district No. 3, in the town of 
Frankfort, in the county of Herkimer. Pa!^sed March 21, 1828. Confirms an assessment 
and tax list. 

G. 

An act for the relief of Hamlet Scrantum. Passed April 18, 1823. Sess. Laws, p. 21C. 
Orders $103.91 to be raised by tax on school district No. 2, Gates, for his benefit. 

An act for the relief of Matthew Brown, Jr. Passed March 28, 1829, Sess. Laws, p. 100. 
School district No. 2, Gates, Monroe county, to pay him $105.51. 

An act authorizing the trustees of the Genoa academy to sell and dispose of their cor- 
porate property. Passed April 16, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 510. Sale to district No. 6, for a 
union school. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 1, in the town of German Flats, to 
borrow money to build a school-house. Passed March 6, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 112. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 2, in the town of German Flats, 
to borrow money, and to impose a tax for the repayment of the same. Passed March 20, 
1850. Sess. Laws, p. 114. 

An act to authorize the election of trustees in union free school district No. 2, in the 
town of German Flats, in the county of Herkimer, and to classify said trustees and regulate 
their powers and duties. Passed January 26, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 32. 

An act to confirm the decision of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, relating to the 
election of trustees in union free school district No. 2, in the town of German Flats, in the 
county of Herkimer, and to confirm the olficial action of said trustees, and to define their 
tenure of office. Passed January 24, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 34. 

An act to unite the libraries of the common school districts of the village of Glen's Falls. 
Passed July 9, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 807. 
An act in relation to the Gowanda union school. Passed April 29, 1863. Sess. Laws, p. 456. 
An act to authorize school district No. 4, in the town of Greece, to raise money on its 
bonds for building a school-house. Passed April 22, 1862. Sess. Laws, p. 770. 

An act requiring the town superintendent of the town of Greene to add certain moneys 
to the town fund of said town. Passed April 12, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 299. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 4, in the town of Greene, to borrow 
money on the credit of said district, and to provide for the payment thereof. Passed 
April 13, 1859. Sess. Laws, p. 643. 

An act to authorize the supervisors of the towns of Guilford and Oxford to sell and con- 
vey certain school and gospel lands in those towns. Passed April 30, 1864. Sess. Laws, 
p. 1044. 

An act to increase the number of members of the board of education of school district 
No. 8, in the town of Greenburgh, in the county of Westchester. Passed April 29, 1863. 
Sess. Laws, p. 469. 

An act to authorize school district No. 4, in the town of Greece, to raise money on its 
bonds, for the purpose of building a school-house. Passed March 26, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 
1, p. 236. 

An act for the encoitragement of schools. Passed April 9, 1795. Sess. Laws, p. 248, 
Greenleaf, vol. 3. This was the first general school law passed in this State. It provided 
that there should be appropriated from the treasury $.50,000 a year for five years, '"for the 
purpose of encouraging and maintaining schools in the several cities and towns in this 
State, in which the children of the inhabitants residing in the State shall be instructed in 
the English language, or be taught English grammar, arithmetic, mathematics and such 
other branches of knowledge as are mo?t useful and necessary to complete a good English 
education." The first apportionment was made by the law, according to the representa- 
tion of the counties in the Assembly ; but it was provided that future apportionments should 
be made '" in proportion to the number of electors for members of Assemblj' in each count}'." 
The boards of supervisors were required to apportion the money among the several towns 
according to the number of taxable inhabitants, as they should appear from the tax lists 
annually returned to them by the assessors. The boards of superrisors in the several coun- 
ties in the State were also required to raise by tax a sum equal to the amount apportioned 
from the State treasury, except that the city "of Albany was to raise a tax for only half the 
amount. In the city of New York the money was to be used for the support of charity 
schools, and all other schools, such as mentioned above, " whether the children taught in 
such charity schools shall be children of white parents, or descended from Africans and 
Indians." The inhabitants of the towns were required to elect not less than thi*ee nor 
more than seven persons to be commissioners of schools, to have the distribution of the 
money and the superintendence of the schools. The cities of Albany and Hudson, for the 
purposes of the act, were declared to be towns. The inhabitants of the towns were author- 
ized to elect trustees, and to associate together for the purpose of hiring school-masters and 
organizing schools. The trustees were required to make, on the third Tuesday in March in 
each year, a return of the school kept in their charge, containing the name of the master, or 



462 A List of Acts 

masters, the number of days he or they had taught, the names of the scholars instructed and 
the number of days they have severally attended the school, and the time or times within 
which the school 'has been kept. The' commissioners were " to collect into one sum the 
■whole number of days for which each and every scholar, that may have attended any one 
of the said schools, shall have been instracted therein, and to apportion the moneys allotted 
to and raised in that town for the purpose aforesaid, according to the M'hole number of 
days for which instruction shall appear to have been given in said schools, in such manner 
that the school in which the greater number of days of instruction shall appear to have 
been given shall have a proportionably larger sum." The money was paid to the trustees 
by an order drawn by the commissioners on the county treasurer. The commissioners 
were required to make to the county treasurer an annual report of the condition of the 
schools, and the county treasurer was required to transmit the same to the Secretary of 
State. 

An act to amend the act entitled " An act for the encouragement of schools." Passed 
April 6, 1796. Sess. Laws (Greenleaf 's ed.), vol. 3, p. 326. Amended the act so that schools 
organized of parts of adjoining towns might receive money in the same manner as other 
schools. Children taught in academies " reading, writing and common arithmetic," were 
declared " children of common schools," and entitled to the benefit of the act the same as 
" scholars belonging to the common schools." 

An act further to amend an act entitled " An act for the encouragement of schools." 
Passed March 10, 1797. Sess. Laws (Greenleaf 's ed.), vol. 3, p. 397. Ordered, that in the 
city of New York one-sixth part of the public money should be apportioned to the charity 
schools, and the other five-sixths " among the schools which in any wards in the city may 
be established and conducted in conforniity to the said act." The inhabitants of the city- 
were also granted the same rights, powers and privileges as were granted the inhabitants 
residing in any part of any towns in the State. It was also provided that no school in the 
State should receive any more money in any one year than should be required to pay the 
master or masters for the same year. The apportionment was made for the years 1796, 1797, 
1798, but was omitted for the years 1799 and 1800. An abstract of the returns for the year 1798 
from sixteen of the twenty-three counties shows a total of 1,352 schools, organized accord- 
ing to the act, in which 59,660 children were taught. 

An act for the payment of certain officers of government, and for other purposes. Passed 
April 8, 1801. Sess. Laws, p. 217. One of the sections of tliis act directs " that no pay- 
ments shall hereafter be made to any of the county treasurers under the ' act for the 
encouragement of schools,' passed the 9th day of April, 1795," until legislative provision be 
made on the subject. 

An act to raise a fund for the encouragement of common schools. Passed April 2, 1805. 
Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinners ed.), vol. 4, p. 126. Appropriates the net proceeds of 500,- 
000 acres of land first sold after the passage of the act, to be a permanent fund for the sup- 
port of common schools. No distribution of the income was to be made until the interest 
should amount to $50,000 annually. This act laid the foundation of the common school 
fund. 

An act for the payment of certain officers of government, and for other purposes. Passed 
April 9, 1811. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), p. 328. Section 54 authorized the 
Governor to appoint five commissioners to draAv up a plan for the organization and estab- 
lishment of common schools. 

An act for the establishment of common schools. Passed June 19, 1812. Sess. Laws 
(Webster & Skinner's ed.), p. 600. This was the first law for the organization of common 
schools. It was repealed in 1814, and superseded by an amended act. This in its turn was 
repealed and revised in 1819. The revisers, whose work is known as the Eevised Statutes, 
framed a new statute, which took efi'ect January 1, 1828, and which repealed all general laws 
on the subject of a previous date. Section 18 permitted the Albany Lancaster school 
society to share in the distribution of the revenue of the school fund. 

An act to amend an act entitled, "An act for the establishment of common schools." 
Passed March 4, 1813. Sess. Laws, p. 29. Directs the mode of distributing money 

An act for the better establishment of common schools. Passed April 15, 1814. Sess. 
Laws, p. 229. This is a general revision of the school laws of June 19, 1812, prepared on 
the report of the Superintendent, showing the defects in that law. It was thought fit to 
pass an entirely new act and repeal the first act. By the twenty-eighth section, the public 
money appropriated to the city of Albany was to be' paid to the trustees of the Lancaster 
'school in said city, to be applied to the education of such poor children in said city as in 
their opinion sho'uld be entitled to gratuitous education. 

An act to amend the act entitled " An act for the better establishment of common 
schools." Passed April 18, 1815. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 3, p. 260. 

An act for the support of common schools. Passed April 12, 1819. Sess. Laws. p. 187. 
A re-enactment of the school laws, and a repeal of the acts of April 15, 1814, and April 18, 
1815. 

An act for the relief of certain school districts. Passed April 14, 1820. Sess. Laws, p. 
204. A general relieving act authorizing the distribution of school money to th^m. 

An act for the relief of certain school districtq. Passed February 16, 1821. Sess. Laws, p. 
40. A general relieving act. allowing the districts to share in the school moneys, notwith- 
standing their failure to make their annual reports. 



Relating to Schools. 463 

An act relative to the incorporation of Lancastrian and other schools. Passed February 
23, 1821. Sess. Laws. p. 54. Authorizes the Regents of the University to incorporate Lan- 
castrian schools. With the consent of a majority of the inhabitants of any district in 
which such schools might be established, they were to be regarded as district schools, and 
to share in the distribution of the revenue of the school funds and other school moneys. 

An act for the payment of the officers of government therein mentioned. Passed April 3, 
1821. Sess. Laws, p. 248. Section 2 abolishes the office of Superintendent of Common 
Schools, and imposes the duties upon the Secretary of State. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act for the support of common schools," passed 
April 12, 1819. Passed April 17, 1822. Sess. Laws, p. 287. This act, section 7, lirst author- 
ized appeals to the Superintendent in district school controversies, and made his decision 
final. 

An act further amending the act for the support of common schools. Passed April 19, 
1823. Sess. Laws, p. 238. 

An act to provide permanent funds for the annual appropriation to common schools, to 
increase the literature fund and to promote the education of teachers. Passed April 13, 
1827. Sess. Laws, p. 237. The first section transfers to the school fund the balance of the 
loan of 1786, and $100,000 of bank stock. The third section added $150,000 to the literature 
fund, and placed the revenue of it at the disposal of the Eegents. This revenue was directed 
to be distributed to academies "in proportion to the number of pupils instructed in each 
academy or seminary for six months durin^' the preceding year, who shall have pursued 
classical studies, or the higher branches of English education, or both ; and that no pupil 
shall be deemed to have pursued classical studies, unless he shall have advanced as far at 
least as to have read the first book of the ^neid of Virgil in Latin ; and no student shall be 
deemed to have pursued the higher branches of an English education unless he shall have 
advanced beyond such knowledge of common, vulgar and decimal arithmetic, and such 
proficiency in English grammar and geography as are usually obtained in common schools." 
The body of the act contains no allusion to "the education of teachers," but we may infer 
from the title that the academies which were to receive the income of the large addition to 
the literature fund were expected to expend it with special reference to the education and 
training of common school teachers. 

An act concerning the Revised Statutes passed at the present meeting of the Legislature. 
Passed December 4, 1827. Sess. Laws, p. 11. Section 4, subdivision 7, repeals " all statutes 
and parts of statutes, consolidated and re-enacted in title 2, of chapter 15, or repugnant to 
the provisions contained therein ; and all statutes and parts of statutes concerning common 
schools," from and after December 31, 1827. Section 7 repealed "all statutes consolidated 
and re-enacted in those parts of chapter 15, not comprised in the second title thereof, or 
repugnant to the provisions contained therein," from and after December 31, 1828. Of 
chapter fifteen of the Revised Statutes, entitled " of public instruction," title 2. which 
applied to common schools, took effect January 1, 1828, and the remaining titles January 
1, 1829. 

An act to repeal certain acts and parts of acts. Passed December 10, 1828. Sess. Laws, 
p. 34. Subdivision 282 of section 1, repeals "An act for the support of common schools, 
passed April 12, 1819, and all acts amending the same, or relating to the subject-matter 
thereof, to take eftect December 31, 1829." Chapter 15 of the Revised Statutes, entitled 
" Of public instruction," of which title 2 took effect Januarj' 1, 1828, and the rest January 
1, 1829, was enacted as a substitute for all previous laws relating to common schools. The 
act of 1819 repealed all former statutes relating to the same subject. 

An act to amend certain provisions of the Revised Statutes, and in addition thereto. 
Passed April 20, 1830. Sess. Laws, p. 384. Section 5 changed the rule of apportionment by 
making it among the several towns and cities according to population. Section 6 enlarged 
the right to appeal. 

An act concerning district school-houses. Passed February 17, 1831. Sess. Laws, p. 47. 
Provides that after the building of a school-house, the site shall not be changed while the 
district remains unaltered, nor "then without the consent of the commissioners of common 
schools, nor without a vote of two-thirds of the voters at a special meeting in its favor. 
Also provides for the sale of the site and property of a district in which the site has been 
changed. 

An act to amend the act for the relief and support of indigent persons (part 1, chap. 20j 
title 1). Passed April 25, 1831. Sess. Laws, p. 346. Section 4 requires all superintend- 
ents of the poor to cause all children over five and under sixteen years of age to be taught 
as children are taught in common schools, at least one-fourth of the time they remain in 
the poor-houses. Section 6 forbids the enumeration of such children by the trustees of 
school districts. 

An act to amend the Revised Statutes relating to common schools. Passed April 21, 
1831. Sess. Laws, p. 247. Applies the provisions of section 26 Revised Statutes to districts 
formed as well as to altered districts, so that they may draw public moneys if they have 
been formed from districts which have had a school kep't for three months. 

An act relating to common schools. Passed April 26, 1832. Sess. Laws, p. 513. Authorizes 
the purchase of Hall's lectures on school-keeping for each district in the State. 

An act to amend the act relating to common schools. Passed April 26, 1832. Sess. Laws, 
p. 547. Directs school district taxes to be collected under section 2 of the act of 1831, 
April 21, amending the Revised Statutes. 



464 A List of Acts 

k 

An act concerning the literature fund. Passed May 2, 1834. Sess. Laws, p. 425. Requires 
the revenue in the treasury and the excess of the revenue of the fund, over $12,000 a year, 
to be expended in the education of common school teachers. 

An act relating to public instruction. Passed March 14. 1835. Sess. Laws, p. 30. Relates 
to distribution of a report upon the education of common school teachers, and makes seven 
trastees of any academy a quorum to transact business. 

An act to amend title 2 of chapter 15 of part first of the Revised Statutes, entitled *' Of 
common schools." Passed May 11, 1835. Sess. Laws, p. 35G. Changes the time when the 
commissioners of common schools are to make their reports from October let to August 
1st, and the time for county clerk to make and transmit his abstract from December to 
October 1st. Section 3 makes warrants for rate bills of like force as warrants of the board 
of supervisors to collectors of taxes. Section 4 authorized the sale of old site, whenever 
the site had been legally changed. 

An act relating to public instruction. Passed April 13, 1835. Sess. Laws, p. 65. 
Authorizes the taxable inhabitants of any school district to levy a tax of $20, to buy a dis- 
trict library, and to levy also, yearly, $10, to make additions. 

An act concerning common schools. PassedMay 1, 1837. Sess. Laws, p. 810. Authorizes 
the publication of school laws and decisions. In pursuance of this act General Dix pre- 
pared the volume known as " School Laws and Decisions." 

An act concerning common schools. Passed April 22, 1837. Sess. Laws, p. 2.31. The 
first three sections require the reports of trustees and commissioners to contain a state- 
ment of the moneys expended for teachers' wages, in addition to the public money paid 
therefor. The third section requires academies having departments for the instruction of 
common school teachers to report to the Superintendent of Common Schools. 

An act to appropriate the income of the United States deposit fund to the purposes of 
education and the diftusion of knowledge. Passed April 17, 1838. Sess. Laws, p. 220. The 
second section appropriates $110,000 annually to the support of common schools. The 
fourth section appropriates $55,000 annually to the purchase of books for district school 
libraries. The eighth section appropriates $28,000 from the income of the United States 
deposit fund, and $12,000 from the income of the literature fund, to be distributed by the 
Regents of the University to academies, under certain restrictions, one of which was that 
every academy, receiving as its distributive share a sum equal to $700, should establish and 
maintain a department for the instruction of common school teachers. These appropria 
tions have been annually made since the passage of the law. The surplus revenue has 
been bestowed upon colleges, academies and literary institutions. 

An act respecting school district libraries. Passed April 15, 1839. Sess. Laws, p. 150, 
An act to amend title 2, of chapter 15, of the first part of the Revised Statutes, relating to 
common schools. Passed May 3, 1839. Sess. Laws, p. 302. 

An act to amend title 2, of chapter 15, of the first part of the Revised Statutes, relating to 
common schools. Passed May 26, 1841. Sess. Laws, p. 236. This act reduced the number 
of inspectors of schools to two in each district ; authorized the purchase of two or more 
sites ; provided for schools for colored children ; for the publication of a periodical for three 
years, devoted to the cause of education ; created the oflice of deputy superintendent for 
each county ; and permitted the superintendent to designate any one of the clerks in his 
oflice a general deputy superintendent, with power, in his absence, to perform all his duties. 

An act amendatory of the several acts relating to common schools. Passed April 17, 1843. 
Sess. Laws, p. 163. Abolished the ofiices of inspectors and commissioners of common 
schools, and created that of "• town superintendent of common schools." All appeals were 
required to be made to county superintendents : and appeals from their decision might be 
brought to the State Superintendent within fifteen days after service of a copy thereof. 

An act in relation to common schools. Passed January 28, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 7. An 
appropriation bill. 

An act to increase the capital of the common school fund. Passed May 10, 1845. Sess. 
Laws, p. 193. Adds $84..358.15, received from the United States, under an act of Congress, 
passed September 4, 1841, being the proceeds of the sales of public lands, to the common 
school fund. 

An act to prevent the disturbance of evening schools in the several school district houses 
in this State. Passed May 13, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 249. 

An act to amend the law in relation to common schools. Passed April 1, 1846. Sess. 
Laws, p. 50. Requires the trustees not to make an enumeration of Indian children residing 
in school districts who have not attended school for the last three months. And requires 
town superintendents to apportion their distributive share of the public money to Indian 
children in any district in which they have been instructed by a competent teacher during 
four months of the preceding year. 

An act in relation to the dissolution of common school districts. Passed April 15, 1846. 
Sess. Laws, p. 70. 

An act to abolish the office of trustees of the gospel and school lots, and to transfer the 
powers and duties of the same to the town superintendent of common schools. Passed 
May 11, 1846. Sess. Laws, p. 210. 

An act in relation to suits against district school officers. Passed May 1, 1847. Sess. 
Laws, p. 163. 



Relating to Schools. 465 

An act in relation to the payment of taxes in school districts. Passed May 7, 1847. Sess. 
Laws, p. 232. 

An act in relation to reports of State officers. Passed November 11, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 
452. Requires the annual report to be completed before the expiration of the current calen- 
dar year, and to be transmitted to the Legislature immediately after the commencement of 
its next annual session. 

An act for the establishment of teachers' institutes. Passed November 13, 1847. Sess. 
Laws, p. 459. 

An act to abolish the office of county superintendent of common schools. Passed Novem- 
ber 13, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 45«). 

An act in relation to appeals to the Superintendent of Common Schools. Passed Novem- 
ber 19, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 489. 

An act relative to the valuation of property for school purposes in school districts situated 
in difl'erent towns. Passed December 11, 1847. 

An act relative to the office of town superintendent of common schools, and amendatory 
of the Revised Statutes entitled " of public instruction." Passed December 15, 1847. Sess. 
Laws, p. 683. 

An act establishing free schools throughout the State. Passed March 26, 1849. Sess. 
Laws, p. 192. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act establishing free schools throughout the State,'' 
passed March 26, 1S49. Passed April 11, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 561. 

An act making appropriations for the support of common schools for the years 1849 and 
1850. Passed j\tarcli 30, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 236. Section 2 appropriates money from 
United States deposit or literature fund to such academies as should educate common 
school teachers, one or more academy in each county, but not to exceed $250 to any 
county. 

An act to amend an act entitlRd " An act in relation to suits against district school 
officers," passed May 1, 1847. Passed April 11, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 545. 

An act to amend chapter 480, of Session Laws of 1847, entitled "• An act relative to the 
office of town superintendent of common schools," and amendatory of the Revised 
Statutes, entitled •' of public instruction," passed December 15, 1847. Passed April 11, 
1849. Sess. Laws, p. 534. 

An act to amend "An act establishing free schools throughout the State," passed March 
26, 1849. Passed January 31, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 12. 

An act requiring the supervisors of the several towns to take further security from the 
town superintendents of common schools whenever it is necessary for the safety of the 
public money. Passed April 6, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 345. 

An act to submit to the people at the next annual election the question of the repeal of 
the act establishing free schools throughout the State. Passed April 10, 1850. Sess. Laws, 
p. 804. 

An act to establish free schools throughout the State. Passed April 12, 1851. Sess. 
Laws, p. 292. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act to establish free schools throughout the State." 
Passed July 9, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 809. 

An act to authorize the superintendent of common schools to purchase Webster's Una- 
bridged Dictionai-y for the common school districts of this State. Passed July 9, 1851. Sess. 
Law's, p. 828. 

An act to legalize the acts of the several school districts of this State, providing for the 
support of com"mon schools. Passed July 10, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 939. 

An act to providejbr the care and instruction of idle and truant children. Passed April 
12, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 358. 

An act to provide for the instruction of common school teachers. Passed June 17, 1853. 
Sess. Laws. p. 800. Appropriates to academies instructing students for common school 
teachers, ten dollars a year for each scholar, not exceeding twenty-five— the money to be 
paid from the United States deposit fund or literature fund. 

An act to provide for the establishment of union free schools. Passed June IS, 1853. 
Sess. Laws, p. 828. 

An act in relation to recoveries against school officers. Passed June 30, 1853. Sess. 
Laws, p. 951. 

An act creating the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Passed March 
SO, 1854. Sess. Laws, p. 2.30. Created the Department of Public Instruction, and trans- 
ferred to it the superintendence of the common schools. The Secretary of State had been 
ex officio Superintendent from April 3, 1821, to April 8, 1854. 



An act in relation to school moneys. Passed February 6, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 21. 

n ac 
sed I 

59 



An act to amend an act entitled "An act to provide for ttie instruction of common 
fchool teachers," passed June 17, 1853. Passed April 13, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 765. 



466 A List of Acts 

An act to appropriate the avails of the State tax, and other school moneys for the sup- 
port of schools, and for the expenditure of a portion of the library money in providinsj the 
school districts with the laws and decisions relating to public instruction. Passed March 
15, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 37. 

An act to provide for the distribution of standard works of American authors among the 
libraries of district schools. Passed April 12, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 311. 

An act to provide for a more thorough supervision and inspection of common schools, 
and further to amend the statutes relating to public instruction in this State. Passed 
April 12, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 285. 

An act to amend the law of taxation for the support of schools, and to change the mode 
of distribution of school moneys. Passed April 12, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 296. 

An act to change the school year, and to amend the statutes in relation to public 
instruction. Passed April 12, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 269. 

An act to amend section 85 of chapter 480 of the Laws of 1847. Passed April IG, 1858. 
Sess. Laws, p. 451. 

An act to provide for the more effectual insurance of school-houses. Passed April 12, 
1860. Sess. Laws, p. 537. 

An act requiring school district lines to be definitely described and recorded. Passed 
April 16, 186U. Sess. Laws, p. 782. 

An act for the establishing academical departments in the different "union schools." 
Passed April 22, 1862. Sess. Laws, p. 812. 

An act to amend the statutes in relation to public instruction. Passed May 2, 1863. Sess. 
Laws, p. 638. 

An act to revise and consolidate the general acts relating to public instruction. Passed 
May 2, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 1211. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to revise and consolidate the general acts 
relating to public instruction," passed May 2, 18&4. Passed May 1, 1865. Sess. Laws, 
p. 1337. 

An act to provide for the appraisal of and acquiring title to, lands taken for or in addition 
to sites for district school-houses. Passed April 25, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 1749. 

An act in relation to the security to he given by the supervisors of towns. Passed Feb- 
ruary 28, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 149. 

An act to amend chapter 830 of the Session Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six rela- 
tive to the taking of lands for erection of school-houses. Passed May 9, 1867. Sess. Laws, 
p. 2067, vol. 2. 

An act to increase the salary of the oflBce of school commissioner. Passed March 16, 
1867. Sess. Laws, p. 119, vol. 1. 

An act in relation to the valuation of the property of railroad companies in school dis- 
tricts, for the purpose of taxation. Passed April 23, 1867., Sess. Laws, p. 1744, vol. 2. 

An act to amend an act to revise and consolidate the general acts relating to public 
instruction, passed May 2, 1864, and to abolish rate bills authorized by special act. Passed 
April 16, 1867. Sess. Laws, p. 964, vol. 1. 

An act providing for the application of moneys hereafter collected in the Metropolitan 
Excise district for certain fines, and from licenses for tue sale of liquors. Passed May 10, 
1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 2221. Appropriates the moneys thus collected in the counties 
of Kings, Qut-ens and Eichmond, to the support of schools, first deducting the amount 
required by law to be paid to the inebriate asylum and inebriates' home. 

An act to make the town of Chester a part of the second school commissioner's district 
of Orange county. Passed February 15, 1S67. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 70. 

An act to make the town of Cambria a part of the first school commissioner's district of 
Niagara county. Passed March 28. 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 270. 

An act to transfer the town of Delhi from the first to the second school commissioner's 
district of the county of Delaware. Passed April 22, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 1476. 

An act for the sale and disposition of lands belonging to this State. Passed February 25, 
1789. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 2, p. 254. Section 2 requires the Sur- 
veyor-General, in his survey of the twenty townships in Chenango county, to mark in 
every township one lot go^-^pel and another lot schools, which lots shall not be sold, but 
ehall be reserved ; the lots marked gospel for the support of the gospel, and the lots marked 
schools for the support of schools in such township. 

An act relative to the lots of land reserved fir the support of the gospel and schools, and 
for the promotion of literature in the military tract in the countv of Onondaga. Passed 
March 2S, 1798. Sess. Laws (Kent & Radcliff's ed.), vol. 2. p. 254. Puts the lot in charge of 
the supervisors and three ct^ramis^ioners, with power to lease them for a term not exceed- 
ing ten years. The moneys arising from the rents and profits were to be expended for the 
support of the gospel and schools, or for either, or both, as the inhabitants of the towns, 
in town meeting, might direct. 

An act to amend an act entitlfid " An act relative to the lots of land reserved for the sup- 
port of the gospel and schools, and for the promotion of literature in the military tract in 



Relating to Schools. 467 

the conntv of Onondao^a," passed March 23, 179S. Passed April 11. 1808. Seps. Law? (Web- 
ster & SkinnorV ed. ^P. 404. Directs the annual rents and profits arisin-,' Irom the gospel 
lots to be divided equally amouix the several religious societies in the towns, and those 
arising from the school lots to be distributed among the schools kept bv teachers, to be 
approved by the supervisor and commissioners, in proportion to the aggregate number of 
days which "the scholars in each respective school shall have respectively attended such 
schools in the year immediately preceding such division. 

An act relative to the lots ol" land reserved for the support of the gospel and schools in 
the counties of Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. Passed April 4, 1807. Sess. Laws (Webster 
& Skinner's ed.), p. 15-/. Supervisors and two commissioners to be chosen from time to time 
by the towns authorized to lease the land for terms not exceeding twenty-one years; the 
moneys arising therefrom to be appropriated according to the provisions of the act passed 
March 23, 1T^)S. 

An act to divide the county of Onondaga. Passed April 8, 1808. Sess. Laws (Webster & 
Skinner's ed.), p. 3()5. Erects Cortland from part of Onondaga ; section 13, provides for an 
equal division of the gospel and school lands between Truxton and Fabius and between 
Tully and Preble. 

An act for the direction of the commissioners of the land office in certain cases, and for 
other purposes. Passed April 11, 180S. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.). p. 411. Sec- 
tion 1. one lot in Stirling to be set apart for gospel and schools, and the other for the pro- 
motion of literature. Section 6 directs the commissioners of the land office to lay out forty 
lots south of. and adjoining Oneida lake, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the twenty 
townships in the county of Chenango. 

An act for dividing the lot set apart for gospel and schools in the town of Eomulns, 
between the said town and the town of Fayette. Passed March IT, 1809. Sess. Laws, 
(Webster & Skinner's ed.). p. 4(52. 

An act to vest certain powers in the supervisors and assessors of the several towns in the 
county of Ointon. Passed February 17, 1810. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), p. 3. 
Gives the supervisors and assessors the same powers, and imposes the same duties, as 
were vested in and imposed on the supervisors and commissioners by the act relative to the 
gospel and school lots in Onondiiga. passed March 23, 1798, and the amendatory act passed 
April 11, 1808. 

An act for the paj'ment of certain officers of government and for other purposes. Passed 
April 9, 1811. Sess". Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), p. 328. Section 18 authorizes the sale 
of lot No. 22, In the town of Marcellus, and the investment of the avails for the benefit of 
schools. Section 23 authorized the trustees of common schools and gospel lands to execute 
durable leases for the lots in Cayuga and Cortland counties. 

An act relative to the lots appropriated for the support of the gospel and schools, on the 
twenty townships west of the Unadilla river, in the counties of Chenango, Madison and 
Oneida, and for other purposes. Passed June l(i, 1812. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's 
ed.), p. 533. Appoints commissioners to divide the lots among the townships and take 
charge of them. Section 6 sets apart lot No. 17, instead of lot No. 73, in Stirling, for gospel 
and schools. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act concerning the gospel and school lots." Passed 
April 2, 1813. Sess. Laws, p. 23. Authorized the sale of the lots and the loan of the money 
on bond and mortgage. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lots, passed April 2. 1813. Sess. Laws, p. 107. 
Provides for the election of trustees, and directs how the lands shall be sold and the pro- 
ceeds applied. The act applied to the towns of Ulysses, Ovid. Hector, Romulus, Junius 
and Fayette, in the county of Seneca ; to the towns of Dryden, Genoa. Locke. Sempronius, 
Aurelius, Owasco and Brutus, in the county of Cayuga ; to towns of Fabius, Camillus. Man- 
lias. Porapey and Tully, in the county of Onoudag^a ; and to the town of Windsor, in Broome 
county. 

An act to authorize the supervisors of the county of Seneca to lease lot number twenty- 
four, in the town of Ulysses. Passed March 25, 1814. Sess. Laws. p. 74. 

By an act of July 25, 1782 (see Greenleaf s Laws, vol. 1, p. 55, Sess. (>, chap. 11), certain 
lands were set apart for the officers and troops serving in the line of the State of New 
York in the army of the United States in the revolutionary war. , This act was amended iu 
some of its provisions. (Sess. 9. chap. (i7 ; Sess. 11, chap. b9 ; Sess. 12, chap. 44. and Sess. 14, 
chap. 42.) by the act of Feb. 28. 1789 iSess. 12, cl)ap. 44, sec. 6). six lots were reserved in 
each township, viz. : One for promoting the gospel, and a public school, or schools, another 
for promoting literature in this State, and the remaining four to satisfy the surplus shares 
of commissioned officers not corresponding with the division of (iOO acres, and to compen- 
sate such persons as should by chance draw h)ts. the greater part of which should be 
covered with water. In conformity with these acts and the act of April 11, 179(i (Sess. 19, 
chap. (59), the commissioners of ihe land office proceeded to ballot for the lots, etc., and 
lot number 24, Ulysses, was drawn for the purposes of literature. This act Julfilled the 
intention of the Legislature. 

An act confirming the division of the lots appropriated for the gospel and schools on the 
twenty townships, west of the Unadilla river, in the counties of Chenango, Madison and 
Oneida. Passed April 9. 1814. Sess. Laws. p. 134. 

By the act of Feb. 25, 1789 (Sess. 12. chap. 32, see Greenleaf, vol. 2. p. 2(;5\ the Surveyor- 
General was directed to cause twenty townships to be surveyed and laid out upon the 
eastern side of the lands purchased from the Indians in the year 1785, each township to be 



408 A List of Acts 

EOO chains square, and to "be divided into four equal parts, and the whole tract to he divided 
into lots of 250 acres each. The Surveyor-Qencral was likewise directed to de.-ignate out 
of such lot.:i, two lot^i, one to be marked " gospel " an 1 the other '• schools." The commis- 
sioners of the land office, having been subsequently authorized to sell the waste and 
unappropriated lands belonging to this State, proceeded to sell among others the said lots so 
designated for gospel and scl'.oals. By the act of April 10, 1805 (Sess. 28, chap. ISti), the Sur- 
veyor-General was directed to cauL^e forty lots out of the unappropriated lands in the western 
district, to .contain 250 acres each, to be surveyed and laid out, and one-half to be marked 
"gospel," and the other half *• schorls," being in lieu of the lands appropriated by the act 
of Feb. 25. 1780. By the act of April 11, 1808 (Sess. 31, chap. 237, section 5), the Surveyor- 
General was directed to lay out the forty lots in the tract of land then lately purchased of 
the Oneida Indians. No provision having been made for apportioning these lands among 
the different townships, the Legislature, by the act of June IK. 1812 i Sess. 3», chap. 177), 
authorized the inhabitants of each of the 20 townships west of the Unadilla river in Che- 
nango. Madison and Oneida cciiritie^, anl which c 'Uiprised the lands in question, to elect 
an agent to take charge of the lo;s. to le:ise the same, to bring suits for trespasses thereon, 
etc. Commissioners were likewise appointed to divide the forty lots among the twenty 
townships, giving two to each. These coaiinissioners having performed this duty, the 
present act was passed to conflrm their proceedings. The law recites that the commis- 
sioners divided the land into 20 Jots of 144 acres, 20 lots of 1(50 acres, and 20 lots of 196 
acres, and gave to each town one lot of 144 acres, and one lot of 160 acres and one lot of V.H> 
acres. A description of the land was made, signed and duly acknowledged by them, and 
recorded in the clerk's office of the county of Madison. 

An act relative to the gospel and school lot in the town of Eastern, in the county of 
Chenango. Passed April 11, 1817. Sess. Laws, p. 238. Directs a division of the moneys 
arising from said lot between the towns of Eastern and Oxford. 

An act relative to the north half of the gospel and school lot in the town of Guilford, in 
the county of Chenango. Passed April 15, 1818. Sess. Laws, p. 142. Directs how the rents 
and profits of said lot shall be dispo e.l of for the support of schools. 

An act concerning the gospel and sch( ol lot in the town of Hector. Passed April 17, 
1818. Sess. Laws. p. 157. Provic.ei for the disposinon of the rents and profits of the lot, 
and their distribution for the payment of the wages of common school teachers. 

An act to div'de the town of Hannibal, in the county of Oswego. Passed April 20. 1818. 
Sess. Laws, p. 194. The town of Granby erected and the gospel and school lots divided. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot in the town of Preble, in the county of Cort 
land. Passed April 21. 1818. Sess. Laws, p. 238. The moneys arising from the sale of the 
gospel and school lot divided between the towns of Preble and Scott. 

An act to divide the town of Cincinnatns. in the county of Cortland, into four towns. 
Passed April 21, 1818. Sess. Laws, p. 260. The towns of Willett, Freetown and Harrison 
erected, and the avails of the gospel and school lots divided between them. 

An act relative to the gospel and school lot in Clintt)n township, now the town of Bain- 
bridge, in the county of Chenaniro. Passed April 2. 1^19. Sess. Laws, p. !)0. Authorizes 
the leising of lot No. 50, and a division of the rents, one-half to the support of the regular 
preaching of the gospel, and the other half to the support of schools. 

An act for the more speedy collection of money arising from the rent and profits of gospel 
and school lots, passed April 13, 1819. Sess. Laws. p. 309. Authorizes suits to be brought 
against former commissioners, and directs the money recovered to be applied to the sup- 
port of schools. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act relative to the lots appropi-iated for the sup- 
port of the gospel and schools on the twenty townships west of the tTnadilla river, in the 
counties of 'Chenango, Madison and Oneida. 'and for other purposes," passed June 6, 1812. 
Passed April 13. 1819. Sess. Laws, p. 299. C )nfirins sales in the tenth and fifteenth town- 
ships, and directs the election of agents in the towns of New Berlin and Norwich, to take 
charge of the avails of such sales. 

An act for the relief of the town of Cicero. Passed April 12, 1820. Sess. Laws, p. 213. 
Ap])lies the provisions of the act of April 2, 1813, entitled " An act concerning the gospel 
and school lots " to the town of Cictro. 

An act for the relief of Wm. W. Baldridge. Passed November 15, 1820. Sess. Laws, p. 4. 
Authorizes a compromise about the gospel and school lot sold to him. 

An act authorizing the sale of lot No. 1, in the town Scipio. Passed February 2, 1821. 
Sess. Laws, p. 20. Authorizes the sale of the lot. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot in the town of Tully in the county of Onon 
daga. Passed March 13. 1821. Sess. Law^, p. 88. Orders a division with the town of Spaff'ord. 

An act to divide the town of LTlysses, in the county of Tompkins. Passed i^'arch 1(5, 1821. 
Sess. Laws, p. 90. Erects the town of Covert and orders a division of the gospel and 
school lot. 

An act relative to the gospel and school 1; t in the town of Oswego. Passed March 23, 
1821. Sess. Laws, p. 118. Authorizes the leasing of the lot. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot in the town of Madrid, and for other pur- 
poses. Passed March 30, 1821. Sess. Laws, p. 171. Auf.xn-izes the election of trustees and 
directs how the lots shall be disposed of in the towns of Midr.d and Hannibal. 



Relating to Schools. 4G9 

An act relative to the cfospel and school lot in the town of Camillus. Passed March 31, 

1821. Si'S;>. Laws, p. 18!). Eequires the trustees to give bonds. 

An act conccrniiie: lot No. 24 in the town of Genoa, in the county of Cayuga. Passed 
February 24. 1S22. Sess. Laws. p. 11. The avails of said lot declared to belong to said town 
for the benefit of common schools. 

An act concerning the school fund in the town of Otisco. in the county of Onondaga. 
Passed March 15, 1S22. Sess. Laws, p. (50. Provides for the division of the proceeds of the 
gospel aiid school lots, between Otisco, Pompey. Marcellus and Tully. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot belonging to the towns of Ulysses, Enfield 
and Itliaca. Passed April 5. 1822. Sess. L iws, p.'l.Sf). Authorizes the election of one 
trustee from each town to take charge of the lot, and the proceeds of sucli part as may 
have been sold. 

An act relative to the gosi)el and school lot in the town of Hector. Passed April 12, 

1822. Sess. Laws. p. 21(5. Directs how the trustees shall manage the gospel and school 
lots, and the proceeds arising from thvj sale thereof. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot In the town of Galen. Passed April 17, 1822. 
Sess. Laws, p. 315. Authorized to elect trustees to take charge of the lots. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot in the town of Stockholm. Passed February 
8, 1823. Authorizes the election of trustees to take charge of the lot. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lots in the several towns of the county of St. 
Lawrence. Passed March 21, 182-3. Sess. Laws. p. S7. Authorizing the inhabitants ot any 
town except DeKalb to elect their trustees to take charge of the school lot. 

An act to divide the town of Aurelius. Passed >Tarch 23, 1823. Sess. Laws, p. 10.5. The 
towns of Auburn and Fleming were erected by the first section, and the fourth section pro- 
vides for a division of the bonds and mortga<res, moneys and other securities, the proceeds 
of the sale of the gospel and school lots between the ihree towns. 

An act to divide the town of Louisville in the county of St. Lawrence. Passed April 9, 

1823. Sess. Laws. p. 13!). Erects the town of Norfolk and provides for a division of th& 
proceeds of the gospel and school lot. 

An act relating to the gospel and school lands belonging to the town of Granby. in tho 
county of Oswciio. Passed April 11. 1823. Sess. Laws. p. 'l5(). Authorizes the leasing of 
the gospel and school lands and an equable division of them between rhe towns of Granby 
and Lysander. 

An act for the relief of the trustees of school district No. 13. in the towns of Verona and 
Vernon, in the county of Oneida. Passed April, 12, 1823. Sess. Laws, p. 1T4. Orders a 
patent to be issued to the district for twelve rods of land. 

An act relating to part of the avails of the gospel and school lot of the town of Tully. 
Passed April 23, 1823. Sess. Laws. p. 282. Provision as to collecting certain moneys 
belonging to the towns of Tully, Otisco and Spafford. 

An act confirming the sale of certain lands made by the trustees of the town of TManlius. 
Passed January l(),l824, Sess. Laws, p. 5. Confirms the sale of certain parcels of the gos- 
pel and school lot. 

An act establishing the boundaries of the literature and gospel and school lots in the town 
of Madrid, in the county of St. Lawrence. Passed March 17,.1824. Sess. Laws, p. 90. 

An act supplementary to an act entitled " An act concerning the gospel and school lot in 
the town of Chenango, and county of Broome, and for other purposes," passed April, 1810. 
Passed March 30, 1824. Sess. Laws, p. 115. Authorizes the sale of the gospel and school lot. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot in the town of Sterling. Passed April 1, 

1824. Sess. Laws, p.' 13(5. Appoints trustees to take charge of the lot and receive rents and 
profits. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lands in the town of Colesville, in the cttunty of 
Broome. Passed November 24, 1824. Sess. Laws, p. 360. Appoints trustees to take charge 
and receive rents and profits of lot. 

An act to divide the town of Galen, in the county of Wayne. Passed November 24. 1824. 
Sess. Laws. p. 35H. Erects the town of Savannah, without giving it any right in the gospel 
and school lot of Galen. 

An act relative to the gospel and school lot in Greene township, in the town of Greene 
and county of Chenango. Passed Februarv 5, 1825. Sess. Laws, p. 6. Provides for a 
division of the lot between the towns of Coventry and Greene. 

An act authorizing the trustees of the Methodist Union Society, in the town of Pompey, 
to sell and convey real estate. Passed April 14, 1825. Sess. Laws, p. 244. Authorized to 
sell meeting-house and lot to school district No. 7. 

An act authorizing the sale of lot No. 43, in the Edmeston tract. Passed April 14, 1825. 
Sess. Laws, p. 244. 

, An act concerning the gospel and school lots in the several towns in the countv of St. 
Lawrence. Passed April 21. 1825. Sess. Laws. p. 415. Authorizes the inhabitants of Mas- 
Bena, Louisville. Norfolk, Madrid. Lisbon. Oswesfatchie. DeKalb. Canton, Potsdam. Stock- 
holm and Hopkinton, to direct how the income of the said lots shall be applied. Repeals 
the acts of March 30, 1821, and March 21, 1823, relating to said lots. 



470 A List of Acts 

An act relative to the gospel and school lot, and the literature lot in the town of Owego, 
in the county of Tioga. Passed April 12, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 151. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lots in the towns of Gouvemeurand Morristown, 
in the county of St. Lawrence. Passed April 15. 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 151. Appoints trus- 
tees to take charge of them and receive the rents and profits. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lots in the town of Salina, and county of Onon- 
daga. Passed April 17, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 266. Appoints trustees to take charge of and 
receive rents and profits. 

An act relative to the gospel and school lots, and the literature lots in Sidney and DeKalb. 
Passed April 17, 1826. Authorizes commissioners of land office to sell tlie lots to the occa- 
pants having deeds or contracts from William Cooper. 

An act relative to the literature, gospel and school lots in the county of St. Lawrence. 
Passed March 10, 1827. Sess. Laws, p 51. Authorizes commissioners of the land office to 
compromise with persons who have sold or occupied such lots under erroneous surveys. 

An act for the relief of Benjamin Allen and others, settlers on the Stockbridge school lot. 
Passed April 2, 1827. Sess. Laws, p. 116. The lot herein mentioned was set'apart for the 
support of schools for Indians, and this law authorized a sale of the subdivisions to the 
occupants. 

An act to alter the time of holding the annual town meetings in the town of La Fayette, 
in the county of Onondaga, and for the appointment of trustees of the school fund belong- 
ing to said town. Passed April 16, 1827. Sess. Laws, p. 349. Provides for the election of 
three trustees, subject to the same duties and penalties as provided by the act of April 2, 
1813, " concerning the gospel and school lots." 

An act relative to the common school fund of the town of Edmeston, in the county of 
Otsego. Passed February 26, 1828. Sess. Laws, p. 40. Provides for the election of three 
trustees to take charge of the avails of the sale of the gospel and school lot, and the moneys 
coming from the overseers of the poor, which is to be invested as a common school fund 
for the town. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lands in the town of Sanford, in the county of 
Broome. Passed March 20, 1828. Sess. Laws, p. 93. Trustees appointed under title 4, 
chapter 15, part 1, Eevised Statutes. 

An act in relation to the gospel and school lot in the town of Potsdam. Passed April 18, 
1828. Sess. Laws, p. 339. Trustees of public lauds authorized to sell said lot, and hold the 
proceeds subject to title 4, chapter 15, part 1, Revised Statutes. 

An act concerning the gospel and school lot in the town of Chenango, in the county of 
Broome. Passed April 9, 1829. Sess. Laws, p. 215. Lot granted to three religious societies, 
to wit, the Episcopal, the Methodist and the Presbyterian. 

An act relative to the gospel and school lots in the county of St. Lawrence. Passed 
March 4, 1833. Sess. Laws, p 70. Authorizes the inhabitants by a vote to direct the rents 
and profits of such lots to the support of the gospel or schools, or either, as they in town 
meeting shall determine. 

An act to authorize the trustees of Romulus to receive certain moneys of David Dey. 
Passed April 7, 1830. Sess. Laws, p. 140. Authorizes the receipt of $300 a year, until the 
amount due for a part of the gospel and school lot is paid. 

An act to authorize the sale'of the school lot in the village of Oswego. Passed April 9, 
1830. Sess. Laws, p. 154. 

An act ndative to the school fund of the town of DeKalb. in St. Lawrence county. 
Passed April 13, 1835. Sess. Laws, p. 74. Puts the school fund into the hands of the 
trustees of gospel and school lots. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to divide the town of Sempronius, in the county 
of Cayuga," so much as relates to the division of the school moneys. Passed May 6, 1835. 
Sess. Laws, p. 278. Divides the gospel and school lot fund between Sempronius, Niles 
and Moravia, according to the number of children between the ages of five and sixteen 
years. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 12, in the town of Oswego and 
county of Oswego, to sell a part of their school lot. Passed April 8, 1836. Sess. Laws, p. 
144. Authorizes the sale 33^^ by 66 feet from the east part of the lot. 

An act for the safe keeping and to provide a time for the distribution of the gospel and 
school fund moneys in the several towns in the county of Onondaga. Passed May 14, 1845. 
Sess. Laws, p. 311. 

An act in relation to certain school moneys and property of the fourteenth and fifteenth 
townships in the county of Chenango. Passed April 17, 1862. Sess. Laws, p. 465. 



An act in relation to the union free school in the village of Hamilton, in the county of 
3radison. Passed March 23, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1. p. 357. 

An act in relation to the union free school in the village of Hamilton in the county of 
Madison. Passed April 13, 1865. Sees. Laws, p. 739, 



Relating to Schools. 471 

An act in relation to the union free schools in the village of Hamilton, in the county of 
Madison. Passed April 15, ISGl. Sess. Laws, p. 591. 

An act in relation to the Hancock union school. Passed May 5, 1863. Sess. Laws, p. 790. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 14, in the town of Hempstead, 
Queens county, to raise money to pay certain recoveries against said trustees. Passed 
April 15, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 24. 

An act to establish a free school in district No. 1, in the town of Hempstead. Passed 
April 10, 1863. Sess. Laws, p. 174. 

An act to consolidate school districts No. 1 and No. 8. in the town of Herkimer, and 
anthorize them to borrow money. Passed April 10, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 638. 

An act to authorize the several school districts in the county of Herkimer to purchase 
O'Conor's map of the county of Herkimer. Passed March 21, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 46. 

An act authorizing the superintendent of common schools in the town of Homer to sell 
certain school lands, and also to confirm the title of others in the towns of Cortlandville 
and Homer. Passed April 2, 1854. Sess. Laws, p. 119. 

An act to provide for a free school in the town of Hoosick. Passed April 15, 1864. Sess. 
Laws, p. 384. 

An act for the incorporation and support of the Hudson Lancaster society. Passed April 
15, 1817. Sess. Laws, p. 322. Section 7 requires the money received by the city of Hudson 
from the school fund to be paid to the trustees of the Lancaster society, and repeals the 
second section of an act authorizing the application of the common school moneys in the 
village of Athens and in the city of Hudson to the education of the poor children. 

An act relative to certain schools in the city of Hudson. Passed April 11, 1820. Sess. 
Laws. p. 159. Requires the money apportioned to the city from the common school fund to 
be paid over to the trustees of the Hudson Lancaster society. 

An act relative to certain school districts in the city of Hudson. Passed April 27, 1826. 
Sess. Laws. p. 92. Provides for a division of the school moneys between the Lancaster 
school society and the district schools. Repeals, also, act of April 11, 1820, relative to cer- 
tain schools in the city of Hudson. 

An act to anthorize the raising of money for the support of the Lancaster s'chool of the 
city of Hudson. Passed May 11, 1835. Sess. Laws, p. 311. Authorizes a tax of $400 to be 
annually levied and expended in the support of said school. 

An act relating to the Hudson Lancaster school. Passed March 9, 1839. Sess. Laws, 
p. 55. 

An act in relation to common schools in the city of Hudson. Passed May 26, 1841. Sess. 
Laws, p. 332. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act in relation to common schools in the city of 
Hudson," passed May 26, 1841. Passed January 31, 1843. Sess. Laws, p. 10. 

An act providing for the ajipointment and compensation of a librarian for the joint school 
district library of the city of Hudson. Passed April 8, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 122. 

An act to consolidate common school districts Nos. 3, 4 and 5, in the village of Hunting- 
ton, Suffolk county. Passed April 13, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 794. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 21, of the town of Huntington, to 
borrow money. Passed April 12, 1860. Sess. Laws, p. 520. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 21, of the town of Huntington, in 
the county of Suffolk, to raise money by tax. Passed April 3, 1861. Sess. Laws, p. 217. 

An act for the relief of Richard Ten Eyck and Peter P. Wynkoop. Passed April 21, 1825. 
Sess. Laws, p. 411. District No. 4, Hurley, to pay them $50. 

I. 

An act for the establishment of schools in New Stockbridge for the instruction of Indian 
children. Passed February 28, 1804. Sess. Laws (K. & R.'s Rev ), vol. 3, p. 476. Authorizes 
a lease of 1,000 acres of land to John Gregg and others, for 30 bushels of wheat yearly for 
each 100 acres, the rents to be used for paying the wages of school-masters for the instruc- 
tion of Indian children. 

An act for the relief of the Shinnecnck tribe of Indians. Passed April 19.1831. Sess. 
Laws. p. 20D. Appropriates $80 annually for three years for a school, in addition to the sum 
to which the county of Suflfolk was entitled by law. 

An act in relation to certain tribes of Indians. Passed May 25, 1841. Sess. Laws, p. 213. 
Section 10 establishes school districts for the Onondaga Indians in whatever towns they 
may reside, and provides for schools. 

An act to provide for the education of the children of the Onondaga Indians in the county 
of Onondaga, and the children of the other Indians residing in this State. Passed April 
30, 1846. Sess. Laws. p. 127. Thi^* is an appropriation law. 

An act makinsr appropriations for building and furnishing school-houses, and providing 
for the education of the children of Indians residing on^'the Cattaraugus and Allegany 
reservations. Passed May 7, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 261. 



472 A List of Acts 

An act to revive an act entitled " An act for the relief of the Shinnecock tribe of Indians." 
passed April 19, 1S31. Passed February 17, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 54. 

An act to provide for the support and education of a limited number of Indian youth of tho 
State of New York, at the State normal school. Passed March 23,' 1850. Sess. Laws. p. 
140. 

An act to provide for the education of the children of the Tuscarora Indians, in the 
county of Niagara. Passed June 20, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 461. 

An act for the relief of the Shinnecock tribe of Indians. Passed March 1, 1851. Sess. 
Laws, p. 25. Appropriates $200 to be expended for the wages of a school teacher, for the 
years 1851 and 1852. 

An act to provide for the education of the children of the Indians of the Onondaga reser- 
vation, in the county of Onondaga, in this State. Passed April 16, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 
649. 

An act to provide for the education of the children of the St. Regis Indians in the county 
of Franklin. Passed April 13, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 427. 

An act to establish the Seneca Indian high school on Cattaraugus reservation. Passed 
July 21, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 1133. 

An act to provide for the establishment of schools upon the Tonawanda reservation, in 
this State, for the instruction of Indian children. Passed Jnne 21, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 
848. 

An act to provide for the education of the Tuscarora Indians in the county of Niagara. 
Passed April 15, 1854. Sess. Laws, p. 663. 

An act relating to schools on the Tonawanda reservation. Passed April 15, 1854. Sese. 
Laws, p. 651. 

An act to facilitate education and civilization among the Indians residing within this 
State. Passed April 1, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 99. 

An act to establish free schools in the village of Ithaca. Passed March 19, 1861. Sess. 
Laws, p. 87. 

An act in relation to common schools in district No. 12, in the town of Islip, Suffolk 
county. Pa'ssed April 17, 1865. Sess. Laws, p. 820. 

An act to provide for the education of the children of the Indians of the Tonawanda 
Indian reservation in the county of Genesee. Passed July 21, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 1118. 



An act to incorporate the village of Jamaica, in the county of Queens, into a separate 
school district, and to establish free schools therein. Passed July 18, 1853. Sess. Laws, 
p. 997. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to incorporate the village of Jamaica in the 
county of Queens, into a separate school district, and to establish free schools therein," 
passed July 18, 1853. Passed May 9, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2. p. 2179. 

An act relative to the trustees of common schools in the town of Jericho. Passed March 
15, 1811. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), p. 131. The inhabitants were authorized 
to elect trustees of common schools for the town, who shall take charge of the literature 
lot in the town, sell it, invest the proceeds, and use the income for the support and benefit 
of common schools. 

An act to vest certain land belonging to the people of this State in the trustees of school 
district No. 23, in Johnstown. Passed April 16, 1827. Sess. Laws. p. 340. Grants an acre 
of land called the jail lot, on condition that a school-house shall be built thereon within 
two years. 

An act to consolidate the Jordan academy, and free school district No. 4. in the town of 
Elbridge, in the county of Onondaga. Passed February 26, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 78. 



An act concerning school districts Nos. 2 and 5, in the town of Kinderhook. Passed 
April 27, 1829. Sess. Laws, p. 418. Amended by act of May 1, 1829, p. 516, so as to apply to 
districts Nob. 2 and 9. Authorizes the establishment of evening schools for children in the 
factoi'ies. 

An act to consolidate school districts Nos. .5, 8. 11 and 15, of the town of Kingston, Ulster 
county, into one school district. Passed April 29. 1863. Sess. Laws, p. 594. 

An act entitled an act to amend "An act to consolidate school districts Nos. 5, 8,11 
and 15 of the town of Kingston, Ulster county, into one school district," passed April 29, 
1863. Passed March 12, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 65. 



An act for the relief of school district No. 9. in the town of Lancaster, in the county of 
Eric. Passed April 12, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 666. 



Relating to Schools. 473 

An act for the relief of the trustees of school district No. 13, in the town of Lansinj?, in 
the county of Tompkins. Passed April 10, 1S26. Sess. Laws, p. lOG. Commist^ioners of 
land office directed to convey a lot of laud to the district. 

An act to incorporate a monitorial school society in the villasre of Lansingburgh. Passed 
April 14, 1827. Sess. Laws, p. 297. Incorporates district No. 1 as a monitorial school soci- 
ety, and authorizes the inhabitants of the village to elect trustees annually. 

An act for the relief of the Lansingburgh monitorial school. Passed April 5, 182S. Sess. 
Laws. p. 172. Requires the money received from licenses granted to vendors of lottery 
tickets to be paid to the trustees of the said school. 

An act to create a school district from part of the village of Lansingburgh and part of the 
city of Troy. Passed February 20, 1838. Sess. Laws, p.'"22. 

An act to repeal the act incorporating the " Lansingburgh monitorial school society," 
passed April 14, 1827. Passed May 20, 1'841. Sess. Laws, p. 305. 

An act to provide for a free school in district No. 1, in the town of Lansingburgh. Passed 
October 26, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 442. 

An act to amend an act in I'elation to free schools in the city of Troy, and school district 
No. 10, in the town of Lansingburgh, passed April 10, 1850. Passed July 1, 1851. Sesa. 
Laws, p. 712. 

An act to amend an act in relation to free schools in the city of Troy, and school district 
No. 10. in the town of Lansingburgh, passed July 1, 1851 ; also to amend the act providing 
for the establishment of free schools in the city of Troy, passed April 4, 1849. Passed 
March 28, 1854. Sess. Laws, p. 158. 

An act to provide for a free school in district No. 5, in the town of Lansingburgh, in the 
county of Rensselaer. Passed April 10, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 697. 

An act to authorize the town superintendents of common schools of the towns of Lee, 
Ava and Annsville, in the county of Oneida, to appraise and make distribution of certain 
school district property in said county. Passed April 12, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 409. 

An act for the relief of union free school district No. 9, in the town of Lenox. Passed 
March 30, 1861. Sess. Laws, p. 184. 

An act to authorize the town of Le Roy, in the county of Genesee, to raise $10,000 foi the 
benefit of the Le Roy academic institute. Passed March 4. 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 84. 

An act to confirm the official acts of Jeremiah Howe, Charles Wright and Isaac Hays, 
trustees of the Lewis school fund, in the town of Lewisboro', in the coiinty of Westchester. 
Passed March 28, 1843. Sess. Laws, p. 42. 

An act in relation to the Lewisboro' school fund. Passed April 12, 1842. Sess. Laws, 
p. 406. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 10, in the town of Little Falls, to 
borrow money to build a school-house. Passed April 1, 1846. Sess. Laws, p. 51. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 1, in the town of Little Falls, to 
borrow money to build a school-house. Passed May 12, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 291. 

An act to establish a free school in school district No. 1, in the towns of Little Falls* and 
Mauheim, Herkimer county. Passed March 22, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. .375. 

An act for the relief of the trustees of school district No. 7, in the town of I-ima, in the 
county of Ontario. Passed April 2. 1819. Sess. Laws, p. 90. Authorizes the sale of one- 
sixteenth of an acre of land to the trustees of school district No. 7, by the administratrix of 
Joseph M. Gilbert, deceased, to belong to the district so long as occupied for a school-house. 

An act to authorize joint school district No. 2, composed of parts of the connties of 
Livingston, Monroe and Ontario, to raise a tax. Passed December 10, 1847. Sess. Laws, 
p. 566. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 10, in the town of Livonia, in the 
county of Livingston, to collect a t^x. Passed July 2, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 732. 

An act to incorporate the Hannibal and Volney Bridge company, and for other purposes. 
Passed April 15, 1817. Sess. Laws, p. 288. Section 16 directed the money received into the 
treasury lor the support of a common school in the village of Lewiston. by the act to alter 
the plan of the village of Lewiston. passed March 30, 1810, to be loaned as the school fund 
moneys are loaned. 

An act concerning common schools in the village of Lewiston. Passed April 10, 1818. 
Sess. Laws, p. 101. The moneys coming into the treasury under the act to alter the plan of 
the village of Lewiston, passed March 30, 1810, and under section 16 of the act to incorporate 
the Haniiibal and Volney Bridge company, passed April 15, 1817, required to be paid to the 
trustees of common schools of the village of Lewiston. 

An act to authorize the Surveyor-General to convey to David M. Smith a lot of land in the 
village of Lewiston, and for other purposes. Passed February 9, 1821. Anthorizes the sale 
to him of school lot No. 266, and directs the trustees of the common school in the village of 
Lewiston to take possession of all the unsold lots of land in said village, which, by the act 
of Alarch 10, 1810, are pledged to the support of schools. 

An act relatinir to the Lewiston school fund. Passed April 15, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 239. 
Creates commissioners of the fund, and directs all moneys belonghig to it to be transferred 

60 



474 A List of Acts 

to them by the Comptroller. Eepeals the sixteenth section of an act to incorporate the 
Hamilton and Volney bridge company, passed April 15. 1817, and an act concerning common 
schools in the village of Lewiston, parsed April lU, 1818. 

An act to authorize the building of a school-house, in the village of Lewiston. Passed 
April 11, 1834. Sess. Laws, p. 123. Authorized a tax to purchase an additional site and the 
building of a school-house thereon. 

An act in relation to common schools, in the village of Lockport. Passed March 31, 1847. 
Sess. Laws, p. 50. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to common schools in the village of 
Lockport," passed March 31, 1847. Passed March 18, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 112. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to common schools in the village 
of Lockport," passed March 31, 1847. Passed April 2, 1858. Sess. Laws, p. 189. 

An act in addition to and in amendment of an act in relation to common schools in the 
village of Lockport. Passed March 31. 1847. Passed May 2, 1863. Sess. Laws, p. 637. 

An act to amend chapter 51 of the Laws of 1847, entitled *' An act in relation to common 
schools in the village of Lockport," and to amend chapter 77 of the Laws of 1850, entitled 
" An act to amend an act in relation to common schools in the village of Lockport." Passed 
April 4, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 840. 

An act in relation to the common schools in the city of Lockport. Passed May 9, 1867. 
Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 2070. 

An act concerning the Lodi union school district and district No. 1, in the village of 
Owego. Passed May 12, 1846. Sess. Laws, p. 254. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 2, in the town of Luzerne, Warren 
county, New York, to borrow money to erect a school-house. Passed April 8. 1859. Sess. 
Laws, p. 445. 

An act in relation to school district No. 6, in the town of Lyons. Passed March 27, 1844, 
Sess. Laws, p. 63. 

An act authorizing school district No. 6. in the town of Lyons, to raise money by tax. 
Passed October 26. 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 439. 

An act authorizing school district No. 6, in the town of Lyons, to collect a ttx, voted by 
them, in installments. Passed February 15, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 19. 

An act in relation to school district No. 6, in the town of Lyons, county of Wayne. Passed 
April 19, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 1048. 

An act to provide for the determination, settlement and payment of the claim of H. G. 
Hotchkiss against school district No. 6, Lyons. Passed February 7, 1858. Sess. Laws, p. 14. 

An act in relation to school district No. 6, in the town of Lyons, Wayne county. Passed 
April 7, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 192. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to school district No. 6, in the town 
of Lyons, Wayne county," passed April 7, 1856. Passed April 12, 1860. Sess. Laws, p. 499. 

An- act in relation to the Lyons union school, in the town of Lyons, Wayne county. 
Passed April 29, 1863. Sess. Laws, p. 469. 

An act for the relief of Jeremiah Dunham. Passed May 7, 1839. Sess. Laws, p. 330. 
Authorizes a tax of $370.25 on district No. 25, Lysander, to pay a judgment against Dunham 
on a contract for building a school-house. 

An act to authorize and require the trustees of school district No. 26, in the town of 
Lysander, Onondaga county, to raise money by tax. Passed April 6, 1860. Sess. Laws, 
p. 332. 

An act to erect a union school district in the towns of Lysander and Van Buren, in the 
county of Onondaga, and to create a board of education therein, with power of taxation 
and other powers for school purposes. Passed March 30, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 138. 



An act to consolidate school districts Nos. 1, 14, 15 and 23. in the town of Malone in the 
county of Franklin. Passed April 19, 1858. Sess. Laws, p. 638. 

An act authorizing the village school district of the town of Malone, in the county of 
Franklin, to make a loan from the common school fund. Passed April 1, 1867. Sess. Laws, 
vol. 1. p. 494. 

An act to establish a board of education in and for the village school district of the town 
of Malone. in the county of Franklin, and for other purposes. Passed January 24, 1867. 
Sess. Laws, p. 32. 

An act to establi^h a board of education in and for the village school district of the town 
of Malone in the county of Franklin, and for other purposes. Passed January 24, 1867. 
Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 32. 

An act to amend and consolidate the several acts relating to public schools in the town 
of Morrisania, in the county of Westchester. Passed April 12, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, 
p. 788. 



Relating to Schools. 475 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act for the collection of taxc« in the towns of 
Morrissania and West Farms, in the county of Westchester," passed April 21, lS(j2. Passed 
May 9, 1807. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 20S1>. 

An act in relation to the Morrisville union school. Passed May 9, 1S67. Sess. Laws, 
vol. 2. p. 20()3. 

An act to provide for the establishment of free schools in the village of Middlercwn. 
Passed April 19. 1SG7. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 1024. 

An act to authorize the application of the interest of the poor fund of the town of Mac- 
donouirh to the support of common schools. Passed April 14, 1831. Sess. Laws, p. 170. 
Appropriates the interest of $600 to the support of schools. 

An act for the relief of the trustees of joint school district No. 7. in the towns of Malta, 
Milton and Saratoga Springs. Passed April S, 1844. Sess. Laws. p. 125. 

An act in relation to common schools in the village of Medina. Passed April 9, 1849. 
Sess. Laws, p. 411. 

An act to amend " An act relating to common schools in the village of Medina," passed 
April 9, 1819. Passed April 10, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 686. 

An act to confirm certain acts of school district No. 12, in the village of Medina, rela- 
tive to raising money to complete the school-house. Passed Marcli 29, 1851. Sess. Laws, 
p. 83. 

An act to consolidate the school districts Nos. G and 15. in the town of Mentz, in the county 
of Cayuga, into one school district, and to provide for the organizaticm of a school and 
academy therein, and to enable the said district to loan money to erect the necessary build- 
ings the'refor. Passed April 7, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 627. 

An act to amend an act entit'ed "An act to consolidate districts Nos. 6 and 15, in the 
town of Mentz, in the county of Cayuga, into one school district, and to provide for the 
organization of a school and academy therein, and to enable the said district to loan money 
to erect the necessary buildings therefor," passed April 7, 1857. Passed March 22, 1860. 
Sess. Laws, p. 169. 

An act to levy a tax upon school district No. 14, in the towns of Milnn and Pine Piains, 
to reimburse certain monevs to John Germond, David I. Hicks and Nathan Smith. Passed 
January .31, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 21. 

An act in relation to school district No. 12. in the towns of Milton and Ballston, in the 
county of Saratoga. Passed April 11, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 337. 

An act for the relief of the Montgomery academy. Passed March 24, 1815. Sess. Laws, 
p. 93. Makes the trustees of the academy trustees of the common school district No. 7. in 
the town of Montgomery. The common "school was to be kept in a room in their building, 
by a teacher hired by them, and the public school moneys were to he paid to them. The 
district was made permanent, and was not to be divided without the consent of the Legisla- 
ture. The act was revised in the Revised Statutes of 1827, and does not appear to have 
been repealed. 

An act to authorize the superintendent of common schools, of the town of Moravia, to sell 
lot No. 52, in said town. Passed April 23, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 121. 

An act authorizing the board of education of school district No. 1. late of the town of 
West Farms, now of the towns of Morrisania and West Farms, to borrow money to build a 
Bchool-house in said district. Passed April 15, 1861. Sess. Laws, p. 590. 

An act in relation to schools and school districts in the towns of Morrisania and West 
Farms, in the county of Westchester. Passed April 28, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 978. 

An act to consolidate school districts Nos. 1, 3 and 15, and part of district No. 2, of the 
town of Mount Morris, couutv of Livingston, and State of New York, into one school dis 
trict. Passed April 20, 1866. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 1547. 

An act for the relief of David Austin and Georsre V. Hazard, late trustees of school district 
No. 4, in the town of ISiilo. in the county of Yates. Passed Api'il 18, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 
340. Orders the collection of a tax of $75, to pay services. 

N. 

An act for the relief of school district No. 7, in the town of Newark, and county of Tio^a. 
Passed May 12, 1836. Sess. Laws, p. 457. Authorized to purchase the lower room of a build- 
ing and occupy it as a school-house. 

An act for the relief of Samuel White, Arnold Field and Tracy'S. Knapp, trustees of school 
district No. 16, in New Berlin. Passed May 26, 1841. Sess. Laws, p. 316. 

An act for the relief of Samuel White. Tracy S. Knapp and Arnold Field, late trustees of 
school district No. 16, in the town of New Berlin. Passed April 12, 1842. Sess. Laws, p. 283. 

An act in relation to school district No. 13, in the town of Newburgh, and county of 
Orange. Passed April 23, 18:i5. Authorizes the trustees to keep and maintain a school for 
black children, separate and apart from their high school. 

An act in relation to the Newburgh high school. Passed April 24, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 73. 

An act to divide district No. 13, in the town of Newburgh. Passed April 6, 1848. Sess. 
Laws, p. 300. 



476 A List of Acts 

An act to provide for the estahlishmeut of free schools in the village of Newburgh. Passed 
April 6, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 202. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to provide for the establishment of free schools 
in the village of Xewburgh," passed April 6, 1S52. Passed March 7, 1835. Sess. Laws, p. 125. 

An act to authorize the board of education of union free school district No. 2, of the town 
of New Lots, to raise money tor the purchase of a site, and the erection of a new school- 
house thereon. Passed April 3, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. Siio 

An act to provide for a free school in district No. 4. in the town of Newtown, in the county 
of Queens. Passed March 27, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 210. 

An act to provide for a free school in district No. 5. in the town of Newtown, in the county 
of Queens. Passed March 27. 1S4S. Sess. Laws. p. 214. 

An act to ostablish a free school in district No. 3. in the town of Newtown. Passed March 
16, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 69. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to establish a free school in district No. 3. in the 
town of Newtown,"' passed March 16, 1850. Passed July 8, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 777. 

An act lo amend an act to establish a free school in district No. 3, in the town of 
Newtown, county of Queens. Passed March 16, 1850. Passed May 5, 18G3. Sess. Laws, 
p. 760. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to establish a free school in district No. 3, in 
the town of Newtown, county of Queens," passed May 5, 1833. Passed April 25, 1867* 
Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 2012. 

An act to establish free schools in school district No. 1, in the town of New Eochelle, 
Westchester county. Passed March 20, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 261. 

An act confirming the sale of certain school district property in district No. 5, in the 
towns of New Scotland and Berne, in the county of A.lbany. Passed March K), 1857. Sess. 
Laws, vol. 1, p. 257. 

An act to legalize the acts of the board of education of school district No. 7, in the town 
and countv of Niagara, and to define the limits of said district. Passed April 2, 1860. Sess. 
Laws, p. 231. 

An act appropriating the excise fees and fines coll-cted in the town of New Utrecht to 
the use of common schools in that town. Passed May 16, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 2310. 

An act to authorize the trustee of school district No. 16, in the town of Newstead, Erie 
county, to borrow money. Passed February 8, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 61. 

An act confirming the sale of certain school district property in district No. 5. in the towns 
of New Scotland and Uerne, in the county of Albany. Passed March 19, 1857. Sess. Laws, 
vol. 1, p. 256. 

An act for the establishment of a normal school. Passed ^lay 7, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 464. 

An act in relation to the normal school. Passed May 7, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 139. An 
appropriation i ill. 

An act for the permanent establishment of the normal school. Passed April 12, 1848. 
Sees. Laws, p. 446. 

An act to provide for the completion of the normal school building. Passed February 24, 
1849. Sess. Laws, p. 87. 

An act for the support of a training school for primary teachers. Passed May 4, 1863. 
(Oswego.) Sess. Laws, p. 713. 

An act to amend " An act for the supnort of a training school for primary- teachers," 
passed May 4, 1863. Passed April 14, 1865.' Sess. Laws, p. 804 (Oswego,. 

An act in regard to normal schools. Passed April 7, 1866. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 1015. 

An act in relation to the establishment of a normal and training school in the village of 
Fredonia, Chautauqua county. Passed March 30. 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 334. 

An act in relation to raising moneys in the town of Cortlandville, in the county of Cort- 
land, for the purpose of aidino- in the erection and furnishinir of a normal school building 
in said town. Passed March '30, 1S67. Sess. Laws. vol. 1, p. 306. 

An act in relation to the establishm.ent of a normal and training school in the village of 
Geneseo. to be called " The Wadsworth normal and training school." Passed March 29, 
1867. Sess. Laws, vol, 1, p. 295. 

An act in regard to the normal and training school of the city of Oswego. Passed March 
27, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 256. 

An act to amend the act entitled " An act in reirard to normal schools." Passed April 7. 
186G, and providing for a normal and training school in the citv of Buffalo. Passed April 
23, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 1568. 

An act in relation to the normal school located at Potsdam, in the county of St. Lawrence, 

Snrsuant to chapter 466. Laws of 1836. and to levy taxes for the purposes thereof Passed 
anuary 23, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 24. 

An act in relation to the establishment of a normal and training school in the village of 
Brockport. Passed February 2, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p, 54. 



Relating to Schools. 477 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to the establishment of a normal 
pchool in the villaije of Brockport," passed February 2, 1807. Passed March 19. 18G7. Sess. 
Laws, vol. 1, p. 139. 

An act to provide for raising; money to aid in the establishment of a normal school at 
Brockport. Passed April 23, iSBT. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 1535. 

NEW YORK. 

An act to direct certain moneys to he applied to the nse of free schools in the city of New 
York. Passed April 8, 1801. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 2, p. 253. Directs 
the school moneys apportioned to New York to be paid '• to the vestry of the Episcopal 
chnrch. the vestry of Christ church, the trustees of the First Presbyterian church, the 
minister, elders and dt-acons of the Reformed Dutch church, the trustees of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, the trustees of the Scotch Presbyterian church belonjjino: to the associ- 
ated reformed synod, and to the trustees of the African school, and 1o the trustees of the 
United German Lutheran, th« trustees of the German Reformed chtirches, lo the trustees of 
the First Baptist church in the city of New York, and to the trustees of the United Brethren 
or JMoraviau church, each, one-eleventh part of all the money in the hands of the common 
council." 

An act to incorporate the society instituted in the city of New York for the establish- 
ment of a ft-ee school for the education of poor children, who do not belonpr to and are not 
piovided for by any religious society. Passed April 9, 1805. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skin- 
ner's ed.), vol. 4. p. 2(55. Common school education from date of this law until 1842 was sub- 
stantially in charge of this society, whose principal founder and promoter was De Witt 
Clinton. 

An act to incorporate the trustees of the First Protestant Episcopal charity school iu 
the city of Ts'ew York. Passed March 14, 180(i. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), 
vol. 4, p. 378. This act incorporated a school to be kept instead of the free school main- 
tained for many years previous, under the care and management of the corporation of 
Trinity Church. 

An act for the further encouragement of free schools in the citv of New York. Passed 
March 30.15511. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), p. 172. Gives to the free school 
society $4,000 of the moneys arising from the excise duties, then iu the city treasury, and 
$1,000 a year thereafter. 

An act supplementary to the act entitled "An act for the establishment of common schools." 
Passed March 12, l8lo\ Sess. Laws, p. 38. The general school act of 1812 did not apply 
to New York city. By this act the city was permitted to share in the distribution of the 
revenue of the school fund. The city was required to raise a sum equal to its share of such 
school money. The common council appointed school commissioners to receive and appor- 
tion it. It w^as to be paid " to the trustees of the free school society in said city of New" 
York, and the trustees or treasurer of the orphan's asylum society, the society of the 
economical school in the city of New York, the .'\fricau free school, and of such "incorpo- 
rated religious societies in said city as now support or shall hereafter establish charity 
schools within the said city, who may ap))ly for the same." The distribution was to be in 
proportion to the averaire number of'children taught between the ages of four and fifteen 
years : but was to be i)aid to no society whose school had not been kept for nine months in 
the previous year. The children were to be taught free of expense. The trustees of the 
several schools were to make to the school commissioners reports similar to those of the 
trustees of common school^, and the school commissioners to the superintendent of com- 
mon schools. The public money was to be applied to the payment of teachers' wages. 
The trustees of the several societies were declared inspectors of the schools of their respect- 
ive societies. 

An act respecting the free school society of New York. Passed April 5, 1817. Sess. 
Laws. p. 15;). Granted $2,000 out of the excise fund. 

An act to incorporate the Hamilton free school (New York\ and for other purposes. 
Passed April 17. 1818. Sess. Laws. p. 103. The lourth section gives the trustees of this 
school a share in the distribution of the common cchool moneys. 

An act relative to the common lands of the freeholders and inhabitants of Harlem. 
Passed March 28. 1820. Sess. Laws. p. 90. Directs the lands to be sold bv trustees : S3,000 
to be paid to the Harlem library: $3,500 to the Hamilton school: ^4.(('0 to the H;irlem 
school: $4,503 to Manhattanville'schooi : and until such schools are established the tunds 
are to remain in trust in the hands of the trustees, and pla( ed on good interest. 

An act relative to the Roman Catholic benevolent society in the city of New York, 
Passed .April 1. 1820. Sess. Laws. p. 117. Requires the commissioners of common school 
fund in the city to allow and pay to the trustee? of the society their proportion of the com- 
mon school money. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act relative to the general societv of mechanics and 
tradesmen of the city of New York," passed April 3. 1811." Passed January 20, 1821. Sess. 
Laws. p. 10. Permits the school of said society to share in the distribution of the school 
moneys. 

An act relating to common schools in the city of New York. Passed November 19. 1824. 
Sess. Laws. ji. 3 57. Provides for the apportionnient of school moneys to the city, and for tlie 
election of ten commissioners to distribute it: prescribes their duties as to making reports 
and visiting the schools, auu repeals all former laws relating to the schools of the city. 



478 A List of Acts 

An act in relation to the free school society of New York. Passed January 28, 1826. Sess. 
Laws, p. 19. Name altered to " public school society of New Yprk." The society was 
also required to provide for the education of all children without regard to the sect or 
denomination to which their parents might belong. The trustees were, by section 3, per- 
mitted to charge a " moderate compensation adapted to the abilities of the parents of the 
children." 

An act to amend the act relating to common schools in the city of New York, passed 
November 19, 1824. Passed April 8, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 93. Increases the number of 
school commissioners to twelve. 

An act to provide for the building an asylum for the deaf and dumb in the city of New 
York. Passed March 23, 1827. Sess. Laws, p. 76. Section 1 appropriated $10,000 for pur- 
chase of land and erection of buildings, provided the institution should raise an equal sum. 
The S -cretary of State was to approve the site. By section 2 the institution was placed 
under the supervision of the Superintendent of Common Schools, and the directors were 
to file their consent under their corporate seal in the office of the Secretary of State. 

An act to incorporate the Manhattanville free school in the twelfth ward in the city of 
New York. Passed March 33. 1827. Sess. Laws, p. 103. This was essentially a public and 
district school. The trustees were annually elected by the freeholders of the village of 
Manhattanville. To receive $2,500 from trustees of Harlem fund. 

An act to incorporate the trustees of the Harlem school in the twelfth ward of the city of 
New York. Passed April 2, 1827. Sess. Laws, p. 119. A public school, the trustees tn be 
annually elected by a vote of the freeholders of the village of Harlem. To receive $4,000 
from trustees of the Harlem fund. 

An act to incorporate the trustees of the Yorkville school, in the twelfth ward of the city 
of New York. Passed April 2. 1827. Sess Laws, p. 114. This was also essentially, a public 
school, of which the trustees were elected by the freeholders of the village of Yorkville. . To 
receive $2,000, from trustees of Harlem fund. 

An act further to amend an act entitled " An act to incorporate the trustees of the First 
Protestant Episcopal charity school in the city of New York." Passed .April 16, 1827. Sess. 
Laws, p. 315. Authorizes an increase of the number of schools and the number of trustees. 

An act relative to deeds and mortgages executed or to be executed by the public school 
society of New York. Passed January 20, 1829. Grants the right to sell and convey real 
estate, and to mortgage and confirm all former sales and grants. 

An act for the further support and extension of common schools in the city of New York. 
Passed April 25, 1829. Sess. Laws, p. 397. Authorizes the increase of the city school tax 
one-eightietii of one per cent. 

An act for the further support and extension of common schools in the city of New York. 
Passed April 13, 1831. Sess. Laws, p. 1L4. Authorizes a tax of three-eighths of one per 
cent on the valuation of the taxable property of the city for the purposes of common schools 
in the city. It is to be apportioned as provided in the Eevised Statutes, article 7, chapter 
15, sections 117 to 127. 

An act relative to the school connected with the almshouse of the city of New York. 
Passed April 13. 18:^. Sess. Laws. p. 54. Declares school entitled to its share of public 
moneys in any apportionment by school commissioners, and places the school in charge of 
the public school society. 

An act to extend to the city and county of New York the provisions of the general act in 
relation to common schools. Passed April 11, 1842. Sess. Laws, p. 184. 

An act io amend an act entitled " An act to extend to the city and ccranty of New York 
the provisions of the general act in relation to common schools," passed April 11, 1842. 
Passed April 18. 1843. "Sess. Laws, p. 290. 

An act to amend the charter of the public school society of the city of New York. Passed 
March 23, 1844. Sess. Laws. p. 50. 

An act more efi"ectual!y to provide for common school education in the city and county of 
New York. Passed May 7, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 490. 

An act to aut'.o ize the board of education of the city of New York to establish evening 
fre3 schools for the education of apprentices and others. Passed April 16, 1847. Sess. 
Laws, p. 82. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act more eff'ectually to provide for common school 
education in the city of New York," passed May 7, 1844. Passed May 11, 1847. Sess. 
Laws, p. 275. 

An act to incorporate the New York society for the promotion of education among colored 
children. Passed December 7, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 425. 

An act in relaticm to the public school society in the city of New York. Passed March 4, 
1848. Sess. Laws. p. 81. 

An act tn amend an act entitled " An act to extend to the city and county of New York 
tl e provisions of the general act in relation to common schools," passed April 11,1842. 
Passed Marjh 21, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 147. 

All : ct to authorize the board of education of the city of New York to establish evening 
echool^ for the education of apprentices and others. Passed March 25, 1848. Sess. Laws, 
p. 209. 



Relating to Schools. * 479 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act more effectnally to provide for common school 
education in the city and county of New York," passed May 7, 1844. Passed March 27, 
1848. Sess. Laws. p. 211. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act more effectually to provide for common school 
education in the city and county of New York," Passed May 7, 1844. Passed May 11, 1849. 
Sess. Laws, p. 549. 

An act to amend the charter of the Manhattanville free school in the city of New York. 
Passed March 27, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 147. Authorized to convey their real estate and 
improvements to the city. 

An act to amend, consolidate, and reduce to one act the various acts relative to common 
schools of the city of New York. Passed July .3, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 734. 

An act in relation to the school officers of the twentieth ward of the city of New York. 
Passed March 2«5. 1852. Sees. Laws, p. 130. Permits them to enter upon the duties of their 
office as soon as they take the oath ol office required by law. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of New York. Passed June 4, 1853. Sess. 
Laws, p. 629. Authorizes the public school society to transfer all its property and schools to 
the city. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of New York. Passed March 31, 1854. Sess. 
Laws, p. 235. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of New York. Passed April 15, 1854. Sess. 
Laws, p. 588. 

An act to enable the schools of the Five Points House of Industry, and the school estab- 
lished by the Ladies' Home Missionary Society, to participate in the distribution of the 
common"school fund. Passed April 12, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 161. 

An act to provide for the appointment of a commission to secure the more perfect estab" 
lishment, government, regulation and economy of common schools in the city of New York. 
Passed April 17, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. .528. 

An act to continue the commission appointed to secure the more perfect establishment, 
government, regulation, and economy of common schools in the city of New York. Passed 
April 14. 1858. Sess. Laws, p. 318. 

An act in relation to school libraries in the city of New York. Passed April 13, 1860. 
Sess. Laws, p. 626. 

An act to repeal an act passed April 16, 1860, entitled " An act in relation to school libra- 
ries in the city of New York." Passed April 13, 1860. Passed April 15, 1860. Sess. Laws, 
p. 194. 

An act to enable the schools of the children's aid society to participate in the distribu- 
tion of the common school fund. Passed April 17, 1862. Sess. Laws, p. 455. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of New York. Passed April 15, 1863. Sess. 
Laws, p. 193. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of New York. Passed April 25, 1864. Sess. 
Laws, p. 822. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of New York. Passed March 3, 1865. Sess. 
Laws, p. 94. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to amend, consolidate and reduce to one act the 
various acts relative to common schools of the city of New York," passed July 3, 1851. 
Passed April 2, 18()6. Sess. Laws, p. 74S. 

An act relative to common schools in the city of New York. Passed April 9, 1867. Sess. 
Laws, vol. 1, p. 540. 

O. 

An act in relation to schools and academies in the village of Ogdensburgh. Passed April 
13, 1857. Sess. Laws. vol. 1, p. 778. 

An act to provide for the payment of the arrears of salary due the superintendent of 
schools in the village of Ogdensburgh. Passed April 11, 1859. Sess. Laws, p. 509. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to schools and academies in the vil- 
lage of Ogdensburgh," passed April 1-3, 1857. Passed March 22. 1865. Sess. Laws, p. 288. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to schools and academies in the 
'nllage of Ogdensburgh," passed April 13, 1857. Passed February 19, lb66. Sess. Laws, 
p. 96. 

An act in relation to a school lot in the town of Olean. Sess. Laws, p. 166. Authorizes 
sale of school lot. 

An act to consolidate districts No. 7 and No. 28. in the town of Onondaga, county of 
Onondaga : and to provide for the organization of a school and academy therein, and to 
enable the said district to provide the necessary buildings therefor. Passed April 28, 1866. 
Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 1897. 

An act to incorporate the union free school district No. 4, town of Orangetown, county 
of Rockland. Passed April 14, 1859. Sess. Laws, p. 684. 



480 ' A List of Acts 

An act to amend the " act incorporating the union free school district No. 4, town of 
Oranijetown, county of Kockland." Passed March 26, 1866. Sess. Laws. p. 515. 

An act to legalize the site of the school-house in school district No. 6, of the town of 
Ojondaga. and to enable the trustees of said district to acquire the title to ihe lands now 
used fof'such site, and such other lands as may be necessary fur the same. Passed April 16, 
1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 935. 

An act to provide for the better education of the children in the several orphan asylums 
in this State other than in the city of New York. Passed April 10, 1S50. Sess. Laws, p. 500. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 3, in the tnwn of Orwell, county of 
Oswego, to sell a part of their school lot. Passed April 12, 1843. Sess. Laws, p. 85. 

An act in relation to the public schools in the city of Oswego. Passed April 5, 1853. 
Sess. Laws, p. 188. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to the public schools in the city of 
Oswego," passed April 5. 1853. Passed June 21, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 839. 

An act to amend the act entitled '"An act in relation to public schools in the city of 
Oswego," passed April 5, 1853. Passed March 27, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 139. 

An act to divide the county of Oswego into three school commissioner districts, and to 
provide for the appointment of a school commissioner therein. Passed March 8, 1859. 
Sess. Laws, p. 65. 

An act in relation to the election of school commissioners in the city of Oswego. Passed 
April 17, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 1004. 

An act to authorize the common council of Oswego to borrow money for school uses and 
for other purposes. Passed April 5, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 229. 

An act for the relief of the trustees of school district No. 11, in the town of Otselic, Che- 
nango county. Passed May 13, 1815. Sess. Laws. p. 255. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 11. in the town of Otselic. to raise 
money by tax on said district to pay the costs and expenses incur; ed by said district or ita 
trustees, in a suit against Isaiah Lewis. Passed April 30, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 159. 

An act to consolidate the ssveral school districts within the corporate limits of the ^i]lage 
of Owego, and to establish free schools in the same. Passed April 23, 1864. Sess. Laws, 
p. 739. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to consolidate the several school districts within 
the corporate limits in the village of Owego, and to establish free schools in the same," 
passed April 23, 1864. Passed March 17, 1S65. Sess. Laws, p. 250. 

An act concerning the lesracv bequeathed by David Jones for the benefit of a charity 
echool. Passed March 24, 1795 "Sess. Laws (Web-ter & Skinners ed.). vol. 2. p. 249. Three 
hundred pounds bequeathed for the education of the poor, directed to be loaned on good 
land security by the overseer of the poor of Oyster Bay. and the interest thereof forever 
applied to the instruction and educadon of such poor children in said town as said over- 
seers should deem objects of charity. 

An act to authorize the trustees of the Oyster Bav academy to be the trustees of a school 
district. Passed April 12, 1823. Sess. Laws. p. 170. With the consent of the taxable 
inhabitants, the trustees of the academy were to be trustees of the common school district 
composed of the village of Oyster Bay, "for six years, and they were to continue such trus- 
tees, provided such consent slaould be renewed- every six years. 

An act to establish a free school in district No. 5, town of Oyster Bay, Queens county. 
Passed .April 15, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 223. 

An act to alter school district No. 4, in the town of Oyster Bay, Queens county. Passed 
April 13, 1860. Sess. Laws, p. 605. 



An act relative to school district No. 1, in the town of Palmyra and county of Wajmc* 
Passed April 6. 1830. Sess. Laws. p. 121. Authorizes the district to sell its school-house 
and lot to the Palmyra high school. 

An act relative to union school district No. 1, in the town of Palmyra. Passed March 19, 
1847. Sess. Laws, p. 20. 

An act in relation to consididated school district No. 1, in the toAvn of Palmyra, Wayne 
county. Passed April 7, 1857. Sese. Laws, vol. 1, p. 600. 

An act to confirm the proceedings of the trustees of school district No. 11, in th« 
towns of Pamelia and Leray, in the county of Jeftersoii. Passed April 5, 1844. Sess. 
Laws, p. 104. 

An act in relation to common schools in the village of Penn Ya:\. Passed April 17, 1857. 
Sess. Laws. vol. 2, p. f547. 

An act to authorize the Comptroller to loan money to the Penn Yan union school district 
from the common school fund. Passed April 14, 1858. Sess. Laws. p. 320. 

An act to amend an act in relation to common schools in the village of Penn Yan, passed 
April 17, 1857. Passed April 8, 1859. Sess. Laws, p. 453. 



Relating to Schools. 481 

An act in relation to school district No. 8, in the town of Phelps, in the county of Ontario. 
Passed April 19, 1855. Sese. Laws, p. 1056. 

An act to make the union school of Phelps a free school. Passed February 27, 1865. Sess. 
Laws. p. 79. 

An act to secure to school district No. 4, in Edmeston, and No. 6, in the town of Pittpfield, 
in the county of Otsego, the legacies of Adin Deming, deceased. Passed March 16, 1848. 
Sess. Laws, p. 109. 

An act for the relief of Mumford Clark, collector of school district No. 6, in the town of 
Pittsford. Passed January 31, 1843. Sess. Laws, p. 10. 

An act in regard to school district No. 16, in the town of Pittstown, in the county of Rens- 
selaer. Passed March 15, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 297. 

An act to consolidate school districts Noe. 1, 2, and 5, of the town of Plattshurgh, into a 
free union single district, and to vest the government thereof, and of the academy therein, 
in a board of education. Passed May 8, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 2026. 

An act to make school district No. 9, in the town of Pomfret, a union free school district. 
Passed March 17, 1858. Sess. Laws, p. 55. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to make school district No. 9, in the town of 
Pomfret, a union free school district," passed March 17, 1858 ; and to legalize certain acts 
of the board of education of said district. Passed March 31, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 98. 

An act relative to appropriating the surplus poor funds in the town of Gouvemeur, in the 
county of St. Lawrence, for the benefit of common schools. Passed March 31. 1828. Sess. 
Laws, p. 165. Requires $1,000 to be paid to the trustees of public lands in said town and 
loaned, and the interest applied annually to the support of common schools. 

An act authorizing the overseers of the poor of the town of Saranac to pay over certain 
moneys in their hands to the commissioners of common schools in said town. Passed 
February 5, 1829. Sess. Laws, p. 89. 

An act relative to moneys in the hands of the overseers of the poor. Passed April 27, 
1829. Sess. Laws, p. 421. Authorizes the inhabitants of towns to invest certain moneys 
for the support of schools, to be and remain a permanent school fimd. 

An act to authorize the overseers of the poor of the town of Pierrepont, in St. Lawrence 
countv, to pay certain moneys to the commissioners of common schools in said town. 
Passed April 29, 1829. Sess. Laws, p. 435. 

An act appropriating certain poor funds in the town of DeKalb, in the county of St. Law- 
rence, to the common schools of said town. Passed February 22, 1830. $1,000 to be loaned 
and the interest applied to the support of common schools. 

An act authorizing the application of the interest arising from the poor fund of the town 
of Russell to the school fund. Passed April 26, 1834. Sess. Laws, p. 386. 

An act for the relief of Lewis A. Talman. Passed March 20. 1841. Sess. Laws. p. 38. 
(Portage.) 

An act to incorporate the Poughkeepsie Lancaster school society. Passed March 11, 
1814. Sess. Laws, p. 45. Section 6 of this act made the village a permanent school district, 
and required the commissioners of common schools to pay to the trustees of the Lancaster 
school society the share of public money apportioned to that part of the town comprised iu 
the village. 

An act to establish free schools in the village of Poughkeepsie. Passed April 18, 1843. 
Sess. Laws, p. 279. 

An act to incorporate the city of Poughkeepsie. Passed March 28, 1854. Sess. Laws, 
p. 171. 

An act to repeal and amend parts of an act entitled "An act to incorporate the city of 
Poughkeepsie," passed March 28, 1854, and the amendments thereto, passed April 12, 1855, 
and April 2, 1858, for the benefit of the common schools in said city. Passed April 6, 1860. 
Sess. Laws, p. 317. 

An act to establish a union free school in district No. 2, in the town of Poughkeepsie. 
Passed May 1, 1865. Sess. Laws, p. 1304. 

An act to authorize school district No. 1, of the town of Poughkeepsie, in the county of 
Dutchess, to borrow money for the purpose of completing a school building in said district, 
and to provide for the payment thereof. Passed March 9, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 96. 

An act to consolidate the several school districts and parts of districts in the village of 
Pulaski into one district, and provide for a school therein. Passed June 4, 1853. Sess. 
Laws, p. 648. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to consolidate the several school districts and 
parts of districts in the village of Pulaski, into a district, and provide for a school therein," 
passed June 4, 1853. Passed April 19, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 107.3. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to consolidate the several school districts, and 
parts of districts in the village of Pulaski, into one district, and to provide for a school 
therein." Passed April 9, 1864. Sess. Laws, p. 336. 

An act authorizing the Comptroller to loan money to the Pulaski school district, and for 
other purposes. Passed April 17, 1854. Sess. Laws, p. 715. 

61 



482 A List of Acts 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act authorizing the Comptroller to loan money to 
the Pulaski school district, and for other purposes,'' passed April 17, 1854. Passed April 

13, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 767. 

R. 

Revised Statutes, passed in 1827, 1828, and 1829, chapter 15, of part 1, related to public 
instruction. The act creating the board of Regents of the Univeri^ity, all the acts relating 
to common schools, the laws relating to Lancaster schools (Sess. Laws of 1821, p. 54), and 
all special acts relating to villages and cities, were included in said chapter 15. 

An act to legalize the acts of the inhabitants and trustees of school district No. 12, formed 
partly out of the town of Ridgeway and partly out of the town of Shelby in the county of 
Orleans. Passed March 4, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 45. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 12, in the towns of Ridgeway and 
Shelby, Orleans county, to raise money hj tax. Passed January 28, 1860. Sess. Laws, p. 14. 

An act to incorporate the Rochester high school, in the county of Monroe. Passed March 
15, i827. Sess. Laws, p. 55. This was a Lancaster school The first section constituted 
districts Nos. 4 and 14, in the town of Brighton, one district, declared to be a school district, 
and appointed the first trustees, with power to keep and maintain a school, and to hold and 
own property with an income not to exceed $.3,000 a year. They were authorized to levy a 
tax of $4,000 on the district, to build a school-house. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act to incorporate the Rochester high school, in the 
county of Monroe." Passed March 28, 182S. Sess. Laws, p. 134. Authorizes the levy of a tax. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act to incorporate the Rochester high school, in the 
county "f Monroe," passed March 15, 1827. Passed April 30, 1829 Sess. Laws, p. 513. 
Authorizes the trustees to mortgage real estate, and make the payment of such mort- 
gage by either of them, individually, operate as a valid assignment of the mortgage to .the 
payor. 

An act to authorize the Rochester high school to raise money by tax. Passed February 
23, 1831. Sess. Laws, p. 52. Authorizes the raising of $3,000. 

An act to constitute the colored children of Rochester a separate school. Passed April 

14, 1832. Sess. Laws, p. 211. Authorized the school commissioners of the towns of Gates 
and Brighton to establish and maintain a separate school for colored children in the village 
of Rochester. 

An act to incorporate tbe city of Rochester. Passed April 28, 1834. Title six relates to 
schools. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 10, in tbe city of Rochester, to sell 
a part of their school-house lot. Passed April 23, 1835. Sess. Laws, p". 158. Authorizes the 
sale of half an acre from the north end of the lot, and the expenditure of the avails in the 
reparation of the school-house. 

An act farther to amend the act entitled "An act to incorporate the Rochester high school, 
in the county of Monroe," passed March 15, 1827. Passed April 20, 1836. Sess. Laws, p. 220. 
Authorizes the division of the school district attached to the high school into two common 
school districts. 

An act further to amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate the city of Rochester." 
Passed May 14, 1840. The sixth section authorized the levy of taxes for the support of 
schools, making them free. 

An act further to amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate the city of Rochester," 
passed April 28, 1834. Passed May 20, 1841. Sess. Laws, p. 185. 

An act relative to school district No. 5, in the city of Rochester. Passed April 12, 1842. 
Sess. Laws, p. 367. 

An act relative to school districts Nos. 5 and 3, in the city of Rochester. Passed April 10, 
1844. Sess. Laws, p. 131. 

An act to consolidate and amend tbe act to incorporate the city of Rochester, passed April 
28, 1834, and the several acts amendatory thereof. Passed April 11, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 138. 
Title 6 relates to schools. Section 8 of the title provided for a tax sufficient to make all the 
schools free. 

An act relative to district No. 2, in the city of Rochester. Passed April 24, 1845. Sess. 
Laws, p. 74. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to consolidate and amend the act to incorporate 
the city of Rochester," passed April 11, 1844. Passed May 2, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 98. 

An act providing for the election of city superintendent of common schools of the city 
of Rochester by the electors of said city. Passed April 4, 1848. Sess. Laws, p. 285. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to consolidate and amend the act to incorporate 
the city of Rochester," passed April 11, 1844, and the several acts amendatory thereof. 
Passed February 28, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 96. 

An act to amend and consolidate the several acts relating to the city of Rochester. 
Passed April 10, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 501. Title six relates to schools. 

An act in relation to the free schools in the city of Rochester. Passed March 2, 1850. 
Sess. Laws, p. 38. 



Relating to Schools. 483 

An act to authorize the common council of the city of Rochester to raise ten thou- 
Fand dollars for the use of the public schools therein. Passed April 6, 1860. Sess. Laws, 
p. 316. 

An act to authorize the city of Rochester to borrow money for the purpose of erecting 
school buildings. Passed March 23, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 206. 

An act for the relief of certain school districts in the town of Rome, in the county of 
Oneida. Passed January 21, 1828. Sess. Laws, p. 12. Requires forfeited money to be 
apportioned to certain districts. 

An act to provide for the erection of a school-house in district No. 5, in the town of Rome, 
and to change the site thereof. Passed March 1, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. 30. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to make the common schools free in district 
No. 5, in the town of Rome, in the county of Oneida, and to provide a tax for that pur- 
pose," passed April 10, 1862, and to authorize the raising of money by tax. Passed March 
28, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 263. 

An act in relation to school district No. 8, in the town of Royalton. Passed May 12, 
1847. Sess. Laws, p. 347. 

An act for the relief of the town of Rye. Passed February 9, 1821. Sess. Laws, p. 32. 
Orders the sale of foar acres of land in said town for the benefit of schools. 



An act to consolidate certain school districts within or adjoining the corporate limits of 
Sag Harbor, Suffolk county, and to establish a union school therein. Passed April 22, 1862. 
Sess. Laws, p. 799. 

An act to legalize certain expenditures of the board of education of the union school dis- 
trict of Sag Harbor, for the purchase of text books, and for teachers' wages, and to author- 
ize the levying of a tax for the payment of the same. Passed April 16, 1864. Sess. Laws, 
p. 464. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to consolidate certain school districts within 
or adjoining the corporate limits of the village of Sag Harbor, Suffolk county, and to estab- 
lish a union school therein," passed April 22, 1862. Passed April 22, 1864. Sess. Laws, 
p. 720. 

An act to constitute school district No. 1, in the town of Salina and county of Onondaga, 
a free school. Passed April 9, 1860. Sess. Laws, p. .354. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to constitute school district No. 1, in the town 
of Salina and county of Onondaga, a free school." Passed March 25, 1865. Sess. Laws, 
p. 340. 

An act authorizing the formation of a new school district in the town of Salina, in the 
county of Onondaga, to be called school district Mo. 6, of said town. Passed April 24, 1867. 
Sess. Laws, vol. 2rp. 1863. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to consolidate the several school districts, 
and parts of districts, within the corporate limits of Saratoga Sprinsrs, and to estab- 
lish a free union school or schools therein." Passed April 25, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, 
p. 1958. 

An act to incorporate the Schenectady Lancaster school society. Passed Nov. 12, 1816. 
Sess. Laws of 1817, p. 10. The first and second wards of said city were divided, and a por- 
tion formed by section 3 into a school district, and all the money raised for the support of 
the school, in such portion, and all the money received from the State, was required to be 
paid to the trustees of said society. 

An act relative to certain school districts in the city of Schenectady. Passed April 6, 
1827. Authorizes the formation of certain school districts out of the bounds of that portion 
of the city known as the police, and prescribes how the money raised by taxation shall 
be divided between such districts and the Lancaster school society. 

An act relative to the city of Schenectady. Passed April 21, 1828. Sess. Laws, p. 437. 
Requires the school moneys to be apportioned between the district schools and the Lancas- 
ter school society. 

An act to provide for the apportionment of school money in the city of Schenectady. 
Passed April .30, 1829. Sess. Laws. p. 484. Provides for a distribution of the public money, 
partly to the district schools, and partly to the Lancaster school society. 

An act in relation to the public schools in the city of Schenectady. Passed April 9, 1854. 
Sess. Laws, p. 373. 

An act to provide for an equitable apportionment of school moneys to certain districts 
heretofore within the limits of the city of Schenectady, but now in the towns of Rotterdam 
and Niskayuna. Passed April 3, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 803. 

An act to create a free school in the town of Schroeppel, Oswego county, and to create a 
board of education therein, with powers of taxation and other powers for school purposes. 
Passed April 17, 1865. Sess. Laws, p. 826. 

An act for the relief of Richard Perkins, William M. Smith and Joseph U. Blood. Passed 
April 10, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 39. (Scriba, Oswego county.) 



484 A List of Acts 

An act in relation to echool district No. 1, in the town of Seneca, and in the county of 
Ontario. Passed April 22, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 270. 

An act in relation to school district No. 1, in the town of Seneca, in the county of Ontario. 
Passed April 1.5, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 540. 

An act in relation to school district No. 1, in the town of Seneca, in the county of Ontario, 
Passed April 12, 1«55. Sess. Laws, p. 690. 

An act relating to schools in the town of Seneca Falls. Passed April 16, 1867. Sees. 
Laws, vol. 1, p. 924. 

An act for the relief of consolidated school district No. 7, in the town of Sherburne, 
county of Chenango. Passed March 29, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 83. 

An act to establish free schools in the village of Sing Sing. Passed April 15, 1854. 

An act to amend the act entitled " An act to establish free schools in the village of Sing 
Sing," passed April 15, 1854. Passed April 10, 1857. Sess. Laws, p. 689. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act to establish free schools in the village of Sing 
Sing, passed April 15, 1854,'' and the act amendatory thereof entitled " An act to amend the 
act entitled ' An act to establish free schools in the village of Sing Sing,' passed April 15, 
1854," passed April 10, 1857. Passed April 8, 1859. Sess. Laws, p. 455. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act to establish free schools in the village of Sing 
Slug," passed April 15, 1854, and the several acts amendatory thereof. Passed April 29, 
1863. Sess. Laws, p. 480. 

An act to consolidate school districts Nos. 2 and 15, in the town of Smyrna. Passed 
March 19, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 71. 

An act to repeal an act entitled "An act to incorporate the trustees of Somers village 
school." Passed April 9, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 255. The act repealed was passed April's, 
1811. 

An act for the relief of the trastees of district No. 2, in the town of Southeast. Passed 
July 9, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 856. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 1, in the towns of Southfield and 
Castleton, and county of Richmond, to mortgage the property belonging to said district for 
certain purposes. Passed April 7, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 215. 

An act for the collection of unpaid taxes in school district No. 1, in the towns of Castleton 
and Southfield, Richmond county. Passed March 31, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 453. 

An act in relation to school district No. 6, in the towns of Southfield and Castleton, Rich- 
mond county. Passed April 18, 1859. Sess. Laws, p. 1056. 

An act to incorporate a part of Stephen town for the purposes therein mentioned. Passed 
March 23, 1799. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 2, p. 251. Incorporates the 
freeholders of that part of the town known as the twelve thousand acres, and authorizes them 
to choose annually, on the last Tuesday of May of each year, three trustees of a fund given 
for the support of schools. The fund is limited to $3,000, and the income is to be distributed 
for the benefit of schools within the bounds of the corporation. 

An act relative to the school fund of Stephentown, in the county of Rensselaer. Passed 
April 11, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 1113. 

An act for the relief of Cyril Carpenter, Isaac Joslyn and Isaac Barnes, now or late trustees 
of district No. 10, in the town of Steuben. Passed April 2, 1846. Sess. Laws, p. 5G. 

An act for the relief of Cyril Carpenter, Isaac Joslyn, and Isaac Barnes, late trustees of 
school district No. 10, in the town of Sweden. Passed March 26, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 35. 

An act to provide for a permanent district school in Syracuse. Passed April 20, 1832. 
Sess. Laws, p. .356. Makes district No. 4, Salina, a permanent school district, and authorizes 
a tax of $4,000 to build a school-house. 

An act to repeal " An act to provide for a permanent district school in Syracuse." Passed 
March 25, 1837. Sess. Laws, p. 87. Repeals act of May 20, 1832. 

An act in relation to public schools in the city of Syracuse. Passed April 11, 1848. Sess. 
Laws, p. 344. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act in relation to the public schools in the city of 
Syracuse," passed April 11, 1848. Passed May 26, 1853. Sess. Laws, p. 575. 

An act to revise the charter of the city of Syracuse. Passed February 25, 1854. Sess. 
Laws, p. 37. 

An act to authorize the city of Syracuse to raise money for the establishment of a high 
Bchool. Passed March 16, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 136. 

SCHOOL FUND. 

An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Merchants' Bank in the city of New York. 
Passed March 26, 1805. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 4, p. 62. Section 11 
authorized the Secretary of State to subscribe for one thousand shares of the stock, on tho 
part of the State, without paying lor the same, to form a fund for the support of common 
echools. 

An act to raise a fund for the encouragement of common schools. Passed April 2, 1805 
Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 4, p. 126. Appropriates the net nroceeds of 



Relating to Schools. 485 

five hundred thousand acres of land as a fiind for common schools. The interest for moneys 
loaned was to be annually added to the principal, and no distribution made until the income 
should amount to |50,000, the money to be loaned on bond and morts?age at sis per cent. 

An act further to increase the common school fund. Passed March 13, 1807. Sess. Laws 
(Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 5, p. 40. Orders all moneys arising from the stock of the 
State in the Merchants' Bank, and all moneys coming from the proceeds of certain lotteries, 
under act of April 6, 1803, to be invested in the capital stock of said Merchants' Bank. 

An act giving an additional term of the general sessions of the peace for the county of 
Ontario, and authorizing the building of a fire-proof clerk's office therein, and for other 
purposes. Passed Aprils, 1808. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 5, p. 364. Sec- 
tion 5 directs " that all moneys which have or may come into the treasury belonging to the 
common school fund, and which are not directed by law to be invested in the stock of the 
Merchants' Bank, shall be loaned by the Comptroller, pursuant to the directions of the act 
entitled "An act to raise a fund for the encouragement of common schools," passed April 
2, 1805. 

An act to render the fund for the support of common schools more productive. Passed 
April 5, 1810. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 0, p. 62. The first section author- 
ized the Comptroller to invest all the moneys in the treasury, or to be received, belonging 
to the common school fund, in the stock of the Merchants' Bank, the Columbia Bank, 
the Hudson Bank, and the Mohawk Bank, until the amount reserved to the State should be 
exhausted. After such stock should be filled up, the moneys were to be invested on bond 
and mortgage. 

An act concerning the clerks of the supreme court and for other purposes. Passed April 
6, 1810. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.),vol. 6, p. 85. Section 5 set apart the surplus 
fees of the Supreme Court to increase the capital of the common school fund. 

An act respecting the subscription of this State to the Mechanics' Bank in the city of 
New York, and for other purposes. Passed April 8, 1811. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's 
ed.), vol. 6, p. 268. Section 4 directs the payment, on the first day of June, each year for 
five years, of $2,500, "for the use and encouragement of common schools." The Comp- 
troller was authorized to subscribe $250,000 in the stock of the bank. This stock was to be 
paid for by the State. 

An act for the establishment of common schools. Passed April 12, 1812. Sess. Laws 
(Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 6, p. 600. Section 3 directs when the increase of the fund 
shall be distributed. 

An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Bank of America. Passed June 2, 1812. 
Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 6, p. 413. By section 12 it is enacted that the 
corporation shall pay $400,000, or $100,000 yearly, for four years to the Treasurer of the 
State, $100,000 in ten years, $100,000 in nineteen years. Of this sum $400,000 is set apart 
for the encouragement of common schools ; $100,000 for opening and improving naviga- 
tion ; $100,000 for the encouragement of literature. 

An act to incorporate the stockholders of the City Bank of New York. Passed June 16, 
1812. Sess. Laws (Webster & Skinner's ed.), vol. 6, p. 529. Section 3 requires the bank to 
pay to the State Treasurer $125,000, in six equal annual payments for the use and benefit 
of common schools. 

An act concerning the fund for the encouragement of schools. Passed April 9. 1813. The 
first section sets apart the "net proceeds of the vacant and unappropriated lands of the 
State," sold subsequent to April 2, 1805 ; the surplus moneys received for fees by the clerks 
of the supreme court, and the moneys paid into the State treasury by the Bank of America 
and the City Bank of New York, as " a permanent fund for the support of common schools." 
The remaining sections provide for the safe-keeping and investment of the money. 

An act authorizing the Comptroller to loan moneys belonging to the school fund, and for 
other purposes. Passed April 12, 1813. Sess. Laws, p. 288. Authorizes the loan of $45,500 
in various sums, to individuals and corporations, on bond and mortgage at 7 per cent for five 
years. 

An act for the better establishment of common schools. Passed April 15, 1814. Sess. 
Laws, p. 229. Section 3 directs how the income of the common school fund shall be dis- 
tributed. 

An act authorizing a loan to the Brighton Bridge company. Passed April 20, 1818. Sess. 
Laws, p. 186. $10,000 from the common school fund to be loaned. 

An act for the support of common schools. Passed April 12, 1819. Sess. Laws, p. 187. 
Section 3 regulates the distribution of the income. 

An act to change and increase the fund for the support and encouragement of common 
schools, and for other purposes. Passed April 13, 1819. Sess. Laws, p. 274. Section 1 
declares that the loan of 1792, and the loan of 1808, and the stock in the Merchants' Bank, 
and the net proceeds of all the lands which may escheat in the military tract, and the 
net proceeds of the fees of the clerks of the supreme court, shall be the " school fund." 
The rest of the act relates to the investment of the fund and the distribution of the 
revenue. 

An act concerning quitrents, and to increase the literature and school funds respectively. 
Passed April 13. 1819. Sess. Laws, p. 291. Section 31 directs that the money received from 
quitrents shall be divided, and one-half appropriated to increase the literature fund, and 
one-half to increase the capital of the common school fund. Section 31 directs the money 



486 A List of Acts 

to be invested in canal stock. The Constitution, signed November 10, 1821, adopted Jan 
uary, 1822, and which took effect January 1, 1823, ordained {sec. 10, art. 7): "The proceeds 
of all lands belonging to this State, except such parts thereof as may be reserved to public 
use or ceded to the United States, which shall hereafter be sold or disposed of, together 
•with the fund denominated the common school fund, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, 
the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated and applied to the support of common 
schools throughouj, the State.'" 

An act concerning loan offices. Passed April 17, 1822. Sess. Laws, p. 265. Section 5 
directs the school fund moneys to be invested in any of the public stocks of the State, at or 
below their par value ; or, if they cannot be purchased at par, then in the next loan made by 
the commissioners of the canal fund. 

An act for the improvement of the school fund. Passed March 8, 1823. Sess. Laws, p. 47. 
Section 1 directs safe of the school fund lands. Section 2 directa that the moneys be invested 
in the public stocks of the State, or in canal stocks. 

An act tor vesting the capital of the school fund. Passed November 24, 1824. Sess. Laws, 
p. 357. Directs the moneys belonging to the fund to be invested in canal fund stock at six 
per cent. 

An act to assign the public lands in Otsego county, and the bonds on sales thereof hereto- 
fore made, to their respective funds. Passed November 24, 1824. Sess. Laws, p. 364. Divides 
the proceeds of the lands between the literature and school funds. 

An act to increase the common school fund. Passed November 24. 1824. Sess. Laws, p. 
386. $40,000, directed to be paid by the third section of the act entitled "An act to authorize 
and provide for the erection of a fever hospital in the city of New York," passed April 24, 
1823, transferred to the school fund. 

An act relative to the sales of lands belonging to the people of this State, and to prevent 
trespasses thereon. Passed April 14, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 209. Directs that within forty- 
eight hours the purchaser shall pay not less than one-eighth of the purchase-money, but that 
the conditions shall not exact more than one-half; or that some other collateral bccurity 
may be demanded. 

An act confirming the payment of certain moneys out of the treasury for the benefit of 
common schools, and for other purposes. Passed April 18, 1826. Sess. Laws, p. 355. Directs 
that moneys in the treasury belonging to the school fund may be invested in the stock of 
any loan for the benefit of the canal fund. 

The Kevised Statutes entitled of public instruction, title second, art. 2, of chap. 15, 
which took efi"ect January 1, 1828, contains directions for the distribution of the income of 
the school fund. Sec. 1, title 4, of chap. 9, part 1, R. S., enacts as a law the clause inserted 
in the Constitution relative to the common school fund. Sec. 2 directs the distribution. 
Subsequent sections direct the manner of the investment. Section 65, of chap. 9 (being sec. 
79 in Banks' 5th ed.), declares " the lauds belonging to the common school fund, all 
escheated lands, and all other lands belonging to the people of this State, which are not 
directed by law to be kept for or applied to any specific purpose, shall be deemed unappro- 
priated lands, within the meaning of this title." Does this section include "land under 
■water." within its terms, or were such lands kept for the purposes of commerce ? Or if 
this were so prior to 1850, did not chap. 283 of 1850, which permitted lands under water to 
be granted in perpetuity, or for beneficial enjoj'ment of the owner, bring such lands within 
section 65 aforesaid ? And would not land in New York city and elsewhere, on the shores 
of the ocean and lakes, and on the banks of rivers, reclaimed from the water, filled in, and 
then granted for a valuable consideration, be "unappropriatei land " and come within the 
terms of the Constitution and the Revised Statutes ? Chap. 9, titles 4 and 5, part 1, Revised 
Statutes (Banks' 5th ed.), contains all the statutory enactments relating to the sale of the 
school fund lands, and the investment of the proceeds, passed since 1827. 

By chapter 228, Laws of 1827, passed April 13, the balance of the loan of 1786, was trans- 
ferred to the common school fund. 

By the same law the sum of $150,000 of the money received, and to be received from the 
sale of lands belonging to the canal fund, was transferred to the literature fund, the income 
to be distributed to the academies of the State in proportion to the number of pupils taught 
for six months during the preceding year, in classical studies, or in the higher branches of 
an English education. 

By chapter 201, Laws of 1829, passed April 21, $65,000 was directed to be borrowed on a 
five per cent stock, and the Comptroller was directed to invest the money in the treasury 
belonging to the school fund in said stock, 

T. 

An act to authorize the school district No. 13, in the town of Taghkanick, in the county 
of Columbia, to reorganize under the free school act. passed April 12, 1851. Passed April 2, 
1855. Sess. Laws, p. 220. 

An act to incorporate the city of Troy. Passed April 12, 1816. Sess. Laws, p. 129. The 
fortieth and concluding sections relate to schools. The first four wards were erected into a 
permanent district, with power in the common council to raise by tax $500 annually to 
repair school-house and support a school, and also power to build a school-house, and raise 
by tax the necessary money. This law remained in force, substantially, until 1849. 



Relating to Schools. 487 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to prevent the sale of ticket? of unauthorized 
lotteries, and to prevent the forpery of lottery tickets." Passed March 21, 1828. Sees. Lawa, 
p. 100. Requiree the mayor of Troy to apply all the money received by him for granting 
licenses to the vendors of lottery tickets in Troy, to the trustees of district No. 1. to be by 
them expended in the establishment and support of a high school on the monitorial plan. 

An act concerning the first school district in the city of Troy. Passed April 12, 1842. 
Sess. Laws, p. 331. • 

An act concerning the first school district in the city of Troy. Passed March 1, 1843- 
Sess. Laws, p. 22. 

An act in relation to the first school district in the city of Troy. Passed April 5, 1848. 
Sess. Laws, p. 292. 

An act to amend the charter of the city of Troy, and to provide for the establishment of 
free schools in said city. Passed April 4, 1849. Sess. Laws, p. 299. This act made the city 
a school district and declared the schools free. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to amend the charter of the city of Troy, and to 
establish free schools therein," passed April 14, 1849. Passed May 11, 1865. Sess. Laws, 
p. 1409. 

An act in relation to free schools in the city of Troy, and school district No. 10, in the 
town of Lansingburgh. Passed April 10, 1850. Sess. Laws, p. "765. 

An act to amend the act entitled " An act to amend the charter of the city of Troy, and to 

Srovide for the establishment of free schools in said city," passed April 4, 1849. Passed 
[arch 17, 1851. Sess. Laws, p. 55. 

An act to amend an act in relation to free schools in the city of Troy, and school district 
No. 10, in the town of Lansingburgh, passed July 1, 1851 ; and to amend the act providing for 
free schools in the city of Troy, passed April 4," 1849. Passed March 28, 1854. Sess. Laws, 
p. 158. 

An act to enable the board of education of union free school district No. 1, of the town 
of Tonawanda, Erie county, to borrow money to build a school-house, and to issue the 
honds of the district therefor. Passed March 9, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 106. 

U. 

An act for granting certain privileges to the college heretofore called King's college, for 
altering the name and charter thereof, and erecting an university within this State. Passed 
the first day of May, 1784. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act for granting certain privileges to the college 
heretofore called King's college, for altering the name and charter thereof, and erect- 
ing an university within this State," passed the first day of May, 1784. Passed November 
26, 1784. 

An act to institute an university within this State, and for other purposes therein men- 
tioned. Passed 13th April, 17S7. The 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th sections of this act confirm 
the charter granted in 1754 to the governors of the college of the province of New York ; 
and ordered the style of it to be the trustees of Columbia college. The 8th section con- 
firms in the college all ''power, authority, rights, principles, franchises and immunities," 
which it possessed, and "all and singular the lands, tenements, hereditaments and real 
estate, goods, chattels, rents, annuities, moneys, books and other property " belonging to 
said college. It has been thought not advisable to include in this list the names of colleges 
and academies chartered bj' the Regents of the University, or by act of the Legislature. 
They may be found in the Convention Manual of 1867. Existing colleges and academies 
nearly all report annually to the Regents. 

An act to incorporate the village of Utica. Passed April 7, 1817. Sess. Laws, p. 211. 
Section 27 applied all the school moneys coming to said village under the school laws to 
the su:.,H)rt of a free school for the education of such poor children as were entitled to a 
gratuitous education. By section 28, all the school property of the twelfth district of 
Whitetown was vested in the trustees of the village of Utica for said free school. By 
section 29, the village was authorized to raise not exceeding SlOO a year for the support 
of such school. 

An act relative to common schools in the village of Utica. Passed April 16, 1831. Sess. 
Laws. p. 187. Gives the trustees of the villa<je power to establish schools at their pleasure, 
and distribute the public money as to them should seem most useful. 

An act in relation to common schools in the city of Utica. Passed April 7, 1842. Sess. 
Lawti, p. 163. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act in relation to common schools in the city of 
Utica, passed April 7, 1842." Passed April 8, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 120. 

An act in relation to common schools in the city of Utica. Passed February 2, 1846. 
Sess. Laws, p. 8. 

An act in relation to common schools in the city of Utica. Passed March 16, 1850. Sess. 
Laws. p. 74. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act in relation to common schools in the city of 
Utica," passed March 16, 1850. Passed April 13, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 395. 



488 A List of Acts 

An act to amena several acts in relation to the common schools in the city of Utica. 
Passed April 17, 1854. Sess. Laws, p. 723. 

An act to amend certain acts in relation to common schools in the city of Utica. Passed 
April 15, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 221. 

An act respecting the school district libi-ary m the city of Utica. Passed April 16, 1858. 
Sess. Laws, p. 425. 

An act in relation to the common schools of the city of Utica. Passed March 23, 1867. 
Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 185. 

An act to authorize the common council of the city of Utica to borrow money to erect 
Bchool-houses. Passed April 16, 18'67. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 934. 



An act confirming the proceedings under w^hich a union free school was formed by the 
consolidation of school districts No. 8 of town of Vernon, Oneida county, No. 22 of the town 
of Lenox, Madison county, and joint district No. 26 of said towns of Vernon and Lenox, 
and authorizing the ceding by the State of New York of a portion of the public square in 
the village of Oneida Castleton, together with the academy buildings thereon, to the board 
of education of said union free school for the sole use of said board of said school, and to 
refund taxes collected in said district No. 22 for the erection of a new school-house. Passed 
April 11, 1865. Sess. Laws, p. 700. 

An act to authorize the supervisors of the towns of Virgil. Lapeer and Harford, in the 
county of Cortland, to sell and convey certain lands, and invest the sums received therefor 
for the support of common schools. Passed April 17, 1860. Sess. Laws, p. 994. 

W. 

An act in relation to school district No. 5, in the town of Warsaw, in the county of 
Genesee. Passed May 25, 1836. Sess. Laws, p. 713. Authorized to sell school property,-and 
divide the proceeds equitably between the two districts formed by a division of No. 5. 

An act for the relief of consolidated school district No. 10, in the town of Warsaw, county 
of Wyoming. Passed June 17, 1853. 

An act for the relief of the commissioners of common schools, in the town of Washington, 
in the county of Dutchess. Passed February 28, 1822. Corrects apportionment of school 
moneys, owing to a mistake in the census. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 7, in the town of Washington, in the 
county of Dutchess, to fix upon and procure suitable lands as a site for a school-house, and 
necessary privileges for the same in said district. Passed April 7, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 188. 

An act in relation to the board of education of union free school district No. 1, of Water- 
ford, in the county of Saratoga. Passed April 10, 1857. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 698. 

An act to authorize school district No. 1, in the town of Waterloo, to raise a tax. Passed 
October 26, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 441. 

An act to provide for free schools in the village of Waterloo. Passed April 11, 1853. Sess. 
Laws, p. 279 

An act in relation to school district No. 1, in the town of Waterloo, in the county of Seneca- 
Passed April 10, 1855. Sess. Laws, p. 367. 

An act in relation to Waterloo union school, and school districts Nos. 1 and 15, in the town 
of Waterloo, county of Seneca. Passed February 16, 1859. Sess. Laws, p. 38. 

An act to confirm certain proceedings of the trustees of school district No. 3, of the village 
and town of Watertown. Passed April 8, 1842. Sess. Laws, p. 176. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 3, of Watertown, to borrow money 
to pay for a school-house. Passed February 7, 1856. Sess. Laws, p. 15. 

An act in relation to the public schools in the village of Watertown. Passed April 21, 
1865. Sess. Laws, p. 918. 

An act to amend " An act in relation to the public schools in the village of Watertown," 
passed April 21, 1865. Passed March 25, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 1, p. 233. 

An act authorizing the assessment and collection cf a certain sum of money in school dis- 
trict No. 2, in the town of Watervliet, county of Albany. Passed March 15, 1832. Sesa. 
Laws, p. 71. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 23, of the town of Watervliet, to 
issue bonds to pay school debt. Passed April 20, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 1575. 

An act to erect a union school district in the village of Watkins, and to create a board of 
education therein, with power of taxation and other powers, for school purposes. Passed 
April 3, 1863. Sess. Laws, p. 93. 

An act in relation to the Weedsport union school. Passed April 14, 1858. Sess. Laws, 
p 334. 

An act to enable the board of education of union free school district No. 1, Wellsville, New 
York, to settle a dispute in regard to the boundary lines of the school-house site. Passed 
April 3, 1866. Sess. Laws, p. 807. 



Relating to Schools, 489 

An act to authorize school district No. 2, of the town of Westcheeter, in the county of 
Westchester, to borrow money, and to issue bonds for the same. Passed April 18, 1866. 
Seas. Laws, p. 1413. 

An act to incorporate school district No. 1, of the town of West Farms, Westchester county. 
Passed March 31, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 151. 

An act to eetablish free schools in district No. 1, in the town of West Farms, Westchester 
county. Passed June 17, 1853. Sess. LaAvs, p. 751. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act to establish free schools in district No. 1, of the 
town of West Farms, Westchester county," passed June 17, 1853. Passed April 14, 1866, 
Sess. Laws, p. 1262. 

An act to authorize the board of education of the union school district No. 11, in the 
town of Whitehall, to borrow money to build a school-house in said district. Passed May 
23, 1867. Sess. Laws, vol. 2, p. 2384. 

An act in relation to common schools in the town of Williamsburgh. in the county of 
Kings. Passed April 23, 1844. Sess. Laws, p. 299. 

An act for the relief of John Hutchings. Passed May 8, 1845. Sess. Laws, p. 152. Author- 
izing the board of supervisors to raise on district No. 1, Williamsburgh, $3,000, to pay 
said Hatchings for building a school-house. 

An act for the relief of James D. Sparkman, William Leaycraft and Samuel Cox. Passed 
May 14, 1845. Authorizes a tax on district No. 3, Williamsburgh, to pay certain expenses. 

An act to authorize the trustees of school district No. 3, in the town of Williamsburgh, 
to borrow money for building a school-house. Passed November 10, 1847. Sess. Laws, p. 448. 

An act to amend an act entitled "An act in relation to the common schools of the city 
of Williamsburgh," passed April 14, 1851. Passed April 14, 1852. Sess. Laws, p. 413. 

An act in relation to the common schools of the city of Williamsburgh, Passed April 14, 
1851. Sess. Laws, p. 323. 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act to consolidate the cities of Brooklyn and Wil- 
liamsburgh and the town of Bushwick into one municipal government, and to incorporate 
the same," passed April 17, 1854. Passed April 6, 1857. Sess. Lav/s, vol. 1, p. 569. Section 
11 grants power to organize a normal school. 

An act to authorize the trustees of the school districts at the village of Williamsville, in 
the town of Amherst and county of Erie, to make separate rate bills for the higher and pri- 
marv departments of the schools kept in said districts. Passed April 30, 1846. " Sess. Laws, 
p. 132. 

An act to enlarge and fix the boundaries of union free school district No. 1, lying in the 
towns of Wolcott, Huron and Butler, in Wayne county. Passed April 16, 1866. Sess. Laws, 
p. 1311. 

An act to divide the county of Wyoming into two school commissioner districts, lind pro- 
vide for the appointment of a school commissioner. Passed March 6, 1858. Sess. Laws, 
p. 48. 

Y. 

An act to divide school district No. 2, of the town of Yonkers, into separate districts, and 
to constitute and define the pow^ers of the board of education in the new district. Passed 
April 17, 1861. Sess. Laws, p. 654. 

An act in relation to school district No. 6, in the town of Yonkers. Passed March 28, 
1862. Sess. Laws, p. 222. 

An act to enable the board of education of school district No. 6, in the town of Yonkers, 
to mortgage the school property, when authorized so to do by a vote of the district. 
Passed May 1, 1865. Sess. Laws, p, 1309. 

An act authorizing the trustees of school district No. 8, in the town of York, to sell the 
old school lot belonging to the said district. Passed November 11, 1828. Sess. Laws of 
1828 and 1829, p. 11 ; amended by act of April 11, 1829, p. 216. 

An act in relation to school district No. 8, in the town of York. Passed January 21, 1836. 
Sess. Laws, p. 7. Authorizes the sale of certain village lots, and the investment of the 
money received, or its expenditure in repairing and building school-houses. 



62 



SCHOOL COMMISSIONER DISTRICTS 



AND CITIES HAVING SPECIAL SCHOOL ACTS. 



ALBANY COUNTY. 

First Distkict. Towns of Bethlehem, Coeymans and New Scotland. 
Second Dis'^rict. Towns of Berne. Rensselaervijle and Westerlo. 
Third District. Towns of Knox, Guilderland and Watervliet. 
The city of Albany is organized under a special school act. 

ALLEGANY COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Allen, Almond, Angelica, Belfast, Birdsall, Burns, 

Caneadea, Centerville, Granger, Grove, Hume, New Hudson, Rushford and 

West Almond. 
Second District. Towns of Alfred, Alma, Amity, Andover, Bolivar, Clarksville, 

Cuba, Friendship, Genesee, Independence, Scio, Ward, Wellsville, Willing and 

Wirt. 

BROOME COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Chenango, Colesville, Conklin. Kirkwood, Port Crane, 

Sanford and Windsor. 
Second District. Towns of Barker, Binghamton, Lisle, Maine, Nanticoke, Triangle, 

Union, Vestal. 
The city of Binghamton is organized under a special school act. 

CATTARAUGUS COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Allegany, Ashford, Carrolton, Farmersville, Franklin- 

ville, Freedom, Hinsdale, Humphrey, Ischua, Lj'ndon, Machias, Olean, Portville, 

and Yorkshire. 
Second District. Towns of Coldspring, Conewango, Dayton, East Otto, Ellicottville, 

Great Valley, Leon, Little Valley, Mansfield, Napoli, New Albion, Otto, Perrys- 

burgh, Persia, Randolph, Salamanca and South Valley. 

CAYUGA COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Gate, Conquest, Ira, Mentz, Montezuma, Sterling, Throop 

and Victory. 
Second District. Towns of Aurelius, Brutus, Fleming, Ledyard, Niles, Owasco, 

Sennett and Springport. 
Third District. Towns of Genoa, Locke, Moravia, Scipio, Sempronius, Summer 

Hill and Venice. 
The city of Auburn is organized under a special school act. 

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Busti, Chautauqua, Clymer, Ellery, French Creek, Har- 
mony, Mina, Portland, Ripley, Sherman, Stocktun and Westfleld. 

Second District. Towns of Arkwright, Carroll, Charlotte, Cherry Creek, Dunkirk, 
Ellicott, Ellington, Gerry, Hanover, Kiautoue, Poland, Pomfret, Sheridan and 
Villenova. 

CHEMUNG COUNTY. 

Consists of a single district. 

The city of Elmira is organized under a special school act. 

CHENANGO COUNTY. 

FmsT District. Towns of Columbus, Linklaen, New Berlin,North Norwich, Nor- 
wich, Otselic, Pharsalia, Pitcher, Plymouth, Sherburne and Smyrna. 

Second District. Towns of Aflon, Bainbridge, Coventry, Greene, German, Guil 
ford, McDonough, Oxford, Preston and Smithville. 



Districts. 491 

CLINTON COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Ausable, Black Brook, Dannemora, Peru, Plattsburgh, 

Saranac and Schuyler Falls. 
Second District. 'I'owns of Altona, Beekmantown, Champlain, Chazy, Clinton, 
Ellenburgh and Mooers. 

COLUMBIA COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Ancram, Claverack, Clermont, Copake, Gallatin, German- 
town, Greenport. Livingston and Taghkanick. 

SkcoNd District. Towns of Austerlitz. (^anaan, Chatham, Ghent, Hillsdale, Kinder- 
hook, New Lebanon, Siockport and Stuyvesant. 

The city of Hudson is organized under a special school act. 

CORTLAND COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Cincinnatus, Cortlandville, Freetown, Harford, Lapeer, 

Marathon, Virgil and Willett. 
Second District. Towns of Cuyler, Homer, Preble, Scott, Solon, Taj^lor and Truxton. 

DELAWARE COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Colchester, Franklin, Hamden, Hancock, Masonville, 

Sidney, Tompkins and Walton. 
Second Dis"rict. Towns of Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Harpersfield, Kort- 
right, Meredith, Middletown, Roxbury and Stamford. 

DUTCHESS COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Amenia, Bcekman, Dover, East Fishkill, Fishkill, La 
Grange, Northeast, Pawling. Pine Plains. Stanford, Union Vale and Washington, 

Second District. Towns of Clinton, Hyde Park, Milan, Pleasant Valley, Pough- 
keepsie, Redhook and Rhinebeck. 

The city of Poughkeepsie is organized under a special school act. 

ERIE COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Alden, Amherst, Cheekwauga, Clarence, Grand Island, 
Lancaster, Newstead and Tonawanda. 

Second District. Towns of Aurora, East Hamburgh, Eden, Elma, Evans, Ham- 
burgh, Marilla, Wales and West Seneca. 

Third District. Towns of boston. Brant, Colden, Concord, Collins, Holland, North. 
Collins and Sardinia. 

The city of Buffalo is organized under a special school act. 

ESSEX COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Chesterfield, Elizabcthtown, Essex, Jay, Keene, Lewis, 
North Elba, St. Armand, Willsborough and Wilmington. 

Second District. Towns of Crown Point. Minerva, Moriah, Newcomb, Noi-th Hud- 
son, Schroou, Ticonderoga and Westport. 

FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Belmont, Brighton, Burke, Chateaugay, Duane, Franklin, 

Harrietstown and Malone. 
Second District. Towns of Bangor, Bombay, Brandon, Constable, Dickinson, Fort 

Covington, Moira and Westville. 

FULTON COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 
GENESEE COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

GREENE COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Athens, Cairo, Catskill, Halcott, Hunter, Jewett and 
Lexington. 

Second District. Towns of Ashland, Coxsackie, Durham, Greenville, New Balti- 
more, Prattsville and Windham. 

HAMILTON COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

HERKIMER COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Fairfield, Herkimer, Little Falls, Manheim, Newport, 
Norway, Ohio, Russia, Salisbury and Wilmurt. 

Second District. Towns of Columbia. Danube, Frankfort. German Flats, Litch- 
field, Schuyler, Stark, Warren and W infield. 

JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Adams, Brownville, EUisburgh, Henderson, Hounsfield, 

Lorraine. Rodman and Worth. 
Second District. Towns of Antwerp, Champion, Le Ray, Philadelphia, Rutland, 

Watertown and Wilna. 
Third District. Towns of Alexandria, Cape Vincent, Clayton, Lyme, Orleans, 

Pamelia and Theresa. 



492 DiSTEicTS. 

KINGS COUNTY— Consists of a single district, excluding Brooklyn. 
The city ol' Brooklyn is organized under a special school act. 

LEWIS COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Greig, High Market, Lewis, ' Leyden, Martinsburgh, 

Osceola, Turin and West Turin. 
Second District. Towns of Croghan, Denmark, Diana, Harrisburgh, Lowville, Mon- 
tague, New Bremen, Pinckney and Watson. 

LIVINGSTON COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Avon, Caledonia, Conesus, Geneseo, Groveland, Leicester, 

Lima. Livonia and York. 
Second District, Towns of Mount Morris, North Dansville. Nunda, Oasian, Portage, 

Sparta, Springwater and West Sparta. 

MADISON COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Brookfield, De Ruyter, Eaton, Georgetown, Hamilton, 

Lebanon, Madison and Nelson. 
Second District. Towns of Cazenovia, Fenner, Lenox, Smithfield, Stockb ridge 

and Sullivan. 

MONROE COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Brighton, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Mendon, Penflcld, 

Perrinton, Pittsford. Rush and Webster. 
Second District. Towns of Clarkson, Chili, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Ogden, Parma, 

Riga, Sweden and Wheatland. 
The city of Rochester is organized under a special school act. 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 

NEW YORK city is organized under a special school act. 

NIAGARA COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Cambria, Lockport, Pendleton, Royalton and Wheatfield. 
Second District. Towns of Hartland, Lewiston, Newfane, Niagara, Porter, Somer- 
set and Wilson. 
The city of Lockport is organized under a special school act. 

ONEIDA COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Deerfield, Floyd, Marcy, New Hartford and Whitestown. 
Second District. Towns of Augusta, Bridgewater, Kirkland, Marshall, Paris, San- 

gerfleld, Vernon and Westmoreland. 
Third District. Towns of Camden, Florence, Rome, Verona and Vienna. 
Fourth District. Towns of Annsville, Ava, Booneville, Lee, Remsen, Steuben, 

Trenton and Western. 
The city of Utica is organized imder a special school act. 

ONONDAGA COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Camillus, Clay, Elbridge, Lysander, Salina and Van 

Buren. 
Second District. Towns of Geddes, Marcellus, Onondaga, Otisco, Skaneateles, Spaf- 

ford and TuUy. 
Third District. Towns of Cicero, DeWitt, Fabius, Lafayette, Manlius and Pompey. 
The city of Syracuse is organized under a special school act. 

ONTARIO COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Farmington, Gorham, Hopewell, Manchester, Phelps 

and Seneca. 
Second District. Towns of Bristol, Canadice, Canandaigua, East Bloomfield, Naples, 
Richmond, South Bristol, Victor and West Bloomfield. 

ORANGE COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Blooming Grove, Cornwall, Monroe, Montgomery, New- 

bnrgh and New Windsor. 
Second District. Towns of Chester, Crawford. Deerpark, Goshen, Greenville. 

Hamptonburgh, Minisink, Mount Hope, Wallkill, Warwick and Wawayanda. 
The city of Newburgh is organized under a special school act. 

ORLEANS COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

OSWEGO COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Granby, Hannibal, New Haven, Oswego, Scriba and Volney. 
Second District. Towns of Amboy, Constantia, Hastings, Palermo, Parish, Schroep 

pel and West Monroe. 
Third District. Towns of Albion, Boylston, Mexico, Orwell, Redfield, Richland, . 

Sandy Creek and Williamstown. 
The city of Oswego is organized under a special school act. 



Districts. 493 

OTSEGO COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Cherry Valley, Decatur, Exeter, Maryland, Middlefield, 

Otsego, Plainfield, Richfield, Roseboom, Springfield, Westford and Worcester. 
Seconb District. Towns of Burlington, Butternuts, Edmeston, Hartivick, Laurens, 
Milford, Morris, New Lisbon, Oueonta, Otego, Pittsfield and Unadilla. 

PUTNAM COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

QUEENS COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Flushing, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay. 
Second District. Towns of Hempstead, Jamaica and Newtown. 

RENSSELAER COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Berlin, Grafton, Hoosick, Lansingburgh, Petersburgh, 

Piltstown and Schaghticoke. 
Second District. Towns of Brunswick, East Greenbush, Greenbush, Nassau, North 

Greenbush, Poestenkill, Sandlake, Schodack and Stephentown. 
The city of Troy is organized under a special school act. 

RICHMOND COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 

ROCKLAND COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 

ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of DeKalb, Depeyster, Fine. Fowler, Gouverneur, Hammond, 

Macomb, Morristown, Osw(!gatchie, Pitcairn and Rossie. 
Second District. Towns of Canton, Colton, Edwards, Hermon, Lisbon, Madrid, 

Norfolk, Pierrepont, Russell and Waddington. 
Third District. Towns of Brasher, Hopkinton, Lawrence, Louisville, Massena, 

Parishville, Potsdam and Stockholm. 

SARATOGA COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Ballston, Charlton, Clifton Park, Galway, Halfmoon, 

Malta, Milton, Stillwater and Waterford. 
Second District. Towns of Corinth, Day, Edinburgh, Greenfield, Hadley, Moreau, 
Northumberland, Providence, Saratoga, Saratoga Springs and Wilton. 

SCHENECTADY COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 

The city of Schenectady is organized under a special school act. 

SCHOHARIE COL^NTY. 

First District. Towns of Broome, Blenheim, Conesville, Esperance, Gilboa, Middle- 
burgh, Schoharie and Wright. 

Second District. Towns of Carlisle, Cobleskill, Fulton, Jefferson, RichmoudviUe, 
Seward, Sharon and Summit. 

SCHUYLER COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 

SENECA COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 

STEUBEN COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Avoca, Bath, Bradford, Cohocton, Prattsburgh, Pultcney, 

Urbaua. Wayne and Wheeler. 
Second District. Towns of Addison, Cameron, Campbell, Caton, Corning, Erwin, 

Hornby, Lindley, Rathbone, Thurston, Tuscarora and Woodhull. 
Third District. Towns of Canisteo, Dansville, Fremont, Greenwood, Hartsville, 

Hornellsville, Howard, Jasper, Troupsburgh, Wayiand ana West Union. 

SUFFOLK COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Easthampton, Riverhead, Southampton, Southold and 

Shelter Island. 
Second District. Towns of Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip and Smithtown. 

SULLIVAN COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

TIOGA COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

TOMPKINS COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

ULSTER COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Hurley, Kingston and Saugerties. 

Second District. Towns of Esopus, Gardiner, Lloyd, Marbletown, Marlborough, 

New Paltz, Plattekill, Roscndale and Shawanirunk. 
Third District. Towns of Denning, Hardenburgh, Olive, Rochester, Shandaken, 
Wawarsing and Woodstock. 



494 Districts. 

WARREN COUNTY — Consists of a single district. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Argyle, Cambridge, Easton, Fort Edward, Greenwich, 

Jackson, Salem and White Creek. 
Second District. Towns of Dresden, Fort Ann, Granville, Hampton, Hartford, 

Hebron, Kingsbury, Putnam and Whitehall. 

WAYNE COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Butler, Galen, Huron, Lyons, Rose, Savannah, Sodus 
and Wolcott. 

Second District. Towns of Arcadia, Macedon, Marion. Ontario, Palmyra, Wal- 
worth and Williamson. 

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, 

First District. Towns of Eastchester, Morrisania, Westchester, West Farms and 

Youkers. 
Second District. Towns of Greenburgh, Harrison, Mamaroneck, Mount Pleasant, 

New Rochelle, North Castle, Pelham, Pouudridge, Rye, Scarsdale and White 

Plains, 
Third District. Towns of Bedford, Cortlandt, Lewisboro, New Castle, North Salem, 

Ossining, Somers and Yorktown. 

WYOMING COUNTY. 

First District. Towns of Attica, Bennington, Covington, Middlebury, Orangeville, 

Perry, Sheldon and Warsaw. 
Second District. Towns of Arcade, Castile, Eagle. Genesee Falls. Gainesville. Java 

Pike and Wethersfield. 

TATES COUNTY— Consists of a single district. 



LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS 



EESPBCTINQ- 



COMMON SCHOOLS 



ALBANY. 

Chap. 240, Laws of 1830, p. 960; Chap. 9, Laws of 1831, p. 1 ; Chap. 128, Laws of 1844, p, 
115; Chap. 516, iaw* o/ 1855, p. 951 ; CAop. 404, Laws of 1852,/?. 676; CAop. 559, Laws 
of 1853, ^'^ 1037 ; Chap. 444, iaws 0/1866, p. 986, Fo^. 1, as amended by Chap. 11, § 1, Laws 
of 1867, p. 37. 

[CAop. 240, iai^s of 1830, ^age 260.] 

The eleventh section of this law has been repealed directly, and the rest of the law by 
implication, and as incompatible with subsequent laws, except the thii'd, fourth and fifth 
sections, which are still in force so far as they confer the power to divide the city east of 
Perry street into school districts, and to hire school-houses and school rooms ; although 
the other powers granted in these sections have been taken away or superseded. 

§ 3. The commissioners so elected shall form a board, with power, from time to time, to 
form the said city into school districts, not exceeding five in number east of Perry street. 
They shall also appoint three trustees for each district, to hold their offices for one year, and 
ehall fill any vacancy which shall happen. 

§ 4. The said commissioners, with the consent of the common council, may form another or 
other school districts in the said city of Albany. 

§ 5. The trustees of each district, or a majority of them, shall, within their respective dis- 
tricts, have power to hire a school-house or rooms, and furnish the same with necessary fuel 
and appurtenances, appoint a collector, hire a teacher or teachers, fix the rate of tuition 
fees, not exceeding two dollars a quarter for any scholar, and exempt from the payment of 
teachers' wages any indigent persons, within the district, they shall think proper. 

Section fifteen erected all that part of the city west of Perry street into one and a sepa- 
rate district, including the territory between said street and Schenectady. 

[Chap. 9, Laws of 1831, page 7.] 

This law declared that the said district west of Periy street should be known and distin- 
guished as district number six in the city of Albany. 

[Chap. 128, Laws of 1844, page 115.] 

The first, second and third sections of this act are repealed by the first, second, third and 
fourth sections of chapter 444, Laws of 1866, and the fourth and fifth sections are directly 
repealed. 

I 6. All school moneys whatsoever, belonging to said district schools, whether received 
from the State, raised hy tax, or collected on school rates, shall be deposited with the cham- 
berlain of said city, until drawn, from time to time, by duly certified orders of said board of 
commissioners ; and said order? shall set forth the object of each payment, and be signed 
by the officers of said board ; provided, always, that nothing in this act shall be so con- 
strued as to authorize said board to incur any obligation that shall increase the taxes of 
said city. 



496 Albany. 



[Chap. 516, Laws of 1855, page 951.] 

The third, fifth and sixth sections of this chapter are directly repealed by chapter 444, 
Laws of 1866, and the rest of the act is entirely superseded by said chapter 444. 

iChap. 404, Laws of 1852, p. 676.] 

Sectiok 1. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the countyof Albany to 
cause such sum of money, not exceeding five thousand dollars in any one year, to be 
added to the amount now required to be raised annually by tax in the city of Albany, under 
the provisions of the act entitled " An act to establish free schools throughout the State," 
passed Apriltwelfth, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, as said board of supervisors 
shall, from time to time, be requested so to do by a concurrent resolution adopted by the 
several boards of common council and school commissioners of said city, by a vote of two- 
thirds of all the members of said boards respectively. 

§ 2. The money raised, in any year, in pursuance of the preceding section of this act, 
shall be deposited with the chamberlain of the city of Albany, and shall form a part of the 
school moneys for the use of the district schools of said city. 

[C7Aap. 559, iaw5 0/ 1853, i?. 1037.] 

Section 1. The inhabitants of the city of Albany residing west of Perry street entitled to 
vote at general elections in said city are hereby authorized to elect, in the same manner 
that other city officers are required by law to be elected, once in every two years, a superin- 
tendent of common schools for the territory of said city lying west of Perry street, who 
shall be a resident of, and legal voter in, said territory, and shall hold his office for two years, 
and possess therein the same powers, perform the same duties, and be subject to the same 
restrictions, liabilities and penalties as are now conferred and imposed by law upon town 
superintendents of common schools in the towns for which they are elected, except as here- 
inafter provided, 

§ 2. The first election under this act shall be made at the next general election, to be held 
in said city on the first Tuesday of November next, and it shall be the duty of the inspectors 
of elections of the several wards in which said inhabitants are entitled to vote, to receive 
at said election, and at every subsequent election of such officer, the ballots which may be 
given for an officer, and deposit the same in a ballot box to be provided by the clerk of 
said city for that purpose ; and such ballots shall be canvassed, and the result ascertained 
in the same manner as for other officers to be elected at such elections. In case of a vacancy 
in said office, such vacancy shall be filled by the justices of peace of said city, by a warrant 
under their hands, and the person so appointed shall hold for the unexpired term. 

§ 3. The person so elected or appointed shall enter upon the duties of his office within ten 
days after such election or appointment, upon his executing a bond with one or more sure- 
ties to the supervisors of the ninth and tenth wards of said city, to be approved by them, 
with a penalty in double the amount of school moneys received by all the school districts 
within said territory during the preceding year, which bond shall be filed in the office of the 
clerk of the county of Albany, and in case of any default by which the condition of said 
bond shall be forfeited, the said supervisors shall sue thereon in their name of office, and 
the money recovered by them shall be paid to said commissioners, to be applied by them 
to the support of the schools within said territory. 

§ 4. It shall be the duty of the person so elected or appointed, at the same time, and in 
the same manner as is now required bylaw of town superintendents, to make and deliver to 
the clerk of said commissioners a report in writing containing the same information as is 
required by section nineteen of chapter four hundred and eighty of the Laws of eighteen hun- 
dred and forty-seven, and the said commissioners shall, as soon thereafter as they shall 
receive the same, pay over to the person so appointed the public moneys to which the dis- 
tricts upon said territory shall by law be entitled. 

§ 5. All the provisions of law now in force relating to the common schools of this State, 
shall apply to the districts now organized within said territory, or which may be hereafter 
organized by said superintendent of common schools, so far as they are consistent with 
the provisions of this act. 

[ Chap. 444, Laws of 1866, p. 986, wl. 1.] 

Section 1. John O. Cole, George W. Carpenter, Michael Delehanty, Charles P. Easton, 
Paul F. Cooper, John G. Treadwell, Charles Van Benthuysen, Stewart McKissick, James 
L. Babcock, Bradford R. Wood, Jacob S. Mosher, and William C. McHarg, shall constitute 
a body to be designated and known as "The board of public instruction of the city of 
Albany." The members of said board shall be classified in the manner and shall hold their 
office for the terms, respectively, as hereinafter provided. 

§ 2. The said members of the board of public instruction are hereby divided into three 
classes, of four members each, as follows : John O. Cole, George W. Carpenter, Michael 
Delehanty and Charles P. Easton shall compose the first class, and shall hold their office for 
the term of three years ; Paul F. Cooper, John G. Treadwell. Charles Van Benthuysen and 
Stewart McKissick shall compose the second class, and shall held their office for the term 
of two years, and James L. Babcock, Bradford R. Wood, Jacob S. Mosher and William C. 
McHarg shall compose the third class, and shall hold their office for the term of one year. 
The several terms of office of the members aforesaid shall commence on the first day of 



Albany. 497 

June, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, and they shall continue to hold their office 
until their successors shall be elected as hereinafter provided. 

§ 3. The members of the said board shall hold their first meeting on the first day of June, 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, at four o'clock in the afternoon of that day, or as 
soon thereafter as may be, for the purpose of organization. They shall thereupon appoint 
one of their number president, who shall exercise all the powers usually incident to such 
office ; they shall also appoint a suitable person, other than a member of their body, super- 
inteudeut of schools for the city of Albany, east of Perry street, who shall by virtue of his 
ofhce act as secretary of the board, and shall exercise all such powers, and shall discharge 
all such other duties as the board shall from time to time direct, and shall be allowed such 
compensation for his services as the said board may at any time determine, not, however, 
to exceed, in rate, the sum of two thousand dollars per annum. [As amended by chap. 11, 
§ 1. laws of 1867.] 

§ 4. Four members of said board shall be chosen by ballot at the annual election to be 
held in said city in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, for the election 
of charter and ward officers, and also at each and every succeeding annual election there- 
after, by the electors thereof, who shall be at the time of the election residents of that part 
of the city which lies east of the line of Perry street. The clerk of the common council of 
said city shall cause the necessary ballot boxes to be provided at the expense of the city, 
for the use of the inspectors of election of the several election districts of the city which 
lie wholly or partly east of said Perry street, in holding said election. All (qualified voters 
at such election for city officers, who shall at the time reside in the election district in which 
they shall severally offer to vote, and east of said Perry street, shall be entitled to vote for 
two persons for the office of member of the board of public instruction, each of whom shall 
be at the time an elector and resident of that part of the city for which the officers are to 
be chosen. The ballot shall contain, written or printed, the names of the persons voted for, 
not exceeding two in number, with a proper designation, and shall be so folded as to conceal 
its contents, and to be indorsed "public schools." The ballot, on being received by the 
inspectors, shall be deposited by them in the box provided for that purpose. The election 
iu all other respects shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the several 
existing laws relating to the election of civil officers by the people, so far as the same are 
applicable, and any person who may offer to vote at the election of the officers provided to 
be chosen by this act, may be challenged as to his qualifications as an elector as in other 
cases, and shall be subject to the like penalties for false swearing and improper voting as 
are now provided by the laws relating to elections, for like offenses. The several boards 
of inspectors of elections, after canvassing and estimating the number of votes received 
by them for each candidate for said office, shall certify the result to the common council of 
the city, who shall, at the time they take action upon the returns of the said inspectors 
of election relative to the other officers chosen at said election, determine the final result ; 
and the four persons who shall appear from the returns made by said inspectors to have 
received the greatest number of votes for the office, shall be declared by that body to be 
duly elected, aud shall each hold his office for the term of three years, from and after the 
first day of June next following the election, and until his successor shall be elected. If, 
however, upon the examination of said returns, it be found and determined by the common, 
council that no four of the persons voted for for the said office have received the greatest 
number of votes, by reason of two or more of the candidates receiving an equal number of 
votes, then it shall be deemed a failure to elect any one of them, and the incumbents, whose 
term of office would have expired on the first day of June next following, shall continue in 
office for one more year and until their successors shall be elected; and the electors who 
shall be entitled to vote at the next annual election for members of the board shall be 
allowed to vote for four persons, two of whom shall be designated in the ballot for the short 
term, and the four persons thus designated, who shall have received the greatest number of 
votes for the said office, shall be deemed elected in the place of the four members holding 
over, and shall hold their office for the remainder of the term and uutil their successors 
shall be elected. 

§ 5. Any member of said board of public instruction may be removed from office for cause, 
by the affirmative votes of at least eight members of their body, provided, always, that such 
member shall be served with a copy of the charges preferred against him and notice of trial, 
not less than twenty days previous to the day fixed for the hearing of the matter, by leaving 
such copy and notice at his residence in the city, or by sending trie same to his address by 
mril ; the accused member, on his appearing before the board for trial, shall have the usual 
privileges in t^imilar cases extended to him in his defense. 

§ 6. The said board shaU have power to fill all vacancies in the office of member of their 
body that may occur from any cause, by the appointment of any person eligible to said 
office ; such appointment shall be made by ballot, and shall require not less than eight votes 
for that purpose ; the person so appointed shall hold his office until a successor shall be 
chosen at the next annual election for charter and ward officers. At said election the 
electors who shall at the time reside within the limits prescribed in section four of this act 
shall be entitled to vote for a person to fill such vacancy, and shall place in the ballot which 
contains the names of the two persons voted for as members of the board then to be chosen, 
for the full term, and so designated ; the name of the person to be chosen for the short term 
shall also be properly designated, and the person receiving the greatest number of votes at 
said election for the short term shall be declared elected in the place of the person 
appointed, as aforesaid, to fill the vacancy. 

§ 7. On and after the first day of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
six, the said board of public instruction shall have the control and management of the 
several public schools in the said city of Albany, east of the line of Perry street, and shall 

63 



498 Albany. 

posgeps and exercise all the powers now conferred by law upon tlie present board of educa- 
tion of said city. The said board of public instruciion shall have power, and it shall be 
their duty, To fix and determine the different grades of study which shall be taught in the 
various departments of the several schools under their charge, and to change the same from 
time to time as they shall deem best to advance the interest of the schools ; and also to 
adopt such rules and regulations for the administration and j^overnment of the schools and 
for the admission of pupils to the various departments therein as they shall determine, with 
authority at any time to alter and amend the same. 

§ 8. The said board of instruction shall have power to examine all applicants for the 
appointment by them as teachers in any of the schools under their charge ; and no person 
shall be appointed and employed as a teacher in either of said schools (except in cases of 
emergency, when a teacher may be temporarily employed) unless the board shall, after such 
examination, consider him or her well qualified to discharge the duties of the office, and 
shall give to him or her a certificate to that effect, which certificate shall be signed on 
behalf of the board by the president and secretary thereof. 

§ 9. For the purpose of carrying out the pro\'ision of the last preceding section of this 
act, the board may appoint a committee from their body at any time, to examine applicants 
for appointment as teachers, and the result of such examination shall be reported by the 
committee to the board for final action, 

§ 10. The said board shall have power at all times to fix the term for which any teacher 
shall be appointed ; to determine the kind of class books which are to be used in the seve- 
ral schools ; the books thus adopted shall be uniform throughout all the schools as near a;? 
may be, and they may at any time adopt other books in the place thereof; to supply the 
requisite class books and stationery for the use of indigent pupils ; to provide the several 
schools under their charge with the necessary school apparatus, maps and music books, the 
expense thereof to be defrayed out of the school moneys of the city ; and generally to 
possess all the powers, to discharge all the duties and be subject to all the obligations here- 
tofore conferred and imposed upon the several school oflScers of the city by the several 
laws now in force, relative to the public schools of said city. 

§11. Seven members of said board shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for -the 
transaction of business, and a majority of the members present at any meeting shall be 
sufficient to carry any measure, or to decide any question before their body for their action, 
except as is otherwise provided in the fifth and sixth sections of this act, and in cases of 
appointment or dismissal of any teacher or officer of the board, when it shall require, in 
each case, the affirmative vote of at least seven members thereof. 

§ 12. The tuition of the pupils of the several schools under the charge of the board shall 
be free to all persons who are residents of said city and entitled to attend the same, 

§ 13, The chamberlain of the city of Albany shall continue, as heretofore, to hold and 
receive all the school moneys of the city which now are or may hereafter come into 
his hands, and shall pay out the same on the orders of the board having the schools in 
charge for the time being : and on the first day of June next he shall open an account 
in the books of his office with the said board of public instruction, and shall then transfer 
to said account all balances which may exist in the account kept by him, between the city 
of Albany and the present board of education, on the first day of June next aforesaid. All 
orders of the said board on the chamberlain for the payment of money, shall specify the 
object for which the payment is to be made, and shall be signed by the president and coun- 
tersigned by the secretary thereof. 

§ 14. All the office furniture, text books, stationery and school apparatus, as well as all 
other school property of the city which may be in the possession and under the control 
and management of the present board of education on the first day of June next, shall, on and 
after that day. be regarded as in the possession, control and management of the said board 
of public instruction. 

§ 15. * The said board of public instruction shall report to the common council of the city, 
anntially, and oftener if required by that body, the general condition of the schools under 
their charge, and shall also, on or before the first day of November in each year, certify to 
the said common council,, by a majority of their whole number, the amount of money which 
will be required for school. purposes the ensuing year, in addition to the public money, 
specifying the several purposes for which the same will be required and the amount for 
each ; and the board of supervisors of the county of Albany shall, upon the requisition of 
the common council of said city, levy and collect the said amount upon the taxable property 
of said city, in the same manner as other taxes are levied and collected therein. 

§ 16. No member of said board of public instruction shall receive any pecuniary compen- 
sation for his services as., such member ; nor shall any member thereof be directly or 
indirectly interested in any contract entered into by the board, nor shall he be paid for any 
work done, nor for materials or supplies of any kind furnished for the use of the schools or 
of the board ; and any member who shall violate cither of the provisions in this section 
contained, shall forfeit a penal sum equal to three times the amount received by such mem- 
ber, to be recovered with costs of suit, to be brought in the name of the chamberlain of the 
city of Albany, whose duty it shall be to prosecute the action for its recovery without delay, 
in any court having jurisdiction in the premises-, and the amount recovered by him in such 
suit, after paying the necessary expenses of the prosecution and collection thereof, shall be 
for the benefit of the public schools of said city, and the same shall be credited by him to 
the said board of public instruction in their account with the city on the books of his office, 

§ 17. If any person, being at the time a member of the said board of public instruction, 
shall accept the office, of either mayor, recorder or alderman of said city, his office as such 



''This section substantiallj rppeals section 7, of chapter 516, Laws of 1855. 



Auburn. 499 

mem'ber shall thereupon become vacant ; the vacancy thus created shall be filled by appoint- 
ment and election, in the manner provided in the sixth section of this act. 

§ 18. The fourth and fifth sections of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight, of the Laws 
of eighteen hundred and forty-four, and the second, third, fifth and sixth sections of chap- 
ter five hundred and sixteen, of the Laws of eighteen hundred and fifty-five, together with 
all other acts and parts of acts relating to the district or public schools of the city of Albany, 
inconsistent with this act, are hereby repealed, except the act entitled "An act in relation 
to common schools in the city of Albany, west of Perry street," passed July eighteenth, 
eighteen hundred and fifty-three, which act is hereby continued in its original force and 
effect. 

§ 19. Nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to prohibit the board from 
causing vocal music to be taught in the schools, under the charge of one or more competent 
instructors to be appointed by the board for that purpose. 



AUBUEN. 

[Lmvs of 1850, chap. 349, cw subsequently amended.] 

Section 1. Title eight of an act to incorporate the city of Auburn, passed March 21, 1848, 
is hereby repealed. 

§ 2. The oflices of the several trustees, clerks, collectors and librarians of school districts 
in the city of Auburn shall cease on the third Tuesday in April, one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty, 'in like manner as if the same had expired by lapse of time. The inhabitants of 
said city, qualified to vote at school district meetings, shall assemble in their respective 
school districts on the day last mentioned, at the school-house in such district, and choose 
one trustee and a clerk of the district, who shall hold their respective offices until the next 
annual district meeting in the district for which they shall be respectively chosen, and until 
their successors shall have been severally chosen. Such annual distric-t meeting shall 
hereafter be holden in the several districts in said city, on the second Monday in March, in 
each year; and from and after the passage of this act only one trustee shall be chosen annu- 
ally in any school district in said city. 

§ 3. The trustee elected in any district in said city shall have the power, and it shall be 
his duty, to call special meetings of the inhabitants of such districts, liable to pay taxes, 
whenever he shall deem it necessary or proper; to give notice of special, annual, and 
adjourned meetings, in the manner prescribed in this act, if there be no clerk of the district, 
or he be absent or incapable of acting, or shall refuse or neglect to give such notice ; to visit 
the schools kept in the district as often as once in each quai'ter, and to report the condition 
of the same, with such suggestions for the improvement thereof as he may deem proper, to 
the board of education hereinafter named, and to perform such other duties as may be from 
time to time imposed upon him by the said board of education. 

§ 4. It shall be sufficient notice of an annual, special, adjourned or first district meeting to 
affix such notice on the outer door of the district school-house, if there be any. and to post 
a copy of the same in three other public places in such district ; the affixing and posting of 
such notice to be done at least ten days before such meeting, and no other notice of such 
meeting need be given. 

§ 5. It shall be the duty of the clerk of each school district to record the proceedings of 
his district in a book to be provided for that purpose by the said board of education ; to give 
notice, in the manner provided in the last preceding section, of the time and place of every 
annual district meeting or special district meetings, when ordered by the trustees of the 
district, and of any adjourned district meeting, when the same shall be adjourned for a 
longer period than one month ; to keep and preserve all records, books and papers belonging 
to his office, and to deliver the same to his successor in office. 

§ 6. Any vacancy in the office of district clerk may be supplied by the trustee of the 
district in which sitch vacancy shall happen ; but the person appointed to supply such 
vacancy shall hold the office only for the unexpired term. 

§ T. [Repealed by chapter 176, Laws of :J866.] 

§8. The common council of said city shall, at the last regular meeting thereof next pre- 
ceding the third Tuesday of April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, appoint one 
Bchool commissioner in each of the wards of said city, who shall be residents of the wards 
for which they are respectively appointed ; immediately upon the appointment of such 
school commissioners, .the city clerk shall, in the presence of the common council, divide-' 
them by lot into four classes, to be numbered one, two, three, four. The term of office of 
the first class shall expire on the first Monday succeeding the first Tuesday in April, 1851 ;• 
the second class in one year thereafter ; the third in two years, and the fourth in three 
years, and one commissioner only shall thereafter be annually appointed, who shall bet 
appointed at the annual meeting of the common council, held on Monday next succeeding 
the annual election, and who shall be a resident of the same ward with the school commis- 
sioner whose term of office shall then expire, who shall, hold his office for four years, and 
until a successor shall be duly appointed. In case of a vacancy in the office of either of 
the commissioners, the common council shall appoint a successor, who shall be a resident 
of the ward in which such vacancy shall occur, for the unexpired term. 

§ 9. The trustees of the several school districts so elected, and the school commissioners 
so appointed, together with the mayor of said city, shall constitute and are hereby denomi-f 
nated the board of education for the city of Auburn. They shall meet on the first Tuesday 
of each and every month, and as much oftener as they shall from time to time appoint. A 



500 Auburn. 

majority of the said board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of husiness. The 
mayor shall be president of such board, and shall have power to call special meetings thereof 
in the manner provided by law for calling special meetings of the common council. In the 
absence of the mayor, the said board shall appoint some other member to preside at such 
meetings and perform the duties of the president. The said board shall appoint a secretary, 
■who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board, and whose compensation shall be 
fixed by the board and paid out of the moneys in this act specified as the common school 
fund; the said secretary shall be the clerk' of the board of education, and shall keep a 
record of the proceedings of the board and perform such other duties as the board may 
prescribe. [As amended by chapter 17G, Laws of 1866.] 

§ 10. [Repealed by chapter 176. Laws of 1866.] 

§ 11. The said board of education shall possess all the powers conferred by law upon town 
superintendents of common schools, as to the formation and alteration of school districts 
within said city, except that in arranging such districts no territory without the limits of 
said city shall be included, nor shall any territory within said city belong to or be taxed in 
any school district of any adjoining town ; and shall possess all the powers and be subject 
to all the duties and responsibilities of trustees of common schools in towns, as to the 
several common or district schools within said city, so far as the same are applicable, except 
as otherwise in this act provided ; and shall have the custody of all the property, real and 
personal, belonging to or owned by the several school districts, and shall pay the compen- 
sation of the teachers of the said schools, and all other necessary and contingent expenses 
incurred in the support thereof; and shall appoint librarians to take charge of the several 
district libraries, who shall be subject to the control and hold their offices during the pleasure 
of such board; and shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to pass such by-laws 
and ordinances for the regulation, government, control and management of the common 
schools in said city, and of the teachers and pupils of such schools, and of the officers of 
the several school districts in said city, and for the safe keeping, disposition and manage- 
ment of the libraries, maps and apparatus appertaining to such schools, and to regulate the 
text books used in such schools, as they shall deem expedient ; and said board may prescribe 
a penalty for a violation of any ordinance or by-law, authorized by this act, not exceeding 
ten dollars, and any such penalty may be sued for and recovered, with costs, in the name 
of the mayor and common council of the city of Auburn; and the said board may subject 
the parent or guardian of any minor, and the master or mistress of any apprentice or ser- 
vant, to any such penalty for a violation of any such ordinance or by-law'by any such minor, 
apprentice or servant. 

The said board shall have the power to establish, organize and maintain a classical depart- 
ment, or school, under their charge, in the city of Auburn, and purchase a site and erect 
a building therefor in their discretion, and said classical department, or school, shall be 
known as " The Auburn academic high school ;" and the said board of education of the city 
of Auburn, and their successors in ofhce. are hereby constituted a body corporate for that 
purpose under that name, and which department or school shall be subject to the visitation 
of the Eegents of the University of this State, and to all laws and regulations applicable to 
the incorporated academies thereof, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of such acade- 
mics, and to share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund of this State as 
the academies thereof. The said board shall have the power, with the consent of two- 
thirds of the trustees of the Auburn academy, to use and occupy the said Auburn academy 
property for the purposes of said academic high school ; and with the consent of two-thirds 
of the trustees of said academy, they may take a transfer of said property known as the 
Auburn academy property to the said Auburn academic high school ; and thereafter the 
same shall be used and occupied as an academic high school, pursuant to the provisions of 
this act. And tuition in the said academic high school shall be forever without charge to 
all children residing in the city of Auburn. The said board shall have the power to con- 
solidate the several district libraries in said city into one library, and locate the same in 
some room, or rooms, of one of the school-houses of the city, or, in their discretion, they 
may build an addition to one of the school-houses, or the academic high school, for the 
purpose of said library, or they may lease a room or building for the same pui-pose. \_As 
amended by chapter 176. Laws of 1866.] 

§ 12. All penalties collected by virtue of this act shall be paid to the city treasurer, and 
by him deposited to the credit of the common school fund. 

§ 13. The clerk of the board of education shall keep a record of all by-laws and ordinances 
which shall be passed by said board, and the same shall be published and take effect, and be 
proven and read in evidence, in like manner as ordmances passed by the common council 
of the city of Auburn ; a record or entry made by the said clerk at the time of the first pub- 
lication of anv ordinance, or a copy thereof duly certified by him, or the affidavit of the 
printer or publisher, shall be presumptive evidence of the publication thereof, in all courts 
and places. 

§ 14. Whenever the board of education shall, by resolution, determine to build a school- 
house, it shall be the duty of the said board of education to fix the site of the said 
school-house, and determine the sum necessary to be raised for the purchase of such site 
and the building of said school-house, and report the same to the common council, which 
sum shall in no case exceed the sum of eight thousand dollars. [As amended by chapter 
176, Laws of 1866.] 

§ 1.5. It shall be the duty of the common council to levy and raise upon the city the sum 
60 reported, pursuant to the last section, in the same manner and at the same time as the 

feneral taxes of the city are levied or raised, and when the same shall be collected it shall 
e paid to the citv treasurer and deposited to the credit of the board of education ; and no 
part thereof shall be appropriated by said board otherwise than for the purchase and 



AuBUBisr. 601 

improvement of such site and the erection of such school-house, with the appurtenances. 
[As amended by chapter 176, Laws of 18(;(i.] 

§ 16. The said board of education shall annually, on or before the first day of Aug:u8t, fix 
and determine, and certify and report to the common council, the amount of money which, 
when added to the money annually apportioned to the city of Auburn, or to the several 
school districts comprised therein out of the funds belonging to the State, shall be neces- 
sary to defray the expenses of all the common or district schools and the academic high school 
in said city, for the ensuing year, for fuel, furniture, school apparatus, repairs and insurance 
of school-house, teachers' wages and contingent expenses, and also to defray the expenses 
of a school for colored children, as hereinafter provided, and to pay the compensation of the 
secretary of the board of education and the contingent expenses of such board. The 
amount so certified shall in no case exceed six times the amount which shall have been 
apportioned out of the funds belonging to the state, as aforesaid, for the year next preced- 
ing. [As amended by chaptei^ 176. Laws o/" 1866.] 

§ 17. The common council of the said city shall annually levy and raise the amount of 
money so certified and reported by the board of education, and the said amount so to be 
raised shall be levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as the other 
general taxes of the said city are levied and raised, and in addition thereto ; but the war- 
rant issued to the collector for the collection of such taxes shall specify what amount of 
such taxes shall be paid to the treasurer for general city purposes, and what part as a fund 
for the support of schools. 

§ 18. All moneys levied and raised for the support of common schools, together with the 
public money received from the State, shall be paid to the treasurer of the city of Auburn, 
and shall by him be kept separate and distinct from the other moneys of said city, and 
shall be known and distinguished as the common school fund, and shall be paid out by the 
treasurer only upon an order drawn upon him, and signed by the president and counter- 
signed by the clerk of said board of education ; and no such order shall be drawn except 
by virtue of a resolution of the board. Such order shall specify for what purpose the 
amount specified therein is to be paid ; and the clerk of such board shall keep an accurate 
account, under the appropriate heads of expenditure, of all orders drawn on the treasury, 
in a check book, to be kept by him for that purpose. 

§ 19. The board of supervisors of Cayuga county shall not have power to levy any tax 
upon the city of Auburn for the support or on account of common schools. 

§ 20. The said board of education shall exclusively audit all accounts and claims against 
any school district, or which have accrued on account of any district school in said city ; 
and the paj^ment of the same, or of such parts thereof as shall be allowed by the ?aid board, 
shall be made directly to such claimants by the city treasurer out of the moneys belonging 
to the common school fund, upon the order of said board, as hereinbefore provided ; but the 
aggregate of the expenditures and contracts of the said board, during any year, shall not 
exceed the amount of moneys which shall be subject t© their order during the then cur- 
rent year. 

§ 21. [Repealed by chapter 176, Laws of 1866.] 

§ 22. The said board of education shall have power to establish and cause to be kept in 
said city a school for the instruction of colored children, as they shall deem expedient, and 
the said board shall have and exercise all the powers, in relation to such school, of trustees 
of school districts in towns, as far as applicable. 

§ 23. Whenever the said board of education shall determine to establish a school for the 
instruction of colored children, they shall make an estimate of the expense of erecting a 
suitable school-house therefor, and determine the site thereof, and report such proceedings 
to the common council. 

§ 24. The common council shall have power to raise by general tax in the manner herein- 
before provided, and on a separate warrant, or in addition to the general city tax, such sum 
as shall be necessary to purchase such site and build such school-house, not exceeding three 
thousand dollars ; or the said common council may refuse to raise such tax In case the 
common council shall refase to raise such tax, the said board of education shall have power 
to provide and lease a suitable room or building for the accommodation of such school, but 
the annual expenditure for this purpose shall not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars, 
the same to be paid from the common school fund. [As amended by chapter 176, Laws of 1866.] 

§ 25. All teachers of common schools in said city shall be employed by the trustees of the 
district for which such teacher or teachers shall be employed in conjunction with such 
other member of the board, or other person, as the board may designate, and all teachers in 
the academic high school shall be employed by the board of education ; but no appointment 
or employment of any such teacher shall be valid beyond the first regular meeting of the 
board of education thereafter, unless such appointment shall be approved by such board ; 
and all contracts made with teachers by said trustee and such other member of the board or 
other person shall be subject to the provisions of this act ; and such contract shall cease to 
be binding on the rejection of such teacher by the board of education. [As amended by 
chapter 176, Laws of 1866.] 

^ 26. The said board of education may remove any teacher for cause, to be specified in the 
minutes of the proceedings of the said board ; and in case of any such removal, any con- 
tract with any such teacher shall cease, and another teacher shall be employed in the 
manner provided in the last preceding section. 

§ 27. To the first annual estimate of school expenses, presented by the board of education 
to the common council, the said board shall add the present indebtedness of every school 
district within said city for any of the causes specified in section (16) sixteen of this act, or 
which may necessarily accrue therefor previous to the time of presentation of such first 
estimate ; and such additional amount shall be raised in like manner as the other moneys 



502 BlNGHAMTON. 

stated in said estimate, and shall be paid into and compose a part of tlie common school 
fund, and the said board shall assume and pay such indebtedness out of the moneys so 
received. 

§ 28. The said board of education shall annually publish, in some newspaper in said city, 
a statement of the number of common schools in said city and the number of pupils 
instructed therein, the total amount of moneys received for school purposes, -with the 
sources thereof, and the expenditures on account of each school, specifying as near as may 
be the items of such expenditures. 

§ 29. An appeal may be taken to the State Superintendent of Common Schools from any 
proceeding of the said board of education in the formation or alteration of any school district, 
in the same manner and for the same causes as appeals may be taken from the proceedings 
of town superintendents of common schools. 

§ 30. All titles to real estate to be used for school puri)oses, with the exception of a site 
for a school-house for colored children, shall be taken in the name of the trustee of the 
district in which such real estate shall be situated, in his oflicial name ; and any real estate 
now or hereafter owned by any school district may be sold by the trustees of such district, 
upon a vote of the inhabitants of said district, and" with the approval of the said board of edu- 
cation ; and the avails of such real estate shall be paid to the city treasurer, and be by him 
placed to the credit of the board of education, and by said board appropriated exclusively 
to the benefit of such district. 

§ 31. The treasurer and collector of the city of Auburn shall respectively, with their 
sureties, be liable on their official bonds for any default, delinquency, neglect or misconduct 
in the duties with which they may be respectively charged, under and by virtue of this act, 
in the same manner and with the like effect as for any other official default, delinquency, 
neglect or misconduct. 

§ 32. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. 

I 33. The said board of education shall have power to allow the children of persons not 
resident within the city, to attend any of the schools of said city under the care and control 
of said board, upon such terms as said board shall by resolution prescribe, fixing the tuition 
which shall be paid therefor. [Added by chapter 176, Laws of 1866.] 

§ 34. (§ 6 of 1S66.) The office of city superintendent of common schools is hereby abol- 
ished. IChapter 176, Laws of 1866.] 

CAYUGA ASTLtm. 

Section 12, chapter 207, Laws of 1852, page 279, being "An act to incorporate the Cayuga 
Asylum for destitute children,'' in the city of Auburn, provides as follows : 

§ 12. The said society shall be annually entitled to such distributive share of the school 
moneys raised in this State, and also in the city of Auburn, in the same manner and to the 
same extent as is now or shall be provided in respect to the common schools of said city ; 
and the school of said society shall for all purposes be considered a separate and additional 
district school in said city, and shall be subject to the general supervision of the board of 
education of said city, though remaining and being at all times under the immediate direc- 
tion and management of the said society. 



BINGHAMTON. 

Clmp. 322, Laws of 1861, p. 752, as amended by chap. 361, Laxcs of 1864, p. 843 ; by chap. 580 
Laws of 1866, p. 1250, vol. 2, and by chap. 291, title 11, Laws of 1867, p. 588, vol. 1. 

iChap. 291, Laws of 1867, p. 588.] 

TITLE XI.— BOAKD OF EDUCATION. 

§ 1. The act entitled "An act in relation to schools in the village of Binghamton," passed 
April nineteenth, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and the several acts amenda- 
tory thereof, are hereby amended by striking out the word "village" wherever the same 
appears in said acts and in the titles thereof, and inserting the word " city" in place thereof ; 
and also by striking out the words " trustees and board of trustees " of the vUla^e, where- 
ever the same appears in said acts, and inserting the words "common council; ' and also 
by striking out the word "president" in the sixth section of said act. and inserting the 
word " mayor : " and also by striking out the words " board of trustees " and " or any col- 
lector.-"' in'section nineteen of said act. and also by striking out the word "collector," in 
sections thirteen and twenty-two of said act, and inserting the words " tax receiver; " and 
also by altering section two of said act so that each ward shall be a commissioner district, 
and that the numbers of such districts shall correspond with the ntimbers of the wards. 
Said acts as so amended shall constitute the eleventh title of this act, and all the provisions 
thereof shall apply to and be in force in said city as the same has heretpfore applied to and 
been in force in the village of Binghamton, and the school commissioners elected under 
said act and the acts amendatorv thereof shall be school commissioners for said city, and 
all the duties devolved bv said act and the acts amendator\- thereof upon the officers of the 
villa^^e of Binghamton shall be performed by the corresponding officers of the city of 
Binghamton. 

§ 1. The several wards in the city of Binghamton shall, for the purposes heremafter men- 
tioned, form one school district, to be called the union school district of the said city of 
Binghamton. 



BiNGHAMTON. 503 

§ 2. The said union school district shall be divided into five suhdivisions, to be called 
commissioner districts, each commissioner district to remain and continue separate and 
distinct for the purposes and to the extent in this act specified. The said commissioner 
districts shall be numbered as follows : The first ward of said city shall be known as com- 
missioner district number one ; the second and third wards of said city shall also be known 
as commissioner district number two ; the fourth ward of said city shall also be known as 
commissioner district number three ; the fifth ward of said city shall be known as com- 
missioner district number four, and the sixth ward of said city shall be known as commis- 
sioner district number five. Said districts shall not be subject to alteration 'except by the 
Legislature, or by a resolution of the board of education hereinafter created. 

§ 3. Daniel S. Dickinson, residing in commissioner district number one ; Horace S. Gris- 
wold, residing in commissioner district number two ; Hallam E. Pratt, residing in commis- 
sioner district number three ; Joel S. Fuller, residing in commissioner district number 
four ; and William S. Beard, residing in commissioner district number five, are hereby 
appointed commissioners in behalf of such districts respectively. The common council of 
the city of Biughamton shall, within fifteen days after the passage of this act, appoint four 

Eersons to act as school commissioners in behalf of said union school district, who shall 
e residents thereof; and the said persons above named, and the persons appointed by the 
common council of the said city as commissioners, and their successors to be chosen as 
hereinafter provided, are hereby constituted a corporate body in relation to all the powers 
and duties conferred and imposed by law, to be styled '" the board of education of the city 
of Binghamton,".and are hereby invested with all the powers and charged with all the 
duties conferred upon them by this act. A majority of the commissioners shall constitute 
a quorum. 

[Sections 4, 5 and 6, of cJiap. 322, Laws of 1861, repealed by section 1, of c?iap. 361, Laws of 

1864, ixM3.] 

§ 2. The terms of office of all the commissioners appointed by the common council of said 
city, under and by virtue of said act, shall expire on the first day of October next ; and on 
the third Tuesday of September next there shall be elected, in the same manner that trustees 
of school districts are now elected by each commissioner district now named in said act, 
one commissioner, who shall be a resident of the district from which he is elected, and the 
commissioners so elected shall enter upon the duties of their said offices on the first day 
of October next, and their terms of office shall continue until the first day of October, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-six. The commissioners who have been elected in the said 
district shall hold their offices until the first day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-five ; 
and on the third Tuesday of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, their successors 
shall be elected by said districts respectively as trustees of school districts are now elected ; 
and on the third Tuesday of September in each year thereafter there shall be elected by 
each of said districts, in manner aforesaid, one commissioner, who shall be a resident of 
the district from which he is elected, and such commissioners shall enter upon their terms 
of office on the first day of October succeeding their election, and shall continue therein for 
the term of two years, and until their successors shall have been, elected and qualified. 
[As amended by section 2, chapter 361, Laws of 1863, p. 843] 

§ 3. The commissioners elected by virtue of rhis act shall, before entering upon the duties 
of their offices, take and file with the clerk of said city the oath of office prescribed by 
the Constitution of this State, and they shall be members of the board of education of said 
city. All vacancies in the said board of education which may occur from any other 
cause than the expiration of their term of office shall be filled by said board, and the 
commissioners so appointed shall hold their offices for the unexpired terms of those whose 
places they are appointed to fill. \_As amended by section 3, chapter 361, Laivs of 1864, p. 843] 

§ 7. Any member of the boa.rd of education may, for neglect of duty, or either immoral 
or official misconduct, be removed from office by the common council of the city, by a vote 
of two-thirds present at any regularly called meeting thereof; but, before final action 
thereon, a written copy of the charges preferred against said member shall be served upon 
him, and he shall be allowed an opportunity to explain or refute them. 

§ 8. At the first meeting of the board of education, and at each annual meeting thereafter, 
they shall elect one of their number president of the board, and whenever he shall be absent 
or unable to act they shall appoint a president pro tempore. At their first meeting the 
board shall fix the time for their next annual meeting, and unless changed by a resolution 
of the board, the time thus fixed shall be the time for future annual meetings. The board 
of education shall receive no compensation for their services. 

§ 9. The board of education shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once 
in each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by 
the president, or, in his absence or inability to act, by any member of the board, as often as 
necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or causing a written or 
printed notice to be left at his place of residence, with some person cf suitable age and 
discretion, at least forty-eight hours before the hour for such special meeting. 

§ 10. The board of education shall appoint a secretary and librarian, who shall hold their 
offices during the pleasure of the board, and whose compensation shall be fixed by the paid 
board ; and the same person may hold the office of secretary and librarian. The secretary 
ehall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, and perform such other duties as the 
board may prescribe. The librarian shall have charge of the library or libraries of the 
district, and may appoint such assistants as may be necessary, from time to time, and such 
assistants may be removed at any time by the board of education. 



604 BiNGHAMTON. 

§ 11, The record of the board of education, or a transcript thereof, certified by the secre- 
tary, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the facts therein set forth ; 
and such record, the books, accounts, vouchers, and papers of the said board, shall at all 
times be subject to the inspection of the common council of the city, or of any committee 
thereof. 

§ 12. The common council of the city of Binghamton shall have power, and it shall be 
their duty, to raise from time to lime, by tax to be levied upon all the real and personal 
estate in said union school district which shall be liable to taxation for town and county 
charges, such sums as may be determined upon, and certified by the board of education to 
be necessary and proper, for any or all the following purposes, for the current year: 

1. To purchase, lease, or improve sites for school-houses. 

2. To build, purchase, lease, alter, and repair school-houses, out-houses, and appurte- 
nances thereunto belonging, 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus ; but the power herein 
granted shall not be deemed to authorize the fiirnishing with class or text-books any scholar 
whose parents or guardians shall be able to furnish the same. 

4. To procure fuel and defray the necessary expenses of keeping the school-houses in 
order, exclusive of repairs, including insurance. 

5. To defray the contingent expenses of the common schools, and the district library or 
libraries, including salary of librarian and superintendent. 

6. To defray the contingent expenses of the board of education, including the salary of 
the secretary thereof. 

7. To pay teachers' wages, after the application of the public money appropriated by law 
for that purpose. 

8. To pay charges or expenses incurred by law, or necessary to carry this act into efi"ect, 
or to refund loans contracted by law, and to pay the interest thereon, or to pay such sums 
as shaU be required to fulfill any contract duly made under the provisions of this act. 

§ 13. The tax to be levied as aforesaid and collected by virtue of this act shall be levied 
and collected in the same manner and at the same time and by the same officers that other 
city taxes are, and the powers, duties and liabilities of the tax receiver and his sureties 
shall be the same in reference to the collection of this tax as for other city taxes, and' his 
jurisdiction shall extend under this act to all the territory embraced in said union school 
district. 

§ 14. The amount raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses shall not be less 
than two nor more than six times the amount appropriated to said union district or the 
several districts composing the same, from all the common school fands of the State during 
the previous year; nor shall the amount to be raised in any one year for the purchase of 
sites, erecting and repairing school-houses and the appurtenances, exceed two thousand 
dollars, except as herein otherwise provided for. \_As amended by chapter 5SQ,.Laws of 
1866.] 

§ 15. All moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys by 
law appropriated to or provided for said union school district, shall be paid to the treasurer 
of said city, who, together with the sureties upon his official bond, shall be accountable 
therefor, in the same manner as for other funds of said city, and the board of trustees, in 
fixing the amount of the treasurer's sureties, shall include the moneys received by virtue 
of this act. The said treasurer shall be liable to the same penalties for official misconduct 
in relation to said money as for any similar misconduct in relation to other moneys of 
eaid city. 

§ 16. All moneys raised by virtue of this act, or received from any other source, for the 
use of common, academic or high schools, in buildings therefor, shall be deposited with the 
treasurer for the safe-keeping thereof, to the credit of the "board of education," until 
drawn as hereinafter provided for, and the said treasurer shall keep the account of the funds 
thus deposited with him separate and distinct from any other funds which he is or may be 
authorized to receive. 

§ 17. The said treasurer of the city of Binghamton shall, ai the proper time in each year, 
draw upon the county treasurer or other proper officer for aU moneys appropriated to said 
union district from the common school, literature, or other funds of this State ; and he is 
hereby authorized to receive the same for the said union district, as provided for in the 
preceding section. 

§ 18. The treasurer shall pay out the moneys received by him by virtue of this act, only 
upon drafts drawn by the president and countersigned by the secretary of the board of 
education, which drafts shall not be drawn except in pursuance of a resolution or resolutions 
of said board, and shall be made payable to the person or persons entitled to receive the 
amount thereon, and shall state on what account said draft is drawn. 

§ 19. The board of education may cause a suit or suits to be prosecuted in the name of 
the city of Binghamton upon the official bond of the treasurer of said city for any default, 
delinquency, or official misconduct in relation to the collection, safe-keeping, and payment 
of any money in this act mentioned. 

§ 20. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To organize, establish and maintain such and so many schools in said "union school 
district," including the common schools now existing therein, and including also any 
academy or high school, as they shall deem requisite and expedient, and to alter and discon- 
tinue the same. 

2. To purchase and hire school-houses and rooms, lots, or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence and improve them. 



BiNGHAMTON. 505 

3. Upon Bxich lots and sites owned by said city to build, enlarge, alter, improve and 
repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances as they may deem advisable. 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books for indigent 
pupils, furniture and appendages, and to provide fuel for the schools, pay the necessary 
insurance on buildings and school property, and to defray the contingent expenses of the 
Bchool library. 

5. To have the custody and safe-keeping of the school-houses, and all school property 
belonging to said union district, and to see that the ordinances of the common council in 
relation tliereto be observed. 

6. To contract with, examine, license and employ all teachers in said schools, and at 
their pleasure remove them. 

T. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the money appropriated and provided by 
law for the support of common schools in said union district, or by this act. 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including the annual 
salary of the secretary of the board, provided the account of the contingent expenses of said 
board shall first be audited and allowed by the common council. 

9. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision and management of the com- 
mon schools of said district, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as 
they may deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, government and 
instruction, or the reception of pupils, and their transfer from one class to another, or from 
one school to another, and generally for their good order, prosperity and utility. 

10. Whenever, in the opinion of the board of education, it may be advisable to sell any of 
the school-houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging to 
the corporation, to report the same to the common council. 

11. To prepare and report to the common council such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary and proper for the protection, safe-keeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots and all property belonging to the city connected with or appertaining to the 
schools, and to suggest proper penalties for the violation of such ordinances and regula- 
tions ; and annually, on or before the first day of June, to determine and certify to the 
common council the sums, in their opinion, necessary or proper to be raised, under the 
eleventh section of this act, for the year commencing on the first day of October thereafter, 
specifying the amount required for each of the purposes therein mentioned, and the reason 
therefor. 

§ 21. Upon the reception of the report of the board of education by the comm(m council 
in relation to the amount of money necessary for school purposes, as directed to be made 
in the preceding section, the common council shall proceed to consider the same, and 
approve, increase or diminish any or all of said estimates ; but they shall not diminish the 
aggregate amount so that the sum to be raised by the said union district shall be less than 
twice, nor increase the same so that it shall exceed six times, the amount received during the 
preceding year from the State for school purposes ; and after having fixed the amount to be 
expended for each and all the purposes mentioned in the last preceding section, the same 
shall be certified to the board of education, who shall, during such fiscal year, limit the 
expenditures for such purpose, so that the same shall not exceed the appropriation, and 
not lessen the length of time each school shall be kept in each district. [As amended by 
chapter 580, Laivs of 1866, p. 1250, 7;ol. 2.] 

§ 22. Between the first and fifteenth days of October of each year, the board of education 
shall make and transmit to the school commissioner of the western district of Broome 
county, a report, in writing, bearing date the first of October, in the year of its trans- 
mission, and signed by the president and secretary of the board of education, and 
stating : 

1. The number of school-houses in said union district, and an account and description of 
all common schools kept therein, during the preceding year, and the length of time they 
have severally been taught. 

2. The number of children taught in said schools respectively, and the number between 
the ages of four and twenty-one years, residing in said district on the first day of October in 
each year. 

3. The whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of said city, during 
the preceding year, distinguishing the amount received from county treasurer, from the 
city tax receiver, and from other sources, specifying the same. 

4. The manner in which said moneys have been expended, and whether any and what 
part remains unexpended, and for what cause. 

5. The amount of money received for tuition from foreign pupils or any other during the 
year, and the amount paid for teachers' wages, in addition to the public moneys, with such 
other information relating to the common schools of said district as may, from time to 
time, be required by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

§ 2-3. Whenever, in the opinion of the board of education, it shall become advisable to 
establish a high school or academy in connection with the school system by this act con- 
templated, and erect a suitable building therefor, they shall report that fact, together with 
an estimate of its entire cost, with the site, to the common council. The said common 
council, upon the receipt of such report and estimate, shall cause the question of raising 
the proposed amount by tax to be submitted to the decision of the tax payers of the union 
school district in such a manner as they shall deem best calculated to procure a fair expres- 
sion from said tax payers. All further proceedings in relation to this special school tax by 
the said board of trustees shall he as directed and set forth in title eleven of the city charter, 
so far as the same will apply to this act. except that if the tax is voted, the restriction 
therein stated is hereby removed, and the time of payment and amount are left optional 
with the trustees. The provisions of this section shall extend to all amounts required for 

64 



606 BiNGHAMTON. 

"bnilding school-houses where the estimated cost exceeds two thousand dollars. [As amended 
by chapter 580. Laivs of 1866.] 

§ 24. The trustees of the Binghamton academy are hereby authorized and empowered 
to transfer to the hoard of education hereby created, either immediately or at a future 
time, on such conditions as they jointly shall deem most conducive to the cause of education, 
the right, title and interest in and to all the estate, real and personal, and all bequests 
belonging to said academy, to be by them used in the purchase of a site, the erection of 
an academic or high school, or for the maintenance of an academy in connection with the 
general free school system contemplated in this act. The board o'f education, if they shall 
deem it necessary, may, with the advice and consent of the common council, organize and 
maintain primary, secondary, or high schools, or either of them in, or cause them to be taught 
in connection with, the Binghamton academy, on such terms and conditions, and for such 
time as shall be deemed expedient, by and between said board of education and the trustees 
of such academy. 

§ 25. The academy connected with the school system contemplated by this act, when 
organized, and when it has complied with the necessary requirements, shall be recognized 
as one of the academies of this State, subject to the visitation of the Regents, and shall be 
entitled to participate in the distribution of the income of literature and other funds in 
the same manner and apon the same conditions as the other academies of the State ; and the 
Regents of the University of New York shall pay annually to the board of education of 
Binghamton the distributive share of the said funds to which the said academy shall be 
entitled. 

§ 26. The board of education shall report annually the condition of the union school dis- 
trict of Binghamton to the school commissioner of the western district of Broome county, 
in the same manner and to the same extent a? other school districts are by law required 
to report. The said commissioners, in making apportionment of school money, shall desig- 
nate the amount due said union district for teachers' wages and library to the treasurer of 
Broome county, who shall, upon the draft of the president of the board of education, coun- 
tersigned by the secretary thereof, pay the sum thus certified as due said union district, 
to the treasurer of the city of Binghamton. 

§ 27. Each member of the board of education shall visit aE the schools in said union 
Bchool district at least once in each year of his official term, and the said board of education 
shall provide that each of said schools shall be visited hj a committee of their number, at 
least once in each term, who shall report in writing, to said board, the condition of each 
school, and make such suggestions as they may deem proper. 

§ 28. The schools organized under this act shall be free to all pupils between the ages of 
four and twenty-one years, who are actual residents of said union school district. The 
board of education shall decide all questions of residence arising under this section. 
The said board may allow the children of non-residents to attend the schools of said district, 
and shall prescribe the rates for the tuition of such non-residents, and also for all pupils 
over twenty-one years of age, payable always in advance. 

§29. The said board of education shall be trustees of the school district library of said 
union district, and all the provisions of law which are now in. force, or hereafter may be 
passed, relative to school district libraries, shall apply to said board of education in the 
same manner as if they were trustees of a school district. They shall be vested with 
the same discretion as to" the disposition of moneys, appropriated by the laws of this State, 
for the purchase of libraries, which is therein conferred on the inhabitants of school districts, 
and they shall have power to purchase, exchange, repair or dispose of any books or other 
property of said library, or cause it to be done, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of 
other books and apparatus ; also to provide suitable rooms and furniture for said library ; 
and further, they may appropriate for the benefit of said library, out of the moneys annually 
raised in said city by the school tax. an amount not exceeding one hundred dollars, in addi- 
tion to the library money received from the State. 

S 30. The title to the school-houses, sites, furniture, books, and all other school property, 
belonging to the districts, in this act mentioned, shall be vested in the city of Binghamton, 
and the same, while used or appropriated for school purposes, shall not be levied on or 
sold by virtue of any warrant or execution or other process, nor be subject to taxation for 
any purpose whatever ; and the said city, in its corporate capacity, shall be competent to 
take, hold and dispose of any real or personal estate transferred to it by grant, gift, bequest 
or devise, for the use of the common schools or academy of said union school district, 
whether the same be transferred in terms to said city by its proper stylo, or by any other 
designation, or to any person or persons, or corporation, for the use of said schools and 
academies. 

§ 31. The common council may, upon the recommendation of the board of education, sell 
any of the property, including existing sites held by them by virtue of this act. upon such 
terms as they shall deem most advantageous ; and the proceeds of all sales shall be paid to 
the treasurer of the city, and shall be by said board of education expended in the purchase, 
repair or improvement of school-houses, sites or appurtenances, furniture or apparatus. 

§ 32. It shall be the duty of said board of education, at least fifteen days previous to each 
annual election for commissioners, to prepare and report to the common council a true and 
correct statement of the receipts and disbursements under the provisions of this act, during 
the preceding year, in which account shall be stated, under appropriate heads : 

1. The money raised by the common council under the twelfth section of this act. 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the city from the county treasurer. 

3. The moneys received by the treasurer of the city under the eleventh section of this act. 

4. All other moneys received by the said treasurer, subject to the order of the board of 
education, specifying the sources from which they have been derived. 



Brooklyn. 507 

5. The manner in which such sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount under each head of expenditure ; and the common council shall, ten daj's before 
euch election, cause the same to be published in one or more of the papers of said city. 

§ 33. The common council shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to pass such ordi- 
nances and regulations as the board of education may report as necessary for the protection, 
preservation, safe keeping, and care of the school-houses, lots, libraries, and property 
belonging to or connected with the schools of said union district, and to impose proper 
penalties for the violation thereof, subject to the restrictions and limitations contained 
in the act to incorporate said city : and all such penalties, and all others by this act imposed, 
pliall be collected in the same manner that the penalties for violations of the city ordinances 
are by law collected, and when collected shall be paid to the treasurer of the city, to the 
credit of the board of education, and it shall be subject to their order, in the same manner 
a? other moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ M The various school district offices, in each of the districts herein embraced, shall 
terminate whenever this act shall take effect ; and the board of education shall be chosen 
and organized, and shall enter upon the duties of their office, except as herein otherwise 
provided. The trustee and collector in each district shall retain the power now by law 
vested in such officers until they, by due diligence, shall liave closed up all the unsettled 
business of their several districts, and discharged all the indebtedness thereof, and for such 
purpose shall, if necessary, call meetings of the inhabitants of such district, and when 
voted at a legally called meeting shall levy and collect a tax sufficient to liquidate such 
indebtedness^ 

§ 35. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the city immediately after the election or appoint- 
ment of any person to any office mentioned in this act, personally, or in writing, to notify 
him of his election or appointment, and any person who, without sufficient cause, shall 
refuse to serve therein, shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars ; and every person so elected or 
appointed, and not having refused to accept, who shall neglect to discharge the duties of 
such office, shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars to said board of education. It shall be 
the duty of the said board of education forthwith to prosecute for all forfeitures and penal- 
ties under this act, when voluntary payment is refused ; and, when received, to apply the 
same to the purposes of education in said district. All officers mentioned in this act shall 
be deemed public officers, within the intent and meaning of section thirty-eight, of title six, 
of chapter one, part four of Revised Statutes, and, as such, liable to the penalty therein 
prescribed, in addition to the penalty in this section before provided. 

§ 36. The board of education shall cause a school, or schools, for colored children to be 
taught in said union district, and include the expenses thereof in the amount so to 
be raised annually by tax for contingent expenses and other purposes of education provided 
for in this act. 

§ 37. The board of education may, when they shall deem it advisable, appoint a superin- 
tendent of common schools for the said union school district, who may, ex officio, be secre- 
tary of said board. He shall be under the direction of the board of education, and they 
shall prescribe his general duties. In addition to such other duties as may be devolved 
upon him by the board, in the visitation and superintendence of the schools, he shall 
examine the qualifications of teachers, and grant certificates in such manner and form as 
may be prescribed by the State Superintendent, which shall not be in force longer than a 
year, and which may at any time be revoked by the board of education. He shall be paid 
a salary out of the general fund, to be fixed by the board of education, and may be removed 
from office by the vote of a majority of all the members of the said board. 

§ 38. All former or existing acts or parts of acts conflicting or inconsistent with the pro- 
visions of this act are repealed; but nothing in this act shall be construed to limit, 
restrain, or annul the powers of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In all matters of 
dispute, which shall be referred to him by appeal, and which shall arise under and by vir- 
tue of this act, or under and by virtue of any act, which is now or shall hereafter be 
applicable to the schools, school officers, or school property of or in said city, his decision 
or order shaU be final and binding, 

BEOOKLYN. 

[Laws of 1850, chap. 143, as subsequently amended.'] 

Sections 1, 2 and 3 of chapter 22, Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-two, p. 84, takes 
the place of section 1, of chapter 143, Laws of 1§50. 

Section 1. On and after the first Monday of February in the year one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty-two, and in each year thereafter, the mayor of the city of Brooklyn shall nomi- 
nate, and, with the approval of a majority of all the members elected to the common council 
thereof, appoint, competent and suitable persons, residents of said city, to fill the vacancies 
in said board of education, occasioned by the expiration of the term of office of mem- 
bers of said board. 

The term of office of such persons shall be three years ; and in making such appoist- 
ments. care shall be taken to procure the representation in said board of at least one 
member from each school district, as now or may be hereafter determined. 

§ 2. In case the said mayor shall not so nominate, or the said common coimcil shall not, on 
or before the first day of March in each year, approve such nominations, or any of them, or 
such others as the said mayor may make, then the members of said board of education 
whose term of office shall then have expired, and whose successors shall not have been 
appointed, as aforesaid, shall continue to hold their said offices until the first Monday of 
February then next ensuing, and until their successors are appointed. 



508 Brooklyn. 

§ 3. Hereafter all vacancies in said board, occasioned otherwise than by expiration of the 
term of office, shall be filled on the nomination of the mayor with the approval of the com- 
mon council, as aforesaid. 

§ 2. The board of education shall have the entire charge and direction of all the public 
schools of said city, and of the school moneys raised for the support of the same, and shall 
possess the powers and be subject to the general duties of trustees. of common schools in 
this State, so far as the same are not impaired or affected by this act. It shall annually 
choose a presiding officer, make its own by-laws, keep a journal of its proceedings, define 
the duties of its officers and committees, and prescribe such rules and regulations, for 
instruction and discipline in said public schools, as are not inconsistent with the laws of 
the State : and all the provisions of the act relating to resignations and expulsions in thie 
common council shall be applicable to the board of education. 

§ 3. The whole city shall be a school district for all purposes of taxation, as well for the 
purchase of school sites and the building and repairing of school-houses as for the annual 
support of schools ; but shall be divided by the board of education into as many districts as 
there are schools, for the purpose of determining the limits within which children may 
attend such schools. 

I 4. The board of education shall have power to organize and establish schools for colored 
children, and such evening schools as it may from time to time deem expedient, and shall 
adopt the necessary rules for the government of the same. It may make use of the public 
school-houses under its charge for such evening schools, and the expenses of such evening 
schools shall be paid out of the general fund, in the same manner as those of the other 
public schools. No person shall be prohibited from attending the evening schools on 
account of age. 

§ 5. The board of education shall annually appoint a city superintendent of common 
schools, whose duty, in addition to the visitation and superintendence of the schools, shall 
be to examine the qualifications of teachers, and grant certificates in such manner and 
form as may be prescribed' by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction; which shall 
not be in force longer than a year, and may at any time be revoked by the board of educa 
tion. He shall also make such annual and other reports of the condition of the schools, as 
he may be required by law or by the said board, and perform such other duties as may be 
prescribed by the said board, in relation to the common schools of said city. The said 
board shall, also, annually appoint a secretary to said board, who shall perform such duties 
as may be prescribed by the said board. Such superintendent and secretary shall be paid 
salaries out of the general fund, to be fixed by the said board. They may be removed from 
office by a vote of a majority of all the members of the board of education. [As amended 
Ixy chapter 112, Laws of 1857.] 

§ 6. The treasurer of the city shall be, ex officio^ the treasurer of the board of education, 
and shall receive, to the credit of said board, from the county treasurer, the amount of school 
money to which the city is entitled from the State appropriation, together with such 
amount as is raised by the board of supervisors to entitle the city to its distributive share 
of the school moneys of the State, and from the city collector the money raised by tax for 
the support of schools, and he shall disburse the same only by the order and upon the war- 
rant of the board of education, drawn in favor of the person entitled to payment, signed 
by the presiding officer of the board and countersigned by its secretary. 

§ 7. The treasurer shall give such bonds for the faithful performance of his dutjr as the 
common council may require ; and shall report monthly to the board of education his 
receipts and expenditures, with the balance remaining on hand to the credit of the board, 
and such other information in relation thereto as the board of education may, from time to 
time, require. 

§ 8. [Repealed by section 13, title 11, chapter .384 of 1854.] 

§ 9. The board of education shall present, annually, on or before the first Monday in 
February, to the common council, an estimate of the money required to be raised in the 
ensuing year for the support of the schools and for the purchase of school sites, as well as 
for the building and repairing of school-houses ; and the common council shall determine 
what sums shall be raised for such purposes, respectively, in addition to the amount already 
required by law, in order to entitle the city to its distributive share of the State school 
money. 

§ 10. The amount of money to be raised for the support of schools in any one year, exclu- 
sive of the sums required to purchase sites and to build and repair school-houses, as well 
as to entitle the city to its share of the State school money, shall not be less than one dollar 
and twenty-five cents nor more than one dollar and seventy-five cents for each child between 
the ages of five and sixteen years within the city— as ascertained by the previous census, 
herein required to be taken on the thirty-first day of December in each year. 

§ 11. The several amounts so determined by the common council to be raised, as afore- 
said, shall be levied upon all the taxable property of the city, in the same manner and at 
the same time as the taxes for city purposes, and shall be stated and sent to the board of 
county supervisors to be levied and collected accordingly, 

§ 12, The board of supervisors, in their warrant to the collector, shall direct him to pay 
the amount so to be collected to the treasurer of the city, to the credit of the board of 
education, out of the first moneys collected. 

§ 13, It shall be the duty of the first board of city assessors elected after this law shall take 
effect to estimate the value of the school property of each school district, as heretofore 
existing, and certify the same to the board of supervisors. The supervisors shall thereupon 
proceed to equalize the said value by assessing the aggregate amount thereof upon the 
whole city, and crediting each school district, on account of its general tax, with the value 



Brooklyn. 509 

of its separate school property, and its special school taxes already laid and in progress 
of collection. 

§ 14. The board of education shall determine the number and location of schools ; but no 
expenditures for the purchase of ground or the erection of school-houses shall hereafter 
he made, unless the same shall have been approved by the common council. Such approval 
shall be deemed to have been given when the tax therefor shall be approved by the common 
council and levied by the supervisors ; or it may be specially given, upon the application 
of the board of education to make such expenditure, in anticipation of a tax to be levied 
in the ensuing year. 

§ 15. The title of all the property now or hereafter to be required for school purposes shall 
be vested in the board of education. 

§ Ki. The board of education shall determine whether any and what portion of the State 
appropriation and the county tax, designated as library money, shall be applied to the pur- 
chase of school libraries and apparatus, and the disposition thereof; and the residue of said 
money shall be applied to the payment of teachers' wages or for the purchase of school 
books, and to no other purpose. 

§ IT. The money raised for the purchase of school sites, and the building, repairing and 
furnishing of school-houses, shall be known as the "the special school fund," and all other 
moneys as the " general school fund ;" and it shall be the duty of the board of education to 
keep accurate accounts of its receipts and expenditures, distinguishing between those of a 
general and those of a special character; and it shall not be lawful to expend any portion 
of the moneys raised for the use of one of said funds for the purposes of the other of said 
funds, but the expenditures shall be made in conformity with the appropiations under 
which the funds were levied and collected. 

§ 18. The board of education shall make returns annually, to the common council, of its 
receipts and expenditures, specifying those on account of the general and special funds, 
respectively, with such other details as the common council may from time to time require. 

§ 19. No school in said city shall be entitled to any portion of the school moneys, in which 
the religious, sectarian doctrine or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect 
shall be taught or inculcated, or which shall refuse or prohibit visits or examination by the 
city superintendent or members of the board of education of said city; provided that this 
section shall not be deemed to prohibit the use of the Holy Scriptures without noti; or 
comment. 

§ 20. The schools of the orphan asylum societies in said city shall participate in the dis- 
tribution of the school moneys, in such manner that they shall respectively receive a sum 
in proportion to the number of children who shall have actually attended such school 
without charge during the preceding year, for which school moneys are raised ; which sura 
shall be equal to the amount paid to any of the public schools in said city in proportion to 
the number of children who shall have actually attended any such achool during the said 
preceding year, actually orphans, or half-orphans. 

[Laws of 1851, chap. 229.] 

§ 15. The amount of money to be raised in anyone year for the support of common schools 
in the city of Brooklyn, exclusive of the sums required to purchase sites, to build and repair 
school-houses, and to entitle the city to its share of the State school money, shall be such 
Bum as the said common council may deem necessary therefor, not to exceed the amount 
now allowed by law. 

By chapter 384 of 1854, the cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburgh and the town of Bush- 
wick were consolidated into one municipal government. Section 13, title 11 of that act, is 
as follows : 

§ 13. There shall he a hoard of education, and all the provisions of law relating to the 
board of education of the present city of Brooklyn shall apply thereto, except that the 
board hereby authorized shall be constituted of the members of the said present board, and 
such additional members as may be appointed by the common council for the portion of the 
city embraced in the present city of Williamsburgh and town of Bushwick, and the said 
common council is hereby authorized and required to appoint and classify such additional 
members, having reference therein to the proportional increase of inhabitants by the addi- 
tional territory ; and the school property of the cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburgh and 
town of Bushwick, and the several districts thereof, shall be valued by the first board of 
assessors elected after this act shall take effect, and the board of supervisors of the county 
shall proceed ro equalize the said value, by assessing the aggregate amount thereof upon the 
whole city, and crediting each school district (the city of Brooklyn to be considered as one 
district), on account of its general tax, with the value of its separate school property, and 
any special school taxes already laid and in process of collection. The eighth and twentieth 
sections of the act entitled to reorganize and regiilate the common schools and board of 
education of the city of Brooklyn, passed April 4, 1850, is hereby repealed. 

{Chap. 355, Laws of 1866.] 

Section 1. The hoard of education in the city of Brooklyn may annually appoint an assio- 
tant city superintendent of common schools, who shall perform such duties as the said board 
shall prescribe, and who shall receive such salary out of the general school fund of said city 
as the said hoard may detennine. He may be removed from office by a vote of a majority 
of aU the members of tho board of education. 



510 Buffalo. 



BUFFALO. 

Title 5. chapter 230. of eighteen hundred and fifty-three, of the assessment and collection 
of taxes in the city of Buffalo, requires the common council, by a vote of two-thirds of the 
members elected, to fix the amount of taxes to be collected for various purposes, and to 
make a statement thereof to be entered in their minutes. In respect to such amount and 
statement, it enacts : 

§ 6. In such amount shall be included the sums required for the support of the free schools 
of the city for twelve months, and to pay such principal and interest of such portions of the 
funded debt of the city as shall be due or fall due within eighteen months after the said first 
day of April, and is not otherwise provided for ; the amount determined upon shaU be raised 
as a gross tax on one assessment. 

[Laws of 1853, chap. 230, p. 447.] 

TITLE VI.— OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

Section 1. The common council shall possess all the rights, powers and authority, and 
shall perform all the duties, in and for the city, of commissioners of common schools. 

§ 2. The clerk of the city shall be the clerk of the common council, when acting as 
commissioners of common schools, and shall perform the duties required of the town clerks 
of the several towns in the State as clerks of the commissioners of common schools of such 
towns, and be subject to the same penalties for the nedect thereof. 

§ 3. In all appropriations of public money for school or other purposes the city shall be 
regarded as a town in the county of Erie, and shall be entitled to copies of laws in the same 
manner as other to^vns in said county, and all such moneys and books shall be paid and 
delivered to the common council. " ' 

§ 4. The common council may expend such portion as they may deem proper of any library 
moneys hereafter received frorn the State in binding and repairing the books in the school 
libraries, in purchasing maps and other apparatus for the schools, and in supplying indigent 
scholars in the schools under their charge with necessaiy common school books and other 
implements of learning. 

§ 5. All the public schools organized in the city of Buffalo shall be free to all white 
children, over the age of five and under the age ef eighteen years, residing within their 
respective districts. 

§ 6. All moneys raised for school purposes shall constitute a separate fund, to be called 
the school fund': a separate account thereof shall be kept by the proper officers of the city, 
and the moneys shall not be appropriated to any other purpose. 

§ 7. The common council shall provide and ma'intain one or more free school? in the city for 
the colored children thereof, and may purchase lauds, and erect thereon, furnish and maintain, 
all buildings necessary for such schools ; and shall from time to time raise all money neces- 
sary for these purposes by general tax. 

§ 8. The common council may. whenever they shall deem it expedient, establish, main- 
tain and regulate a central school, in which shall be taught all such branches of education 
as may be authorized by the school committee and superintendent of schools of the city of 
Buffalo, and buy such land and erect such buildings thereon as may be necessary for the 
purposes, and raise the necessary money as a part cTf the general city tax ; such school shall 
be entitled to its pro rata share of the literature fund of the State equally with and on the 
same footing with the academies and high schools of the Stale, under the charge of the 
Eegents of the University of the State. "And said school shall participate annually in all 
appropriations made, or which shall be made, for the support of teachers" classes in acade- 
mies, and to the same extent and upon the same terms and conditions as provided bj 
chapter four hundred and teh. of the Laws of eighteen hundred and fifty -five, for the partici- 
pation in such appropriations, of academies selected, or which shall be selected, by the 
board of Regents of the Universitjfc, for the instruction of teachers' classes. [As amended 
by section 12. chapter 272. Lau-s of 1861, p. 620.] 

§ 9. The common council shall have power, and it shall be their duty, whenever it may be 
necessary : 

Ist. To purchase or lease, in any portion of said city, land for school-houses, and to fence 
and improve the same : 

2d. To build on such lands, or any lot owned by any district in said city, such buildings as 
shall to them appear suitable : 

3d. To complete, improve, enlarge or repair any school-house, from time to time to supply 
it with ftiel and such school apparatus, books, furniture and appendages as may be neces- 
sary, and to prescribe the studies to be pursued therein ; 

4th. To make such ordinances as they may deem necessary for the prosperity, good order 
and government of the schools, and the security and preservation of the school-Houses and 
other property belonging to the school department of the city, and to prescribe the duties 
and powers of the superintendent of schools and school examiners, in all cases not provided 
for in this act ; 

5th. To divide the schools in said city into primary and higher departments, or otherwise, 
to prescribe resulations for the transfer of scholars from one department to another, and to 
direct the superintendent to provide suitable and sufficient instructors for each department; 

6th. To order, from time to time, a tax to be levied upon the taxable property of any 
district, sufficient to pay all such tums as they may deem necessary to be expended in such 



Camillus and Geddes — Castleton. 611 

district for the purchase of or pajTnent for land therein, and the building, furnishing a«d 
repairs of school-houses and their appurtenances, and no expenditures for repairs less than 
twenty-live dollars shall be a charge upon the district, but the common council shall assess 
the cost of any expenditure larger than twenty-five dollars upon the taxable property of 
the district. [As amended by section 13, La/vs of 1801, chapter 272, p. 620.] 

7Lh. To appoint, from time to time, a board of examiners, to consist of three persons, 
whose duty it sliall be, at least once in each school term, to visit and examine all the depart- 
ments of the several public schools, and to report to the common council, at the close of 
each term, their condition and progress. Such examiners shall be paid by the city not 
exceeding two dollars for each day actually spent by them in such examinations, not 
exceedinsr fifty days each in any one year. 

§ 10. Whenever thd common council shall hereafter order a lot to be purchased and a 
school-house to be built thereon, except for th3 purpose of a central school, they shall 
describe the district upon which the expenses of the purchase of such lot and the building 
of such house shall be assessed, and the expenses of siHh lot and building shall be assessed 
by the board of assessors, in the same manner as other assessments are made, upon the 
taxable property of that district only, except as instituted in the next section. 

§ 11. When such new district shall be composed, in whole or in part, of one or more 
previously existing districts, in Avhich there shall be one or more public school-houses, the 
assessors, in making the assessment for such new lot and building, shall charge and assess 
upon the remaining portions of such districts, respectively, such sums as to them shall 
appear just, having regard to the actual value of such lots and buildings, as well as to 
the sums paid therefor by the property included in such new district, and tlie balance shall 
be assessed upon the taxable pi'operty in such new district. But all such sums shall be 
included in one assessment roll, and shall be collected in the same manner as other assess- 
ments. [As amended by section 13, chapter 99, of 1856.] 

§ 12. The superintendent of common schools of the city shall be the executive officer of 
the common council, to carry into efl'ect all the provisions of this act, and the ordinances 
and orders of the ccnincil in respect to common schools ; and the common council may 
assign to the said superintendent the performance of any duty required of them in respect 
to the common schools of said city. He shall, in respect to the common schools of the 
city, possess all the powers and autliority, and be subject to the duties and obligations, of 
ihe inspectors of common schools of the diflferent towns of this State. He shall also have 
power, and it shall be his duty : 

1. To have the care and custody and provide for the safe keeping of public school-houses 
in said city ; 

2. To contract Avith and employ all teachers of the several public schools therein, under 
the direction of the common council : 

3. To contract for and superintend the building, enlarging, improving, furnishing and 
repairing of all school-houses ordered by the common council, and all repairs and improve- 
ments around the same ; 

4. In cases where no other provision is made by this act, to supply the place and perform 
the several duties in respect to the several school districts in said city required of the 
trastees of the several school districts in this State by the general statutes relating to com- 
mon schools ; 

5. To perform such other duties as may be from time to time imposed upon him by the 
common council. 

§ 13. The common council shall annually publish a statement of the number of public 
schools in the said city, the number of pupils instructed therein the year preceding, the 
several branches of education pursued by them, and the receipts and expenditures of each 
school, specifying the sources of such receipts and the objects of such expenditures. 

[Laws of 1856, chap. 123, section 30, p. 18T.] 

§ 30. The schools established and maintained by the Bufi'alo Juvenile Asylum shall parti- 
cipate in the distribution of the common school fund, in the same manner and degree as 
the common schools of the city of Bufialo. 

DISTRICT No. 1-CAMILLUS AND GEDDES. 
[Laws of 1852, chap. 249, p. 3T8.] 
Section 1. The legal voters in joint school district number one, formed from parts of 
the towns of Camilhis and Geddes, in the county of Onondaga, are hereby authorized, from 
time to time, at any meeting of said school district, to empower, by I'esolution, the trustees 
of said district to keep the accounts of the wages of the teacher of the highest department 
of the principal school in said district separate from the accounts of the wages of the othei 
teachers in said district, and to apply a just proportion of the public money^to the payment 
of such teacher's wages, and to make out a separate rate bill for the collection of the 
remainder of such teacher's wages from the scholars that were instructed by the principal 
teacher, which rate bill shall be collectible in all respects as other rate bills are collected. 

DISTRICTS Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7, IN CASTLETON. 
[Laws of 1855, chap. 510. p. 942.] 
Section 1. The trustees of each of the school districts, two, three, five and seven, in the 
town of Castleton, in the county of Richmond, shall annually, at least three weeks before 



512 Castleton and Southfield. 

their annual meetings, or three weeks before a special meeting which may he called for that 
purpose, in their respective districts, prepare an estimate of "the amount which they shall 
deem necessary to pay the debts of their districts and for the support of common schools 
therein for the ensuing year, exclusive of the money which they may be entitled to receive 
from the town superintendent, and including the sum required for building, for the purchase 
of necessary furniture, apparatus and books, and for contingent expenses, and shall cause 
notice thereof to be posted for two weeks previous to said meeting, in at least five of the 
most public places in the district. And they shall present such estimate at such meeting, 
when the inhabitants so assembled shall vote thereon for each item separately, and the 
same, or so much thereof as shall be approved by a majority of such inhabitants, shall be 
levied and raised by tax on such district, as now prescribed bylaw for raising school district 
taxes. 

§ 2. When the trustees shall have completed any tax list, they shall annex to such tax list 
a warrant, directed to the collector o^ the district, for the collection of the suras of money 
in such list mentioned, returnable m thirty days, and take from such collector approved 
security for the performance of his duty. Such warrant may be renewed from time to time, 
as now provided by law for the collection of district taxes. The monej' so collected shall be 
paid to said trustees, and by them appropriated to the puipose for which the same was 
voted, unless otherwise directed by a vote of the inhabitants at their annual district meeting 
or a special meeting called for the purpose. 

§ 8. The tax hereby imposed shall be a lien upon the lands taxed, to be enforced and col- 
lected by sale, in the manner that county taxes are collected, upon a return to be made by 
eaid collector to the treasurer of the countv of all unpaid taxes in said district. 

[Chap. 447, Lmvs of 1859, p. 1056.] 

Section 1. The provisions of the above act are extended and made applicable to school 
district number six in the towns of Castleton and Southfield, Kichmond county, 

DISTRICT No. ]— CASTLETON AND SOUTHFIELD. 
[Laws of 1855, chap. 280.] 

Section 1. School district number one, in the towns of Castleton and Southfield, in the 
county of Richmond, shall form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to 
alteration by the town superintendent of common schools for the towns in which said dis- 
trict is situated. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled '"The board of 
education," which board shall consist of three members, two of whom shall constitute a 
quorum for the transaction of business. James O. Ludlow, James Anketel and Theodore 
Frean shall compose the first board of education, and hold their ofiice from one to three 
years ; that is to say, one shall go out of office in each year, and in the order in which their 
names stand recorded in this section, 

§ 3. At the annual meeting of said district, in each year, there shall be elected for three 
years one member of said board of education, who shall be a resident and taxable inhabit- 
ant of said district ; said election, and all other elections provided for by this act. shall be 
held by three inspectors, to be appointed by said meeting or the moderator thereof, as the 
people assembled in annual meeting may determine ; said election shall be by ballot, and 
shall be conducted in all respects and in the same manner as is now provided by law for the 
election of trustees in school districts in this State. 

§4. The said board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their government; 
they shall have the entire control and management of all the common schools within said 
district, and all the property belonging to the same, and they shall have and possess, within 
said district, all the rights, powers and authority of town superintendent of common 
schools, and they shall provide for keeping a school in said district at least eight months in 
each year, and as much longer as may be deemed practicable ; they may appoint a collector, 
with all the powers and duties of a district collector, or may employ the town collector of 
either of said towns for that purpose, and such collector shall collect and pay over the 
school moneys assessed upon said district to the said board of education, in the same 
manner and under the same conditions as is imposed by the laws of the town of which he 
is such collector. They shall require at least one of the members of said board to visit 
each school in said dis'trict at least once in each week, to render such assistance to the 
teacher and advice to the pupils as may be necessary, and to gee that the regulations are 
rigidly adhered to. 

§ 5. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect by 
tax, in each year, upon all the taxable prope'rty and inhabitants in said district, such sura 
as may be necessary, not exceeding in amount three-fifths of one per cent on the value of 
such taxable property, as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the said towns 
of Castleton and Southfield, and shall be ascertained from the last assessment rolls of said 
towns : and the said board shall add to their Avarrant, for collection of such taxes, such 
amount as they may deem proper for fees for collection, not exceeding five per cent on the 
amount. [As amended by chapter 116, Lavjs of 1864.] 

§ 6. The said tax shall be laid and collected between the first day of February and Novem- 
ber, in each year. [As amended by chapter 74, of 1856.] 

§ 7. The town superintendents of common schools of the towns of Castleton and South- 
field shall pay over to the board of education all the public moneys to which said district 
number one shall be entitled for school purposes. 



Cherey Valley — Clyde High School. 513 

§ 8. The said board of education shall call an annnal clintrict meeting at such tirae in the 
year aa they shall think proper, and submit thereto a full! report, in writing, of their doings 
as such board, and shall state therein the number and condition of the schools in said, 
district under their charge, and the number of the scholars attending the same, the studies 
pursued, the amount of moneys received from the State, as well as the amount raised in the 
district for school purposes, and the expenditure of the same, and generally all the particu- 
lars relating to the schools in said district , which report, if said board think proper, may be 
published in pamphlet form, or in some newspaper published in the county, 

§ 9. The board of education shall have entire control of the district library ; they may 
employ a librarian, make such additions? to the library and such regulations in relation 
thereto as they may deem necessary or proper. 

§ 10. A school for colored children may be organized and be supported as the other schools 
in said district under this act. 

§ 11. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever 
they may deem it necessary; and whenever a special meeting shall be called, notices of it 
shall be posted up in five public places in said district, at least one week previous to said 
meeting, and no business shall be transacted at such meeting except that stated in the 
notice calling the same. 

§ 1-2. [Temporary, authorizing certain taxes for the completion of school-houses. See This 
section as amended by § 2, chapter 74, of 1856.] 

§ 13. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as 
they relate to district number one, in the towns of Castleton and Southfield, in the county 
of Richmond. 

§ 14. All the rights, powers and duties conferred on the trustees of said school district, by 
the annual meetings held therein in the years one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one and 
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. are hereby transferred to said board of education, 
who are hereby authorized and empowered to do all the acts that the said trustees were 
required to do by the proceedings of said annual meetings. 

[Laws of 1855, chap. 74.] 

* * * The said board of education are hereby empowered and directed to keep the 
said school-houses belonging to the said district, together with the furniture, library and 
scientific apparatus, insured in such sum as they may deem to be the true value thereof, and 
to levy and collect the cost and expense of the same, as hereinbefore provided. 

5. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to purchase a suita- 
ble lot of ground, as a site upon which to erect £i school-house for colored children, on the 
most reasonable terms which they can, and to jiay for the same out of the moneys now in 
their hands for that purpose ; and if the same shall not be sufficient to pay for said lot and 
erect the house thereon, the said board of education are hereby authorized, empowered 
and directed to levy and collect, by a tax upon all the taxable property and inhabitants in 
said district, such sum, not exceeding three hundred dollars, as may be necessary and suffi- 
cient to purchase said lot and erect said house. 

DISTRICT No. 3, IN CHERRY VALLEY. 
[Laivs of 1853, chapter 171, p. 305.] 

Section 1. School district number three, in the town of Cherry Valley, in Otseg;o county', 
shall be free to all children between the ages of four and twenty-one years residing in said 
district. 

§ 2. The trustees of said district shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to raise 
from time to time by tax, to be levied equally upon all the real and personal property in said 
school district which shall be liable for ordinary school district taxes, such sum or sums of 
money, not exceeding three hundred dollars in any one year, as the trustees of said district 
may deem necessary for the payment of teachers' wages, after applying all other moneys 
belonging to said district which may be applicable to the payment of the wages of teachers. 

CLYDE HIGH SCHOOL. 
[Laws of 1834, chapter 175, as amended by chapter 268, Laws of 1842.] 

Section 1. School district number seventeen, in the town of Gafen. in the county of 
Wayne, shall form a permanent school district, not subject to alteration by the town super- 
intendent of common schools of the said town of Galen, and shall hereafter be known by 
the name of " The Clyde high school." 

§ 2. The trustees of the Clyde high school shall be seven in number; and the first trustees 
shall be George Burrell, John Condit, Sylvester Clark, Cyrus Smith, Isaac Lewis, William 
S. Stow and Calvin D. Tompkins ; and shall hold their oflices until the first annual meeting 
of said permanent school district, and until others are chosen. 

§ 3. Said trustees are authorized to receive gifts, grants and donations towards defraying 
the expenses of purchasing a site and building a suitable school-house for said high school. 

§ 4. Said trustees, on receiving the sum of one thousand dollars, or having the said sum 
secured to be paid to them by subscription or otherwise, shall have power to levy and cause 
to be raised by tax, upon the taxable inhabitants of said permanent school district, a like 
sum of one thousand dollars ; but no such tax shall be levied until said trustees shall have 

65 



514 Clyde High School. 

called a special meeting of the taxable inliaMtanta of said permanent Bchool dietrict, in 
manner now provided by law for calling special school district meetings. 

§ 5. Said trustees shall report in writing to said meeting the amount of moneys received 
by them, the sum or sums secured to be paid to them, and the, manner in which it is 
secured : and if the sum of one thousand dollars appears to be paid or is secured to be 
paid to said trustees, said meeting shall proceed to elect a clerk and collector for said 
high school, who shall hold their oflSces until the first annual meeting of said permanent 
school district, and until others are chosen. 

§ 6. The trustees hereby appointed, and clerk and collector hereby directed to be chosen. 
Bhall be subject to the same penalties, and shall have the same powers and perform the 
same duties, as like oflicers directed to be chosen by chapter fifteen, title second and article 
fifth of the Revised Statutes, and all subsequent elections shall be held under that act. 

§ 7. The trustees of said high school shall select a suitable site in the village of Clyde for 
the erection of their school-house, and shall contract for and purchase the same, and thereon 
erect a schooi-house of sufficient size to accommodate such children as may be required to 
be educated in said permanent school district, and shall furnish the necessary furniture 
and fixtures for the same. 

§ 8. School districts fourteen and seventeen, or either of them, may sell their district 
property, and pay the amount of money arisiuij from such sale or sales to the trustees of 
the Clyde high school. 

§ 9. Said trustees, on receiving such moneys, shall, if required by either district, deduct 
the amount from that part of the tax hereby directed to be imposed on the taxable inhabit- 
ants of the individual district paying the same. 

§ 10. The school money, which school districts number fourteen and seventeen shall from 
time to time be entitled to receive from the commissioners of common schools in the town 
of Galen, shall be paid to the trustees of the Clyde high school, who shall be required to 
report to said commissioners in the same manner as other school districts are bylaw 
required to report. 

§ 11. The trustees receiving such moneys shall give their receipt for the same, and shall 
apply the money received exclusively to the pajTuent of the teachers employed by them ; 
and it may be applied in such manner as to render the tuition of such poor children insaid 
district as they may deem proper, gratuitous. 

§ 12. It shall be the duty of the trustees of the said high school to make an annual report, 
to the Superintendent of Common Schools, of the state and condition of the said school. 

§ 13. The trastees shall have the general superintendence of all schools taught in said 
school-house, and shall employ as many teachers and assistants as they shall deem neces- 
sary, and shall direct the course of instruction, and regulate all the internal concerns of 
said school. [Section 2, act of 1842.] The trastees of said Clyde high school may from time 
to time rent or lease, for scholastic purposes, such rooms or apartments in their school- 
house as in their judgment may not be required for the use of schools therein established 
by them. 



[Chap. 192, Laws of 1858, page 313.] 

Section 1. The board of the trustees of the Clyde high school shall have the power, and 
they are hereby authorized, to raise, from time to time, by tax, to be levied equally upon all 
the real and personal property in said high school district, which shall be liable for ordinary 
school district taxes, such sum or sums of money, not exceeding one-half of one per cent in 
any one year, as the trustees may deem necessary for the payment of teachers' wages, 
after applying all other moneys belonging to said district applicable to teachers' wages ; not 
more than two taxes for such purpose shall be raised in any one year. 

§ 2. Said high school shall be free to all children between the ages of four and twenty-one 
years, residing in the district. 

§ 3. Said board of trustees may call special meetings of the inhabitants of said high 
school district whenever they may deem it necessary, or whenever petitioned by twenty- 
five of the taxable inhabitants of said district ; they shall give notice of the same by posting 
up a written or printed notice thereof in at least three public places in said district, at least 
one week previous to the time fixed for such meeting. Stich notice shall state the time 
and place of holding such meeting, and the purpose for which the same is called, and no 
business shall be transacted at any stich meeting except that stated in the notice calling 
the same. 

§ 4. Whenever, in the opinion of the trustees, it becomes necessary to build an additional 
school-house, or houses, in the district, or enlarge or repair the one already built, they 
shall submit the plans and estimated cost thereof to the electors of said district, at a special 
meeting to be called for that purpose, and if a majority of such electors, present at said 
meetins, shall vote in favor of the same, the trustees may carry the same into full eff"ect. 

§ 5. The trustees shall prepare and stibmit to each annual meeting of said district, an 
estimate for the amount necessary for defraying the contingent expenses of the school for 
the ensuing year, specifying the purposes for which the same is to be expended. 

§ 6. Thf trustee3 shall, at the annual meeting, submit a full report in writing of their 
doings as trustees, and shall state therein the number of teachers employed in said school, 
the amount of salary paid to each teacher, the number of scholars attending the same, the 
studies pursued, the amoimt of moneys received from the State, and from all other sources, 
as well as the amount raised in the district, the expenditures of the same, and all the par- 
ticulars in detail relating to said school. 



Clakkson. 515 

clarkson. 

[Chap. 154, Laws of 1859, paffe 380, as amended by chap. 511, Laws of 1866, p. 1119.] 

Section 1. All that part of the town of Clarkson, in the county of Monroe, known as lots 
seven, eight, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, 
twenty, and twenty-one, and the north half of lots twenty-two and twenty-three, in sectioa 
five, township four of the triangular tract ; that part of lots one and two, and the northeast 
part of lot six, all in section six of the same town, and lately owned by Theodore Downs 
and now owned by John F. Hamlin ; lots seven and eight in section six, and lot one (the 
farm now occupied by Samuel C. Perry) ; lots seven and eight in section ten, and lot seven 
and the west and middle parts of lots two and three to the east line of the farm now occu- 
pied by Frederick Nellis, in section thirteen in said township four, shall hereafter constitute 
a single school district for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, and for the purposes of a 
common school shall be known as school district number two, in said town of Clarkson ; 
and all of the lauds within the boundary lines of said Clarkson high school district as 
aforesaid, shall be taxed for the support of said high school. [As ainended by chapter 511, 
Laws of 1S66, p. 1119.] 

§ 2. On the first Tuesday in May next, commencing at two o'clock in the afternoon, there 
shall be a meeting of the inhabitants of the district mentioned in the first section of this 
act, entitled by law to vote for the election of trustees of common schools, at which there 
shall be separately elected five trustees of said district ; the person first elected shall hold 
his office for five years, the second for four years, the third for three years, the fourth for 
two years, and the fifth for one year from the said first Tuesday in May ; and a similar meet- 
ing shall be held annually thereafter on the first Tuesday m May, at the school-house in said 
district, at which there shall be elected one trustee to supply the place of the trustee whose 
term of office shall then expire, each trustee so elected to hold his office for five years. The 
present trustees of said school district number two shall cause notice of the meeting ou 
the first Tuesday of May next, stating the time, place and object thereof, to be posted in 
three public places within the said district, at least one week before the time appointed for said 
meeting, and similar notice of the annual meetings thereafter shall be given by the trustees 
then to be elected, and their successors. If there shall be a failure to elect a trustee at any 
aainual meeting, the trustee whose term of office would then expire shall hold until another 
shall be &Ci\y elected in his place. 

I 3. All laws aad regulations which now are or hereafter may be made applicable to the 
election of trustees of school districts, shall apply to the elections to be held under the second 
section of this act, so far as they shall be consistent with the terms of this act. 

§ 4. The trustees to be elected under the second section of this act, shall constitute a 
body politic and corporate, by the name and style of " The trustees of the Clarkson high 
school," and shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties in respect to said 
district that the trustees of common schools now possess or are subject to, and such other 
powers and duties as are given or imposed by this act. When five trustees shall have been 
elected in pursuance of the second section of this act, they shall be immediately invested with 
all the rights and powers, and become subject to the duties of the present trustees of school 
district number two before mentioned, and the powers of the present trustees shall there- 
upon cease. 

§ 5. The trustees to be elected by virtue of this act shall have power to organize, establish 
and maintain a classical school in said district, to be known as the " Clarkson high school," 
which school shall be an academy, and shall be subject to all laws and regulations applica- 
ble to other incorporated academies in this State, so far as shall be consistent with this act, 
and shall be entitled to a share in the distribution of the income of the literature fund, 
upon the same terms as other academies ; and the Regents of the University shall recognize 
such academy as such, as soon as the required sum shall properly be invested in buildings, 
library and apparatus, and competent teachers employed. 

§ 6. The trustees shall appoint one of their number president of their board, who shall 
preside at the meetings of said board when present, and when absent a president pro tem- 
pore shall be appointed in his stead. They shall also appoint a secretary who shall hold 
his office during their pleasure, and who shall record all the acts, doings and resolutions of 
said board, and also of the meetings of the taxable inhabitants of said district, of which 
meetings he shall be the secretary, and in his absence a secretary pro tem. shall be appointed 
to discharge all such duties. They shall also appoint a collector and a treasurer, who shall 
respectively hold their offices for one year, and until others are appointed in their places, 
unless sooner removed by said board. Such collector and treasurer, before entering upon 
the duties of their offices, shall execute and deliver to said board a bond in such penalty and 
with such sureties as such board may require. 

§ 7. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in said board of trustees by the death, removal from 
the district, or resignation of any trustee, the remaining trustees shall have power to 
appoint a person to fill such vacancy, and the person so appointed shall hold his office for the 
unexpired term of the person to supply whose place he shall have been appointed. 

§ 8. The taxable inhabitants of said district at any annual, spi-cial, or adjourned meeting, 
legally held, may Vote to raise such sums of money as they shall deem expedient, not 
exceeding fifteen hundred dollars, for the purpose of purchasing a site and building a school- 
house in said district, or for the purpose of purchasing any suitable lot or building for such 
purpose, and furnishing the same with the necessary furniture, library, and apparatus, and 
may direct the trustees to cause the same to be levied and raised upon the real and personal 
estate liable to taxation in said district, by installments, as such meeting may direct, and to 



516 COHOES. 

make out a tax for the collection of the same as often at:, sach installments shall become 
due ; and the legal voters at any such meeting may fix the compensation for collecting 
and paying over to the treasurer of said board the amount so levied. They ehall also have 
power, in like manner, from time to time, to raise such sums as shall be deemed necessary 
for the payment of teachers' wages, for keeping insured and in repair their real and personal 
property, for the purchasing of fuel and for defraying the other ordinary expenses of main- 
taining schools; but no tax shall be levied upon said district without the assent of the 
majority of the legal voters thereof, except as now provided by law. 

§ 9. The trustees to be elected by virtue of this act may purchase from the trustees of 
the Clarkson academy, who are hereby authorized to sell to them, the real and personal 
property now owned and possessed by the trustees of said academy, upon such terms as 
may be agreed upon by said parties ; but no money shall be paid or engagement entered into 
for the purchase of said real estate, unless a conveyance thereof shall be made to the trus- 
tees, to be elected by virtue of this act, by the trustees of the first Congregational society 
of the town of Clarkson, and the trustees of Clarkson academy, so as to vest in the grantees 
a perfect title thereto, in fee simple. The trustees of said Congregational society are 
hereby empowered, in their discretion, to execute such conveyance. 

§ 10. The trustees to be elected by virtue of this act are hereby authorized and empowered 
to sell at public auction, to the highest bidder, or at private sale, and to convey to the pur- 
chaser the school-house and site thereof, situated in said district, and to hold and use the 
proceeds for the purposes specified in this act. 

§ 11. The trustees to be elected as above provided are hereby empowered and authorized 
to make such by-laws and regulations as they may deem necessary to secure the prosper- 
ity, order aud gbveniment, of said schools, and to divide the same into primary and higher 
departments, and to regulate the transfer of scholars from one department to the other ; and 
to provide suitable instructors for each department ; to direct what text books shall be 
used in the same ; to establish such primary or infant school or schools as they shall deem 
requisite and expedient, and to alter and discontinue the same ; to purchase or hire school- 
houses, rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to fence and improve the same as they 
may think proper; to purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, 
furniture and appendages ; to purchase fuel and all other necessaries for the use of the 
school or scholars in "said district, and to pay the contingent expenses thereof; to pay 
the wages of all teachers employed in the school or schools in said district, out of the pub- 
lic money and funds applicable thereto ; to fix and regulate the terms of tuition fees in said 
primary and other higher branches in said school or schools ; to sue for and collect in their 
corporate name any sum of money or tuition fees due to said district; to receive and apply 
to the use of said school or schools, or any department thereof, any gift, legacy, bequest or 
annuity given or bequeathed to them, and to apply the same according to the instructions of 
the donor or testator; to take and hold any real estate granted or devised to them for the 
purposes of said school or schools, or any department thereof, and to apply the proceeds 
thereof according to the instructions of the donor or devisor, if not inconsistent with the 
purposes of public education and the laws of the State. 

§ 12. The report now required by law to be made to the commissioner of common schools 
shall be made by said trustees ; and the public moneys payable to said district in the manner 
provided by law, shall be paid to the treasurer appointed by such trustees, whose receipt 
shall be sufficient voucher for all money so paid. 

§ 13. Said trustees shall have power to receive into said academy and cause to be instruc- 
ted therein any pupil or pupils residing in or out of said district, and to regulate and 
establish the terms of tuition of such resident or non-resident pupils, and to regulate gene- 
rally the rates of tuition, and to graduate the same according to the studies pursued in the 
higher English and classical departments of said academy ; the tuition fees in said academy 
shall not exceed three dollars per quarter for pupils whose parents or guardians reside 
within the said district, and for all other pupils shall not exceed five dollars each per quarter. 

§ 14. After applying the public moneys applicable thereto, and the tuition fees which may 
be received for the instruction of pupils, in payment of the salaries and wages of teachers 
employed in said schools, and of the other expenses necessary for the support thereof, the 
Baid trustees shall, unless the same shall have been previously raised, cause such additional 
Bum as may be required to pay such wases, salaries and expenses to be assessed and levied 
upon the taxable property of said distrfct, and collected in the manner provided by law for 
the assessment and collection of school district taxes in the several towns of this State. 
Not more than two taxes for such purposes shall ever be raised in one year ; and wan-anta 
for the collection of taxes in said district shall be issued under the hand and seal of the 
president or the major part of said trustees. 

§ 15. All moneys raised in said district for the purpose of said school or schools, and all 
moneys to be received by such district from the common school fand, literature fund, or other 
source, shall be paid to the treasurer of said district, to be paid by him on the warrant of 
said board of trustees, and to be applied by tliem for the use of the said echool or schools, 
according to the provisions of this act. 

COHOES. 

[Laws of 1855, cMpter 352, p. 631, as amended by cMpter 599, Laws of 1857.] 

§ 50. The common schools in said vUlage shall be free to all children, between the ages of 
four and twenty-one years, residing therein. 
§51. There shall be erected in each ward one or more school-houses belonging to eaid. 

village. 



COHOES. 517 

§ 52. The title of the school-houses, lots, furniture, books, libraries and apparatus, and all 
other school property which has been heretofore or may be hereafter acquired, either as 
echool districts or by the village and within the bounds thereof, shall be vested in the vil- 
lage of Cohoes, and while the same are u;:ed for school purposes they shall not be levied 
upon or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution, nor be subject co taxation ; and the 
Baid village may take, hold and dispose of, in its corporate capacity, any real or personal 
property transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise for the use of the common schools 
m said village. 

§ 53. The trustees of the village may, upon the recommendation of the board of education, 
as hereinafter mentioned, sell any of the school-houses, lots or sites, or any other school 
property now or hereafter belonging to said village, provided that the proceeds of such 
sale or sales shall be paid to the treasurer of the village and remain in his hands as a fund 
for the erection of school-houses, unless the same shall have been otherwise appropriated 
by a vote of the inhabitants entitled to vote for raising taxes in said village. 

§ 54. The school commissioners shall constitute and be styled the " board of education 
of the village of Cohoes," which shall be a corporate body in relation to all ihe powers and 
duties conferred upon them by this act. 

§ 55. The members of the board of education shall not receive any compensation for their 
services, except that the chairman thereof may be entitled to receive at and after the rate 
of one dollar and fifty cents per day for the time he is actually employed (to he verified by 
his affidavit), but in no case shall the compensation so paid exceed the sum of one hundred 
and fifty dollars per annum. 

§ 56. Any member of the board of education in said village may be removed from office, 
for official misconduct or neglect of duty, by the trustees of said village ; bu.'. a written 
copy of the charges against said trustee shall "be served upon him, and he shall he allowed 
an opportunity to refute such charge of misconduct or neglect of duty before removed. 

§ 57. The chairman of the board of education shall see that the school-houses, buildings, 
or any other school property belonging to said village, is not unnecessarily injured or 
destroyed. He shall visit each of the schools in said villaofe at least once in three months, 
and shall perform such other duties as may be required of nim by said board of education ; 
or otherwise he shall, in connection with any three or more members of the board of 
education, or if he may deem it advisable, request the attendance of any one (»r more 
of the inhabitants of said village whom he may think competent to assist him for that pur- 
pose, examine and license all school teachers in said village. 

§ 58. The said board of education shall be trustees of the school library or libraiies in 
gaid village ; and all the provisions of law, which now are or may hereafter be enacted rela- 
tive to school district libraries, shall apply to said board of education. 

§ 59. The clerk of the village shall be clerk of the board of education, and librarian ; and, 
as such librarian, shall perform all the duties which are or may be required by the gen.^ral 
school laws or this act. As clerk of the board of education, he shall keep a record of ihe 
proceedings of the board, and perform such other duties as the board may prescribe ; and 
the said record, or a transcript thereof, certified by the president and clera:, shall be 
received in all courts as presumptive evidence of the facts therein set forth ; and sticA 
records, and all the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of said board shall at all times 
be subject to the inspection of the trustees of the village or any committee thereof. The 
board of education shall prescribe the compensation of the clerk for his services as clerk 
of the said board, and librarian, not exceeding the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars. 
[As amended by chapter 599. Laws of 1857, p. 307.] 

§ 60. The said board of education may allow the children of persons not resident within 
said village to attend any of the schools therein under their custody or control, upon stich 
terms as they shall prescribe in their by-laws or resolutions for the government and man- 
agement of said schools. 

§ 61. The said board shall have the power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To organize and establish in said village so many and such schools as they shall deem 
requisite and expedient, and to alter and discontinue the same, in their discretion ; 

2. To hire school-houses and rooms for the purposes of said school, when necessary; 

3. To alter, repair and improve school-houses belonging to the village, and their appur- 
tenances ; 

4. To purchase books for indigent pupils, and to purchase and repair furniture, school 
apparatus and other necessary articles, including libraries ; 

5. To have the custody, control and safe keeping (except as herein otherwise provided) 
of the school-house buildings, lots or any other school property belonging to said village of 
Cohoes, and exercise the powers and discharge the duties, in respect to said schools, both 
of trustees of school districts and of town superintendent of common schools ; 

6. To contract with* and employ all teachers in said schools, and at their pleasure to 
remove them ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the public money appropriated and provided 
by law for that purpose, so far as the same shall be sufficient, and to pay the balance of 
such w'ages from the money authorized to be raised for that purpose by section sixty-four 
of this act : 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including the compensation 
of the chairman and the clerk for his services as clerk of the board of education and libra- 
rian, under the provisions of this act, from the contin;^ent fund ; 

9. To have in all respects, unless otherwise provided in this act, the superintendence, 
supervision and management of the schools in said village, and from time lo time may 
adopt, alter, modify and repeal all rules and regulations for their organization, government 
and instruction, aa they may deem expedient for the reception of the pupils, and their 



618 COHOES. 

transfer from one school to another, and generally for the promotion of good order in said 
schools ; 

10. To report to the village trustees whenever in their opinion it may he advisahle to 
Bell any school-houses, lots or sites, or other school property belonging to the village ; 

11. To cause an enumeration of all the children within said village, between the ages of 
four and twenty-one years, to be made between the first and fifteenth day of January in each 
year; and the chairman shall report the number of such children, at the time and in the 
manner required by law of town superintendents of schools ; 

12. To make and transmit, between the first days of July and August in each year, to the 
county clerk of Albany county, a like report in all respects, as near as practicable, as is by 
law re'quired by town siiperintendents of schools, and to furnish such information, relating 
to the schools in said village, as may fiom time to time be required by the trustees thereof 
or by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

§ «2. It shall be the duty of the chairman of the board of education between the first and 
fourth days of April in each year, to make a report to the villag-e trustees, showing : 

1. The 'number of scholars between the ages of four and twenty-one years, residing in 
said village, v;-ho have attended the free schools therein during the preceding year, and the 
number attending each school, also the number under four years of age attending said 
schools ; 

2. The number of scholars not residing in said village, but who have attended the common 
schools therein during the same time ; 

3. The arjount of p^iblic moneys received by the \-illage treasurer applicable to teachers' 
wages, and the amount applicable to school libraries ; 

4. The amount of money? raised by the village trustees under section sixty-four of this 
act, and the portions thereof appropriated to the respective funds ; 

5. The moneys received from the sale of school property belonging to the village : 

6. All other sums received by the treasurer and appropriated to the purposes of the com- 
mon schools ; 

7. The manner and purposes for which such sums of money shaU have been expended, 
specifying the amount paid under each head of expenditure ; 

8. An estimate of all sums necessary and deemed desirable by said board to be raised, for 
aU school purposes for the then present year, under the provisions of this act, except the 
amount to be raised for the contingent fund, which estimate shall state the specific sum 
necessary to be raised for each item therein. 

§ ti?,. The village trustees shall cause the report and estimate, required by the last pre- 
ceding section, to be published in one or more of the papers published in said \-illage for 
two weeks next preceding the annual election. 

§ o4. The trustees of said village shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to raise 
from time to time by tax, to be levied equally upon all the real and personal property in said 
village which shall be liable for the ordinary village taxes, such sum or sums of money as 
the board of education shaU deem necessary for any or all of the following purposes : 

1. To lease school rooms or houses, and also to build or purchase school-houses, or to 
purchase and improve sites therefor, but no greater sum than fifteen hundred dollars shall 
')e appropriated to the building or purchasing of school-houses, or the purchasing and 
impro\'ing sites therefor in any one year. 

2. To alter, enlarge, repair and improve school-houses and their out-houses belonging to 
the village, but no greater sum than would in the aggregate amount to fifty dollars for each 
school-house shall be appropriated annually ; 

3. To raise a sum which shall not exceed seventy-five dollars annually, to purchase and 
repair furniture, for books for the district school library, and for purchasing books for indi- 
gent pupils ; 

4. To procure fuel and to purchase stoves and heaters and repair the same ; 

5. To pay the wages of teachers which may be due after the application of the public 
school moneys, and all other moneys received by said board which may by law be appro- 
priated and provided for that purpose ; but in no case shall the moneys so raised for the 
payment of teachers' wages be less than fiftj^-flve cents nor over one dollar per year for each 
child in said village between the age of four and twenty-one years. 

§ 6.5. The trustees of said village shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, from 
time to time, and at the same time the other village taxes are levied and collected, tp levy 
and raise a tax of fifty cents from each male inhabitant of the age of twenty-one years 
residing in said village, and the money so raised shall be paid to the treasurer of the viUage 
as a contingent fund for the use of the common or free schools of said village. 

§ 66. If any person shall neglect or refuse to pay the tax in the last section named, beyond 
thirty days after he shall have been notified by the collector to pay the same, he shall forfeit 
to the village the sum of fifty cents, which, together with said tax, and five cents in addition 
thereto for collector's fees, may be enforced and collected as other penalties are collected 
and enforced under the provisions of this act. The afiidavit of the collector that he has 
demanded such tax from the person so assessed, and the non-pa3Tnent thereof to him, shall 
be conclusive evidence of such demand, and refusal, and neglect. The collector shaU receive 
the same fees for the collection of this, as for other moneys collected by him. 

§ 67. The estimate of the sums, recommended by the board of education as necessary to 
be raised for all school purposes mentioned in this act, shall be submitted at the next annual 
village meeting by the village trustees, and passed upon, item to item, by the voters then 
present entitled to vote for raising taxes for school purposes, and adopted or rejected 
M'holly or in part; the vote shall be taken by aye? and nays, or by ballot if ordered by a 
majority of the voters entitled to vote for such taxes. All persons who have paid the school 



Deerpark. 619 

tax, in section sixty-five mentioned, shall have the privilege of voting for raising money for 
school purposes. 

§ (i8. [Repealed by chapter 180 of 1856. Nos. 30 and 31, ante.] 

§ 69. All moneys raised by virtue of this act, or received by the said village for or on 
account of common schools, shall be deposited with the treasurer of said village, to the 
credit of the respective funds under the control of said board of education, as provided by 
law, and shall be drawn out in pursuance of a resolution of the said board, by drafts drawn 
by the chairman, and countersigned by the clerk of s^aid board, payable to the order of the 
person or persons entitled to receive such moneys ; and all accounts so paid shall be accom- 
panied by the affidavit of the owner thereof, setting: forth that the claims are reasonable, 
and that all the articles named were furnished by'the direction of the legally appointed 
officers. 

§ 70. The said board of education, in all their expenditures and contracts, shall have ref- 
erence to the amount of moneys which shall be subject to their order for any specific object 
daring the then current year, and not to exceed the amount so provided. 

§ 71. The board of trustees of said village shall have the power to pass such ordinances 
and regulations as the said board of education may report as necessary and proper for the 
protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of the school-houses, lots, sites and appur- 
tenances and appendages, libraries and all other school property belonging to or connected 
with the schools of said village, and to impose proper penalties for the violation thereof, 
subject to the provisions and limitations contained in this act ; and all such penalties shall 
be collected in the same manner that the penalties for the violation of the village ordi- 
nances are by law collected, and when collected shall be paid to the treasurer of the village, 
and by him placed to the credit of the contingent fund. 

[Chap. 599, Laivs of 1857, p. 307.] 

I 21. The said board of education are her3by authorized to make an agreement with 
Egbert Egberts for the purchase of the lot and premises in the third ward, now occupied for 
ecliools, under a lease from him, provided that the payment therefor shall be made in annual 
installments, or at the end of six years ; and that no greater sum shall be agreed to be paid 
thereon annually than is now provided by section sixty-four of the act hereby amended, to 
be raised for the purpose of building or purchasing a school-house, or purchasing and 
improriug a site therefor. 

§ 22. In case of the purchase of the lot and premises in the last section named, said board 
of education may cause the house on said lot to be moved to some other part thereof, and 
put in good repair for a tenement, to be rented by said board to a teacher, or janitor, or 
otherwise, as they may deem advisable, provided that the expense thereof shall not exceed 
the sum of five hundred dollars ; and the trustees of the village shall include in their annual 
tax list or lists, and cause to be raised from all the taxable property in the village, in the 
same manner that other school taxes are levied and collected, such sum or amounts as 
the said board of education shall certify to said trustees as necessary to be raised for that 
purpose, until the whole sum be raised, or said house be fully repaired. The money, when 
collected, shall be paid to the collector of the village, to be kept as a separate fund, and 
drawn out as other funds under the control of the board of education are. 

§ 2S. Said board of education shall have power to establish such rules and regulations ill 
regard to the district school library for the general care and management thereof, in addition 
to those provided by law, as they may deem necessary, to protect the same from injury and 
from the loss of any books belonging'thereto. 

§ 24. The chairman of the board of education is hereby authorized to administer oaths to 
all persons having accounts to be audited and allowed by said board, as to the correctness 
thereof: and all oaths heretofore administered by law for that purpose are hereby declared 
to be valid. 

DEERPARK. 

[Chap. 573, Laws of 1867, p. 1536.] 

Section 1. Section one of an act entitled "An act in regard to union free school district 
number one in the town of Deerpark, and to enlarge its boundaries, and authorize the board 
of education thereof to raise money to purchase sites, aiid to build or purchase school- 
houses," passed April fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, is hereby amended so as 
read as follows : 

§ 1. Union free school district number one, in the town of Deerpark, in the county of 
Orange, is hereby enlarged so as to include within its boundaries all additions made to it by 
the school commissioner in the year eighteen hundred and sixtv-five ; and all that part of 
school district number eight which lies west of the Neversink river, norch of a line running 
due west from the railroad bridge across the Neversink river to the Delaware river, and east 
of the present west boundary line ot said union free school district number one ; and the 
boundaries of said enlarged district shall be as follows, to wit : Beginning on the west side 
of the Neversink river, on the lands of Charles Weiss, at a large spring situated in the 
lower edge of the bank of said river, being the original corner of school districts mimbers 
one and eight, and running thence south, seven and one-half degrees east, seven chains and 
ninety-four links ; thence south, seventeen decrees east, three chains and forty-eight links ; 
thence south, one degree west, five chains and forty-six links ; thence south, seven degrees 
west, five chains and twenty-seven links ; thence south, twenty-four and three-quarter 
degrees west, three chains and seventy-eight links ; thence south, seventy-one and one-half 
degrees w« st, eight chains ; thence south, sixty-six degrees west, nine chains and thirty linka 



520 Elbrid*c}e — East Chester. 

to the south end of the west ahutmen t of the Erie railroad hridge across the Neversiuk river ; 
thence on a coarse due west sixteen chains to a white pine tree standing on the northerly 
hank of the Delaware river, near the north-east corner of Laurel Grove cemetery ; thence 
same course to the center of said rivor ; thence up the center of said river to the sluice or 
waste-way of the Delaware and Hudt on canal, on the line between the lands of M. Reader 
and Buckley and Brothers ; thence alo ng said sluice or waste-way to the Delaware and Hud- 
Bon canal ; thence westerly along said canal to the line between lots numbers forty-four and 
forty-five of the seventh division of the Neversink patent ; thence along said lot line 
to the north-easterly corner of Barney Gorman's land ; thence in a direct line to the lands 
of Elting Cuddeback ; thence along thie line of said Cuddeback to the lines between the 
lands of S. B. Farnum and Simon Westfall, on one side, and A. J. and Isaac Cuddeback on 
the other ; thence along the line between S. B. Farnum and A. J. and Isaac Cuddeback to 
the north-east corner of the lands oJ' S. B. Farnum ; thence north-easterly to a certain 
corner near a stone standing in the ground : thence along the division line between the 
lands of A. J, Cuddeback and Solomon and Benjamin Van Vleet, crossing the highway to 
the Neversink river to a point nearly oi* quite opposite to the mouth of Mill broolc^; thence 
down the Neversink river to the place of beginning. Said enlarged district shall be known 
and designated as "•union free school district number one." The inhabitants of that part 
of school district number eight so included as aforesaid in unicm free school district number 
one, are hereby declared subject to all the duties, burdens and obligations, and entitled to 
the same benefits and privileges which the inhabitants of said union free school district 
number one bear and enjoy; and the board of education of said union free school 
district number one shall be and continu e, during their respective terms of ofiice, the board 
of education of such enlarged district, but nothing herein contained shall afl'ect any liability 
or claim which may have accrued previc)us to the passage of this act. 

§ 2. All acts of the board of education of union free school district number one, done 
under and by virtue of said act. which Is hereby amended, are hereby legalized and con- 
firmed, provided that nothing in this section or act contained, shall authorize or iegaiize 
the collection of any tax from the inhabitants of that part of school district number eight 
under and by virtue of the tax list and warrant made out by said board, for the year eighteen 
hundred and sixty-six. 

Sections two and three of the act of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, authorized the 
raising of $10,000 to build a school-house ; and permitted the sale of the school-house sites 
and purchase of a new oiie. 

ELBRIDGE. 

[Chap. 43, Lmvs ofl8m,p. 78, vol 1.] 

Section 1. The Jordan academy, in the village of Jordan, is hereby constituted an aca- 
demical department in free school district number four, in the town of Elbridge, in the 
county of Onondaga, in the manner provided for that purpose by section twenty-foEr of title 
nine of chapter five hundred and fifty-five of the Session Laws of this State, passed May 
second, eighteen hundred and sixty-four. 

§ 2. When such consolidation is effected, said academical department shall be exempt 
from the operation and eflfect of section eleven of said title, but shall, in all other respects, 
be subject to the provisions of said title, except as hereinafter provided. 

§ 3. The library and philosophical apparatus then belonging to said agademy shaS be used 
for the benefit of said academical department, unless the Regents of the University may 
otherwise order. 

§ 4. The terms of tuition in said academical department shall be fixed by the board of edu- 
cation, at sums not less than four dollars per term of fourteen weeks, and in that proportion 
for each student or scholar receiving instruction in said department, and which may be col- 
lected by action in the corporate name hereinafter mentioned. 

§ 5. The board of education may exempt, in whole or in part, from payment for tuition, 
such indigent persons residing within the bounds of said district as they may think proper. 

§ 6. Said academy and district number four, and the board of education thereof, shall be 
a body corporate, under the name of the Jordan academy and free school. 

DISTRICT No. 4— EAST CHESTER, WESTCHESTER COUNTY. 

[Laws of 1853, chap. 334, page 723.] 

SECTION; 1. School district number four, in the town of East Chester, shall form a perma- 
nent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the town superintendent of 
common schools of said tOAvn. 3,, j. ^ ^ ^^rr,x. x. j* 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled The board of 
education of school district number four, in the town of East Chester," which shall be a 
corporate body, in relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by this act ; 
said board to consist of nine members, five of whom shall constitute a quorum for the trans- 
action of business. , , -x^. X « 

8 3. The trustees of said district shall, within thirty days after the passage of this act, call 
a special meeting of the district, for the election of school officers, by giving notice as pro- 
vided by law. There shall be elected at such meeting three members of said board of 
education, to serve until the first Monday in October, eighteen hundred and fifty-three ; 
three until the first Monday in October, eighteen hundred and fifty-four; and three until 



East Cuestek. 521 

the first Monday in October, eighteen hundred and fifty-five. There shall also be elected at 
said meetine: a district treasurer, collector, clerk and a librarian, each of whom shall serve 
until the first Monday in October, eighteen hundred and fifty-three. After said election, 
the oftice of school trustee in said district shall be abolished. 

§ 4. The annual meeting of the inhabitants of said district shall be held on the first Monday 
of October in each year. 

§ 5. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary, or whenever petitioned by twenty-five taxable inhabitants of said 
district; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written or printed notice thereof 
in at least five public places in said district, at least one week previous to the time fixed for 
such meeting, which notice shall state the time and place of holding such meeting and the 
purpose for which the same is called ; and no business shall be transacted at any such 
meeting except that stated in the notice calling the same. 

§ G. At the annual meeting of said district, in each year, there shall be elected three mem- 
bers of said board of education, who shall be residents of said district, and shall hold office 
for three years ; there shall also be elected at said meeting a district treasurer, collector, 
clerk and a librarian, who shall hold office for one year : which election shall be by ballot, 
and shall be conducted in the same manner as the annual election for town officers. Said 
board of education shall appoint three inspectors, at least thirty days preceding such 
election. 

§ 7. Every resignation of officers appointed or elected under this act shall be made to the 
board of education : and such resignation shall have no force or effect, nor in any degree 
excuse such officer from the discharge ot his duties, until the same be accepted and 
approved by a resolution of said board. 

§ 8. Any such officer may be removed from office, for any official misconduct or neglect of 
official duty, by a resolution of said board, two-thirds of the members thereof concurring ; 
but a written copy of the charges against such officer shall be served upon him, and oppor- 
tunity shall be given to every "such officer to be heard in his defense, before any such reso- 
lution shall be adopted. 

§ 9. Every person appointed or elected to any office mentioned in this act (and not having 
refused to accept), who shall neglect to discharge the duties of such office, shall forfeit the 
sum of twenty dollars to said board of education. It shall be the duty of such board of 
education forthwith to prosecute for all forfeitures and penalties under this act, and when 
recovered to apply the same to the purposes of education in said district. All officers 
mentioned in this act shall be deemed public officers, within the intent and meaning of 
section thirty-eight of title six of chapter one, part four of the Revised Statutes, and, as 
such, liable to the penalties therein prescribed, in addition to the penalties in this section. 

§ 10 Every officer in this act mentioned, having in his possession, custody, care, charge 
or control, any property belonging to said district, or any money raised by the provisicms 
of this act or provided by law^for the purposes of education in said district, shall, at the 
expiration of his term, or whenever such officer shall resign, be removed from office, cease 
to act, or his office be otherwise vacated, transfer all such property and pay over all such 
money to the board of education. 

§ 11. The said board of education shall, at their first annua] meeting, choose one of their 
number for president and one for secretary of said board, who shall hold office for one year. 
In the absence of the president or secretary at any regular meeting of the board, a president 
or secretary may be appointed for the time being. The district treasurer and collector 
shall, within ten days after receiving notice in writing of their election, execute and deliver 
to the said board of education a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as the said 
board may deem necessary, conditioned for the faithful discharge of their respective duties. 
In case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiving such notice, such office 
shall thereby become vacated, and the said board may make appointment to fill such 
vacancy. 

§ 12. The said board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their own govern- 
ment. Vacancies in the board, occurring by resignation or any other cause, may be filled 
by the board until the next annual election, when such vacancies shall be filled in the same 
manner as those caused by expiration of term of office. 

The said board shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once in each month, 
and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by the president, 
or, in his absence or inability to act, by the secretary or any other member of the board, as 
often as necessary, by giving personal notice to each member thereof, or causing a written 
or printed notice \o be left at his last place of residence at least twenty-four hours before 
the hour of meeting ; and if any member of the said board refuses or neglects to attend 
any three successive stated meetings of the board, and if no satisfactory cause of his non- 
attendance be shown, the board may declare his office vacant. 

No member of said board shall receive any pay or compensation for his services. 

It shall not be lawful for any member of said board to become a contractor for building 
or making any improvement or repairs authorized by this act, or be in any manner directly 
or indirectly interested, either as princijjal, partner or surety, in any such contract. All 
contracts made in violation of this provision shall be absolutely void, and the person so 
violating shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars. 

§ 13. The title to the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurt- 
enances in this act mentioned, and all other school property in the said district, shall be 
Tested in said board of education ; and the same, while used for or appropriated to school 
purposes, shall be exempt from all taxes and assessments, and shall not be liable to be levied 
upon and sold by virtues of any warrant or execution. And the said board of education, in 
its corporate capacity, may take, hold and dispose of any real or personal estate, transferred 

66 



522 East CiiESTEE. 

to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, for the use of the common schools in the said district, 
or any or either of them, or to mortgage or encumber the same for school purposes, with 
the consent of the district. They shall have and possess, within the said district, all the 
rights, power and authority of town superintendent of common schools. They shall have 
the entire control and management of all the common schools within the said district and 
all the property belonging to the same. They shall require one of the members of said board 
to visit each school in said district at least once in each week, to render such assistance 
to the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be necessary, and to see that the regula- 
tions are rigidly adhered to. 

§ 14. The board of education shall have entire control and charge of the district school 
library in said district. They may make .such additions to the library and such regulations 
in relation thereto as they shall deem necessary. 

§ 15. The said board of education shall have power and are hereby directed to levy and 
collect bjj^ tax. in each year, upon all the taxable property and inhabitants in said district, 
as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town in which the said district is 
situated, such sum as shall be authorized by a majority of the voters at any special or 
annual meeting of the district for the purposes specified in sections sixteen and eighteen ; 
and the said board shall add to their warrant for collection of taxes such amount as they 
may deem proper for fees for collection, not exceeding five per cent on the amount to be 
collected. Said board shall have power to make all warrants for the collection of the taxes 
to be raised by them, returnable at sixty or ninety days, in their discretion, and to renew 
the same whenever it shall become necessary. 

In case it shall appear that the assessment roll does not include all the taxable prop- 
erty of such district, the property omitted shall be assessed by the said board, in the 
mode required by law, and added thereto. 

§ 16. When, in the opinion of the said board, it becomes necessary to build an additional 
school-house or houses in the district, or to enlarge those already built, they shall submit 
the plans and estimated cost of such building, and furnishing the same, to the electors of 
said district at a special meeting called for that purpose ; and if a majority of such electors 
present shall vote in favor of the same, the said board may proceed to carry the same, into 
full effect. 

§ 17. Whenever, in the opinion of the board, it may be advisable to sell or exchange any 
of the school-houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belong- 
ing to the district, they shall report the same to the electors of said district at a special 
meetmg called for that purpose, and, with the consent of a majority of the electors present 
at said meeting, may sell and dispose of such school-houses, lots or sites to the best possi- 
Dle advantage. 

§ 18. Said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, out of the funds 
collected and paid to them, as provided in sections fifteen and twenty-two of this act : 

1. To purchase or lease and improve sites for school-houses : 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, and their 
out-houses and appurtenances, so as to afford ample accommodation to educate all the 
children of the said district ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages : 

4. To procure fuel and defray the contingent expenses of the several schools and of the 
board of education ; 

5. To pay the wages of the teachers employed by them ; 

6. To defray the expenses of insuring all the school property of said district. 

§ 19. The public schools in the district shall be free to all children residing in the district, 
but the board of education may permit children of persons not resident within said 
district to attend said schools, on such terms as they shall prescribe ; the said board may, 
in the name of said district, sue for and recover of the father or mother, master or mistress, 
or any person under whose charge such child or children may be, all such sums as shall be 
so prescribed, with costs of suit. 

§ 20. All moneys to be received by virtue of this act. and all moneys by law appropriated 
to or provided for said district, shall be paid to the treasurer, who, together with the 
sureties upon the official bond, shall be accountable therefor to said board of education. 
Said treasurer shall not pay out any of such moneys, except by resolution of said boards 
and upon an order drawn by the president and certified by the secretary to be so drawn in 
pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 21. The town superintendent of common schools of the town of East Chester shall pay 
over to the treasurer all the public moneys to which said district number four may be 
entitled. 

§ 22. The said board of education shall prepare and submit, at each annual meeting of the 
district, an estimate of the amount necessary to be raised for defraying the expenses of 
the district for the ensuing year, specifying the purposes for which the same is to be 
expended. 

§ 23. The said board of education shall, at the annual district meeting, submit a full report 
in writing of their doings as such board, and shall state therein the number and condition 
of the schools m said district under their charge, and the number of scholars attending the 
same, the studies pursued, the amount of moneys received from the State and from other 
sources, as well as the amount raised in the district for school purposes, the expenditures 
of the same, and all the particulars in detail relating to the schools in said district ; which 
report may, if the board think proper, be printed in pamphlet form, or in some newspaper 
published in the county. 



Elmira. 523 

§ 24. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as 
relates to district number four in the town of East Chester. 

\_Chap. sn, Laws of 1865,p. 351.] 

PROVIDES FOR A RECEIVER OF TAXES AND ASSESSMENT IN THE TOWN. 

§ 9. The offices of collector of the town of East Chester, and of the several school districts 
therein, after said receiver shall have executed and delivered his bond, as hereinbefore pro- 
vided, shall cease to exist, and the same are hereby abolished, and all laws and provisions 
of law applicable to town collectors, iind collectors of school districts in said town, not 
inconsistent with this act, are hereby made applicable to the said office of receiver of taxes 
hereby created. 

§ 10. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of said county, and the officers of the 
'several school districts in said town, to issue their warrants to said receiver of taxes in 
the same manner as warrants are now required by law to be issued to town collectors ; and 
the said receiver of taxes is hereby directed and required, on or before the first day of April 
in each and every year, to pay over to the treasurer of said county, and to the several per- 
sons entitled to receive the same, all moneys remaining in his hands payable to said 
treasurer, or other persons, and to make a just and proper return of all taxes or assessments 
remaining uncollected in said town, in the same manner as now required by law, and the 
treasurer of said county, upon receiving such moneys, the making of such return, and the 
certificate of the officers of the several school districts, in said town, and of the supervisor 
thereof, that he has paid the several town officers the moneys they were entitled to receive, 
shall cancel and discharge the bonds of said receiver, and deliver to him a certificate 
thereof, which certificate, upon being filed with the county clerk, shall be a full release and 
discharge of said receiver and his sureties. 



ELMIRA. 

Chap. 113, Laws of 1859, p. 297, as amended by chap. 139, La^us of 1864, p. 248, erecting the city 
of Elmira, and by chap. 95, Laws of 1866, p. 1119, vol. 1. 

Chapter 139, section 14, title 2, Laws of 1864, and title 2, section 1, provides for the election 
of four commissioners of common schools, to be elected on the first Tuesday in March in each 
year, and to enter upon their offices on the Monday following. The term of office is one 
year, and " until their successors shall qualify." 

Section 1. School districts numbers two, three, five and six of Elmira, and number 
eleven of Southport, Chemung county, lying principally within the corporate limits of the 
city of Elmira, are hereby consolidated for the purposes and to the extent in this act speci- 
fied ; and shall, hereafter, for such purposes and to such extent, form but one school district, 
to be called " The LTnion school district of Elmira." 

§ 2. Said five school districts shall remain and continue separate and distinct, for the pur- 
poses and to the extent in this act specified ; and shall be called commissioner districts, and 
numbered as follows : District number two shall form commissioner district number one ; 
district number three shall form commissioner district two ; district number eleven of South- 
port shall form commissioner district number three ; district number five shall form commis- 
sioner district number four, and district number six shall form commissioner district number 
five ; said districts shall not be subject to alteration except by the Legislature, or by a reso- 
lution of the board of education hereinafter created. 

§ 3. Ariel S Thurston, in commissioner district number one ; Stephen McDonald, residing 
in commissioner district number two ; Archibald Robertson, residing in commissioner dis- 
trict number three ; Civilian Brown, residing in commissioner district number tour, and 
Shubael B. Denton, residing in commissioner district number five, are hereby appointed 
commissioners in behalf of such districts respectively. The common council of the city of 
Elmira shall, within fifteen days after the passage of this act, appoint four persons to act as 
school commissioners in behalf of said " union school district," who shall be residents 
thereof, and the said persons above named, and the persons appointed by the common 
council of the said city as commissioners, and their successors to be chosen as hereinafter 
provided, are hereby constituted a corporate body in relation to all the powers and duties 
conferred or imposed by law, to be styled "the board of education of the city of Elmira," 
and are hereby invested with all the powers and charged with all the duties conferred upon 
them by this act. A majority of commissioners shall constitute a quorum. 

§ 4. On the second Tuesday in October, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, there shall bo 
elected in the same manner that trustees of school districts are now e'lected, by each com- 
missioner district heretofore named, one commissioner (who shall be a resident of such 
district) to fill the places of those appointed in the preceding section, in behalf of such dis- 
tricts respectively. On the Monday preceding the second Tuesday in October, eighteen 
hundred and sixty, the common council of the city of Elmira shall in like manner appoint 
four person? to be school commissioners, to fill the places of those appointed by said com- 
mon council in behalf of said union district. Annually thereafter, on the day above 
Bpecified for such election by districts, and appointment by the common council, there 
shall in like manner be elected five commissioners for the commissioner districts, and two 
commissioners appointed by the common council of the city for the union district, to fill 
the places of those whose terms shall next thereafter expire, as hereinafter provided. 

§ 5. The commissioners elected as hereinbefore provided shall hold their respective offi- 
ces for the term of one year from the second Tuesday in October, eighteen hundred and 



524 Elmiea. 

sixty, and until their successors eliall be chosen, and enter upon the discharge of the duties 
of their offices, respectively. The commissioners appointed on the Monday preceding the 
second Tuesday in October, eighteen hundred and sixty, by virtue of this act, shall be divided 
in classes of two each, and fhey, or a majority of them', shall, viithin ten days after their 
appointment, meet in the office of the clerk of the city, and shall determine by lot which 
of the two persons appointed shall serve for the terrii of one year and which for the term of 
two years. The persons so appointed as commissioners sha'll hold their respective offices 
for the term of two years (except the first class, which shall hold only for one year), and 
until their successors shall be appointed and enter upon the discharge of the duties of 
their offices, respectively. Within ten days after receiving notice of their election or 
appointment, the commissioners thus chosen shall t?.ke the oath of office prescribed by the 
Constitution of this State, and file the same with the clerk of the village. This act shall 
not be so construed as to disqualify any commissioner for re-election or re-appointment, a 

§ 6. The board shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to fill all vacancies in the board 
of education which may occur from any other cause than the expiration of their term of 
office. The commissioners so appointed shall hold their offices for the unexpired tenn of 
those to supply whose places they are appointed. Any member of said board of education 
may resign his office by giving ten days* previous notice in writing to the mayor of the city, 
who may, if he deems the reasons sufficient, accept the same. 

§ T. Any member of the board of education may, for neglect of duty, or other immoral or 
official misconduct, be removed from office by the common council of the city, by a vote of 
two-thirds present at any regularly called me'eting thereof: btit before final action thereon, 
a written copy of the charges preferred against said member shall be served upon him, and 
he shall be allowed an opportunity to explain or refute them 

§ 8. At the first meeting of the board of education, and at each annual meeting thereafter, 
they shall elect one of their number president of the board, and, whenever he shall be 
absent or unable to act, they shall elect a president pro tempore. At their first meeting the 
board shall fix the time for their next annual meeting, and unless changed by a resolution 
of the board the time thus fixed shall be the time for future annual meetings. The board 
of education shall receive no compensation for their services. 

§ 9. The board of education shaU meet for the transaction of business as often as once in 
each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by the 
president, or in his absence or inability to act by any member of the board, as often as 
necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or causing a written 
or printed notice to be left at his place of residence at least twenty-four hours before the 
hour for such special meeting. 

§ 10. The board of education shall appoint a secretary and librarian, who shaU hold their 
offices during the pleasure of the board, and whose compensation shall be fixed by the said 
board ; and the same person may hold the office of secretary and librarian. The secretary 
shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, and perform such other duties as the 
board may prescribe. The librarian shall have charge of the library or libraries of the dis- 
trict, and may appoint such assistants as may be necessary from time to time, and such 
assistants may be removed at any time by the board of education. 

§ 11. The record of the board of education, or a transcript thereof certified by the secre- 
tars^ shall be received in all courts a.?, prima facie evidence of the facts therein set forth ; and 
such record, the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of the said board, shall at all times 
be stibject to the inspection of the trustees of the village or any committee thereof. 

§ 12. The common council of the city of Elmira shaD have power, and it shall be their 
duty, to raise from time to time, by tax. to be levied upon all the real and personal estate 
in said union school district, \vhich shall be liable to taxation for town or county charges, 
such sums as may be determined upon, and certified by the board of education to be neces- 
sary and proper, for any or all the following purposes for the current year : 

1. To purchase, lease, or improve sites for school-houses. 

2. To build, purchase, lease, alter and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances 
theretinto belonging. 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus ; hut the power herein 
granted shall not be deemed to authorize the furnishing with class or text books any 
scholar whose parents or guardians shall be able to furnish the same. 

4. To procure fuel, and defray the necessary expenses of keeping the school-house in 
order, exclusive of repairs, including insurance. 

5. To defray the contingent expenses of the common school?, and the district library or 
libraries, includinff salary of librarian and superintendent. 

6. To defray the" contingent expenses of the board of education, including the salary of 
the secretary thereof. 

7. To pay teachers' wages, after the application of the public money appropriated by law 
for that purpose. 

8. To pay charges or expenses incurred by law, or necessary to carry this act into efi'ect, 
or to refund loans contracted by laAv, and to pay the interest thereon, or to pay such sums as 
shall be required to fulfill any contract duly made under the provisions of this act. 

§ 1.3. The tax to be levied as aforesaid, and collected by virtue of this act, shall be levied 
and collected in the same manner and at the same time that other city taxes are, and the 
powers, duties and liabilities of the collector and his sureties shall be the same in reference 
to the collection of this tax as for other city taxes, and his jurisdiction shall extend under 
this act to all the territory embraced in the said union school district. 

§ 14. The amount to be raised in any one year for the purchase of sites, erecting and 
repairing school-houses and the appurtenances, shall not exceed two thousand dollars, 



Elmira. 525 

except as herein otherwise provided for. [As amended by section 1, chapter 57, Laws of 1866, 
j;. 95.] 

§ 15. All moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys hy 
law appropriated to the treasurer of said city, who, together with the sureties upon his 
official bond, shall be accountable therefor in the same manner as for other funds of said 
city, and the hoard of trustees in lixing the amount of the treasurer's sureties shall include 
the moneys received by virtue of this act. The said treasurer shall be liable to the same 
penalties for official misconduct in relation to said money as for any similar misconduct in 
relati(m to other moneys of said city. 

§ 16. All moneys raised by virtue of this act, or received from any other source, for the 
use of common, academic or high schools, in buildings therefor, shall be deposited with 
the treasurer for the safe keeping thereof, to the credit of the board of echication, until 
drawn as hereinafter provided for, and the said treasurer shall keep the account of the funds 
thus deposited with him separately and distinct from any other funds which he is or may 
be authorized to receive. 

Section 2, chapter 57, Laws of 1866, provides that " section IT of said act is hereby 
repealed." 

§ 18. The treasurer shall pay out the money received by him by virtue of this act only 
upon drafts drawn by the president and countersigued by the secretary of the board of 
education, which draft shall not be drawn except in pursuance of a resolution or resolutions 
of said board, and shall be made payable to the person or persons entitled to receive the 
money thereon, and shall state on what account said draft is drawn. 

§ 19. The board of education may cause a suit or suits to be prosecuted in the name of 
the city of Elmira, upon the official bond of the treasurer, or any collector of said city, for 
any default, delinquency or official misconduct in relation to the collection, safe keeping, 
and payment of any money in this act mentioned. 

§ 20. The said board of education shall have power and it shall be their duty : 

1. To organize, establish and maintain such and so many schools, in said union school 
district, including the common schools now existing therein, and including also any 
academy or high school, as they shall deem requisite and expedient, and to alter and dis- 
continue the same ; 

2. To purchase and hire school-houses and rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence and improve them : 

8. Upon such lots and sites owned by said city, to build, enlarge, alter, improve and 
r6pair school-houses, out-houses, and appurtenances as they may deem advisable ; 

4. To purchase, exchange, iaiprove and repair school apparatus, books for indigent 
pupils, furniture and appendages, and to provide fuel for the schools, pay the necessary 
msurance on buildings and school property, and to defray contingent expenses of the 
school library ; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, and all school property 
belonging to said union district, and to see that the ordinances of the board of trustees iu 
relation thereto be observed ; 

6. To contract with, examine, license and employ all teachers in said schools, and at 
their pleasure remove them ; 

7 To pay the wages of such teachers out of the money appropriated and provided by 
law for the support of common schools in said union district, or by this act ; 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including the annual salary 
of the secretary of the board, provided the account of the contingent expenses of said 
board shall first be audited and allowed by the common council ; 

9. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision and management of the com- 
mon schools of said district, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as they 
may deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, government and instruc- 
tion, or the reception of pupils and their transfer from one class to another, or from one 
school to another, and generally for their good order, prosperity and titility ; 

10. Whenever, in the opinion of the board of education, it may be advisable to sell any 
of the school-houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging 
to the coiporation. to report the same to' the common council ; 

11. To prepare and report to the common council such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary and proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots and all property belonging to the city connected with or appertaining to the 
schools, and to suggest proper penalties for the violation of such ordinances and regula- 
tions, and annually on or before the first day of June, to determine and certify to the 
common council the sums in their opinion necessary or proper to be raised, under the twelfth 
section of this act, for the year commencing on the first day of October thereafter, specify- 
ing the amount required for each of the purposes therein mentioned, and the reason 
therefor. 

§ 21. Upon the reception of the report of the board of education, by the common council 
of the city of Elmira, in relation to the amount of money necessary for school purposes, as 
directed to be made in preceding section, the common council shall proceed to consider the 
same, and approve, increase or diminish any or all of said estimates; provided, however, 
that the aggregate amount shall not fall below a sura sufficient to defray all the necessary 
expenses for the support of the public schools in the union school district of Elmira, 
including the academy for the succeeding year. After having fixed the amount to be 
expended for each and all the purposes mentioned in the last preceding section, the same 
shall be certified to the board of education, who shall, during such fiscal year, limit the 
expenditures for such purpose, so that the same shall not exceed the appropriation. \As 
a/nended by section 3, chapter 57, La,ws of 1866.] 



526 Elmira. 

§ 22. Between the first and fifteenth days of October of each year, the hoard of education 
shall make and transmit to the school commissioners of Chemung county a report in 
writing, bearing date the first of October in the year of its transmission, and signed by the 
president and secretary of the board, and stating : 

1. The number of school-houses in said union district, and an account and description of 
all common schools kept therein, during the preceding year, and the length of time they 
have severally been taught ; 

2. The number of children taught in said school respectively, and the number between 
the ages of four and twenty-one years, residing in said district^ on the first day of October 
in each year; 

3. The whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of the city during the 
preceding ye?,r, distinguishing the amount received from county treasurer, from the city 
collector, and from other sources, specifying the same : 

4. The manner in which such moneys have been expended, and whether any and what 
part remains unexpeno.cd, and for what cause ; 

5. The amount of money rcreived for tuition from foreign pupils or any other during the 
year, and the amount paid for te/^chere wages, in addition to the public moneys, with such 
other information relating to the cmrion schools of said district as may, from time to 
time, be required by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

§ 2:3. Whenever, in the opinion of the board of education, it shall become advisable to 
establish a high school or academy in connection with the school system by this act contem- 
plated, and erect a suitable Ivtilding therefor, tliey shall report that fact, together with an 
estimate of its entire cost, with the site, to the common council. The said common council, 
upon the receipt of such report and estimate, shall cause the question of raising the proposed 
amotmt by rax to be submitted to the decision of tn^ tax rayers of the union school dis- 
trict, in such manner as they shall deem best calculated r*^ procure a fair expression from 
said tax payers. All further proceedings in relation to this special srbool tax by the said 
common council shall be as directed and set forth in section nine, tirb five of the village 
charter, so far as the same will apply to this act. except that if the tax is voted, the restric- 
tion in time of thr-ee years for' reimbursing any loan made as thereL'. stated is hereby 
removed, and the time left optional with the common council. The provisions of this section 
shall extend to all amounts required for building school-houses, where the estiiiated cost 
exceeds one thousand dollars. 

§ 24. The trustees of Elmira academy are hereby authorized and empowered to transfer to 
the board of education hereby created, either immediately or at a future time, on such 
conditions as they jointly shall deem most conducive to the cause of education, the right, 
title and interest in and to all the estate, real and personal, and all bequests belonging to 
said academy, to be by them used in the purchase of a site, the erection of suitable build- 
ings, the organization of an academic or high school, or for the maintenance of an academy 
in connection with the general free school system contemplated in this act. The board of 
educatiou. if they shall deem it necessarj', may, with the advice and consent of the com- 
mon council, organize and maintain primary, secondary or high schools, or either of them 
in; or cause them to be taught in connection with, the Elmira academy, on such terms and 
conditions, and for such time, as shall be deemed expedient, by and between said board of 
education and the trustees of such academy, 

§ 25. The academy connected with the school system contemplated by this act, when 
organized, and when it has complied with the necessary requirements, shall be recognized 
as one of the academies of this State, subject to the 'visitation of the Regents, and shall be 
entitled to participate in the distribution of the income of the literature and other funds in 
the same manner and upon the same conditions as the other academies of the State; and 
the Regents of the University of the State of New York, shall pay annually to the board of 
education of Elmira the distributive share of the said funds to "which the said academy 
shall be entitled. 

§ 26. The board of education shall report annually the condition of the union school dis- 
trict of Elmira to the school commissioner of Chemung county, in the same manner and 
to the same extent as other school districts are by law required to report. The said com- 
missicmer. in making apportionment of school moneys, shall designate the amount due said 
union district separate from other districts in Elmira' and Southport. and certify the amount 
due said district for teachers' wages and library to the treasurer of Chemung county, who 
shall, upon the draft of the president of the board of education, countersigned by the secre- 
tary thereof, pay the sum thus certified as due said union district to the treasurer of the 
city of Elmira. 

§ 2T. Each member of the board of education shall visit all the schools in said union 
school district at least once in each year of his official term ; and the said board of education 
shall provide that each of said schools shall be visited by a committee of their number at 
least once in each term, who shall report in writing to said board the condition of each 
school, and make such suggestions as they may deem proper. 

§ 2S. The schools organized under this act shall be free to all pupils between the age of 
five and twenty-one years, who are actual residents of the said union school district. The 
board of education shall decide all questions of residence arising under this section. The said 
board may allow the children of non-residents to attend the schools of said district, and 
shall prescribe the rates for the tuition of such non-residents, and also for all pupils over 
twenty-one years of age. [As amended by § 4. chapter 57, Laivs of 1866.] 

§ 29. The said board of education shall be trustees of the school district libraries of said 
union district, and all the provisions of law which are now in force, or hereafter may be 
passed, relative to school district libraries, shall apply to said board of education in the 
same manner as if they were trustees of a school district. They shall be vested with 



Elmira. 527 

the same discretion as to the disposition of moneys appropriated by the laws of this State 
for the purchase of libraries which is therein conferred on the inhabitants ofschool districts, 
and they shall have power to purchase, exchange, repair or dispose of any books or other 
property of said libraries, or cause it to be done, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of 
other books or apparatus ; also to provide suitable rooms and furniture for said libraries. 

§ 30. The title of the school-houses, sites, furniture, books, and all other school property 
belonging to the districts in this act mentioned, shall be vested in the city of Elmira, and the 
same, while used or appropriated for school purposes shall not be levied on or sold by virtue 
of any warrant or execution, nor be subject to taxation for any purpose whatever; and the 
said village, in its corporate capacity, shall be competent to take, hold and dispose of any 
real or personal estate transferred to it by grant, gift, bequest or devise, for the use of the 
common schools or academy of said union school district, whether the same be transfen-ed 
in terms to said city by its proper style, or by any other designation, or to any person or 
persons, or corporation, for the use of said schools or academy. 

§ 31. The common council may. upon the recommendation of the board of education, sell 
any of the property, including existing sites held by them by virtue of this act, upon such 
terms as they shall deem most ad^-antageous ; and the proceeds of all such sales shall be 
paid to the treasurer of the city, and shall be by said board of education expended in the 
purchase, repair or improvement of school-houses, sites, or appurtenances, furniture or 
apparatus. 

§ 32. It shall be the duty of said board of education, at least fifteen days previous to each 
annual election for commissioners, to prepare and report to the common council a true and 
correct statement of the receipts and disbursements under the provisions of this act, during 
the preceding year, in which account shall be stated under appropriate heads : 

1. The monevs raised by the common council under the twelfth section of this act ; 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the city from the county treasurer; 
8. The moneys received by the treasurer of the city from the county treasurer; 

4. All other monej-s received by the said treasurer, subject to the order of the board of 
education, specifying the sources from which they shall have been derived : 

5. The manner in which such sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount under each head of expenditure ; and the common council shall, ten days before such 
election, cause the same to be published in one or more of the newspapers of said city. 

§ 33. The common council shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to pass such ordi- 
nances and regulations as the board of education may report as necessary for the protection, 
preservation, safe keeping and care of the school-houses, lots, libraries, and property 
belonging to or connected with the schools of said union district, and to impose proper 
penalties for the violation thereof, subject to the restrictions and limitations contained in the 
act to incorporate said city, and all such penalties, and all others by this act imposed, shall 
be collected in the same manner that the penalties for violations of the city ordinances are 
by law collected; and, when collected, shall be paid to the treasurer of the city, to the 
credit of the board of education, and shall be subject to their order in the same manner as 
other moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ 34. The various school district offices, in each of the districts herein embraced, shall 
terminate whenever this act shall take effect, and the board of education shall be chosen and 
organized, and shall enter upon the duties of their office, except as herein otherwise provi- 
ded. The trustees and collector in each district shall retain the power now by law vested in 
such officers, until thej, by due diligence, shall have closed up all the unsettled business of 
their several districts, and discharged all the indebtedness thereof, and for such purpose 
shall, if necessary, call meetings of the inhabitants of such district, and, when voted at a 
legally called mee'ting, shall levy and collect a tax sufficient to liquidate such indebtedness. 

§ .35". It shall be the duty of the clerk of the city, immediately after the election or appoint- 
ment of any person to any office mentioned in this act. personally, or in writing, to notify 
him of his election or appointment, and any person who, without sufficient cause, shall 
refuse to serve therein, shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars ; and every person so elected or 
appointed, and not having refused to accept, who shall neglect to discharge the duties of 
such office, shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars to said board of education. It shall be 
the duty of the said board of education forthwith to prosecute for all forfeitures and penal- 
ties under this act, when voluntaiy payment is refused, and when received to apply the 
same to the purposes of education in said district. All officers mentioned in this act shall 
be deemed public officers, within the intent and meaning of section thirtj'-eight, of title 
six, of chapter one. part four of the Revised Statutes, and, as such, liable "^to the penalty 
therein prescribed in addition to the penalty in this section before provided. 

§ 36. The board of education shall cause a school or schools for colored children to be 
taught in said union district, and include the expenses thereof in the amount so to be raised, 
annually, by tax for contingent expenses, and other purposes of education provided for in 
this act. 

§ 37. The board of education may, when they shall deem it advisable, appoint a superin- 
tendent of common schools for the said union school district, who may, ex officio, be 
secretary of said board. He shall be under the direction of the board of education, and they 
shall prescribe his general duties. In addition to such other duties as may be devolved 
upon him by the board, in the visitation and superintendence of the schools, he shall exam- 
ine the qualifications of teachers, and grant certificates in such manner and form as may be 
prescribed by the State Superintendent ; which shall not be in force longer than a year, and 
which may at any time be revoked by the board of education. He shall be paid a salary out 
of the general fund, to be fixed by the board of education, and may be removed from office 
by the vote of a majority of ail the members of the said board. 

§ 38, [Repealed by section 2, of title 10, of chapter 139, Laws of 1864.] 



528 FisHKiLL — Flushing. 

§ 39. All acts and parts of acts, conflicting or inconsistent with the provisions of this act, 
are hereby repealed, so far as they aflfect this act. 
§ 40. This act shall take eflfect immediately. 

\_Chap. 139, Laws of 1S64, title 10, secticm 9, p. 248.] 
§ 9. The act of the legislature of the State of New York, entitled " An act in relation to 
the common schools in the village of Elmira," passed April 4. 1859, is hereby amended by 
striking ont the word " ■village," whenever the same appears in said act, and in the title 
thereof, and inserting the word " city" in place thereof, and also by striking out the words 
" trustees," and the words '" board of trustees," wherever the same appear in said act. and 
inserting in place thereof the words " common council." and also by striking out the word 
" president," where the same appears in the sixth section of said act, and inserting in place 
thereof the word " mayor," and also by striking out the words *' the board of trustees of," 
in the second line of section nineteen of said act. And all the provisions of fsaid act, as so 
amended, shall apply to and be in force in said city, and in the school district and districts 
therein, as the same has heretofore applied to and been in force in the village of Elmira. 



FISHKILL. 

iCJmp. 441, Laws of 1867, p. 1062, vd. 1.] 

Section 1. The qualified electors of school district number eleven, of the town of Fish- 
kill, are authorized to appoint a building committee of one. who shall receive all moneys 
raised for the purpose of erecting a school-house in said district, after executing and 
depositing with the trustees of said district a bond for the faithful discharge of his duties 
under this act, which bond shall be for a sum equal to twice the amount of any one of the 
installments hereinafter named, and'which shall be signed by at least two sureties, to be 
approved by said trustees. The said building committee shall have the same power in 
relation to the building and acceptance of a school-house for said district as is now con- 
ferred by law upon the trustees of said school district, and shall receive compensation from 
the building fund at the rate of three dollars for every day's service, but compensation shall 
not be allowed to said committee for more than one hundred days' service in the ag;^regate. 

I 2. The trustees of said school district are hereby authorized and required." m their 
official capacity, to issue bonds for three-fourths of the amount which shall be voted to be 
raised for the purpose of building a school-house in said district, said bonds to be of equal 
amount, and to be payable with interest on the first days of December, in the years eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight and eighteen hundred and sixty- 
nine. Said trustees are hereby directed to issue tax" lists and warrants for the collection of 
district taxes sufficient to cancel said bonds, and the interest due thereon, as they become 
due as heretofore provided. 

§ 3. The plan for said new school-house shall be submitted to a vote of the qualified elec- 
tors of said district for approval or rejection, and no school-house shall be built in said 
district untD a majority of the legal voters present and voting upon the question at some 
district meeting duly called for that purpose, shall approve of the plan for the same. 



FLUSHING, DISTEICT No. 3. 
[Chap. 638, Laws of 1857, vol. 2, p. 431. ] 

Section 1. School district number three, in the town of Flushing, in the county of Queens, 
shall form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the school 
commissioner of the assembly district in which said school district is situated. 

§ 2. Said school district shall her«after be bounded as follows : Commencing in the north 
boundary of district number five, in the center of the front road leading from Clintonville 
to Flushing ; thence north-westerly in a nearly direct line to the waters of Nostrand's cove, 
said line passing one hundred yards west of Jacob Wilkins' residence ; thence following the 
waters of said cove to the East river, up the East river and the waters of Little Neck bay to 
the northern boundary of district number two ; thence westerly along said northern boun- 
dary to district number five ; thence northerly and westerly along said boundary, to the 
place of beginning. 

§ 3. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled the board of 
education, which board shall consist of five members, three or more of whom shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. Charles A. Eoe. Aaron C. Underbill. William 
H. Schermerhom, Edwin Powell and Thomas Legsett, jr., shall compose the first board of 
education, and shall hold their office from one to five years, that is to say. one shall go out 
of office in each year, and in the order in which their names stand recorded. 

§ 4. At the annual meeting of said district in each year, there shall be elected for five 
years one member of said board of education, who shall be a resident and taxable inhabit- 
ant of said district. Said election, and all other elections provided for by this act. except 
as provided in section fifteen of this act, shall be held by three inspectors, who shall be 
appointed by the board of education at least thirty days preceding such election, and shall 
be by ballot, and conducted in the same manner as the annual election. 

§ o. The said board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their government ; 
they shall have the entire control and management of all the common schools within the 
said district, and of all the property belonging to the same ; they shall have and possess, 



Flushing. 529 

within said district, all the rights, powers and authority of school commissioners ; they 
may appoint a collector with all the powers and duties of a district collector, or may employ 
the town collector for that purpose, and such collector shall collect and pay over the school 
moneys assessed upon said district to the treasurer of the board of education, in the same 
manner and under the same conditions as the laws of the town of which he is such collector 
require. They sliall appoint two of the members of said board who shall visit each school 
in said district at least once in each week, to render such assistance to the teachers and 
advice to the pupils as may be necessary, and to see that the regulations are rigidly 
adhered to. 

§ (). The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to raise a sum, 
not exceeding the sum of five thousand dollars, by a tax or loan. Such loan may be secured 
by a mortgage upon the public school property of said district, to be executed by said board 
in their official capacity; such money, when loaned, shall be paid over to said board of edu- 
cation, to be applied by them in purchasing a site and erecting or purchasing a school-house 
for said district, in grading and regulating the grotmds, and in building the necessary fences 
and out-houses. 

§ 7. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect by 
tax in each year, upon all the taxable property in said district, such sum as may be necessary 
to pay the interest due on loans, and a part of the principal, to furnish the necessary teach- 
ers, books and stationery, to furnish the necessary apparatus for the school-house and rooms, 
and for such other purposes as they may deem proper. Such tax shall not exceed in amount 
one-fourth of one per cent on the value of such taxable property, as the same shall be 
assessed by the assessors of the town of Flushing. And the said board shall add to the 
amount of "any warrant for the collection of taxes such amount as they may deem proper as 
the collector's fees for collecting, which compensation, however, shall in no case exceed 
five per cent on the amount of any warrant. 

§ S. The school commissioner of the assembly district in which said school district is 
situated shall pay over to the treasurer of the board of education all the public moneys to 
which said district number three shall be entitled for school purposes. 

§ 9. The said board of education shall call an anntial meeting of the district at such time 
in the year as they may deem proper. They shall post up written or printed notices of the 
same in eight or more public places in said district, at least one week previous to such 
meeting; they shall submit thereto a full report in writing of their doings as such board, 
and shall state therein the number and condition of the schools in said district under their 
charge, and the number of scholars attending the same, the studies pitrsued, the amount of 
money received from the State, as well as the amount required in the district for school pur- 
poses, the expenditure of the same, and generally all the particulars relating to the schools 
in said district ; which report, immediately after it is made, shall be published in at least 
two newspapers published in Queens county. 

§ 10. The board of education shall have entire control and charge of the district school 
library; they may employ a librarian, make such additions to the library and such regula- 
tions in relation thereto as they may deem expedient. 

§ 11. Whenever the said board of education shall deem it necessary to erect one or more 
school-houses in said district, they shall prepare an estimate showing the location proposed, 
the cost of the ground required, a plan of the building, with the estimated cost of the build- 
ing and appurtenances, and shall submit the same to the electors of said district at a special 
meeting called for that purpose, in the same manner as other special meetings are required 
to be called, and, if a majority of all the electors present vote in favor of the same, then the 
board may proceed to erect said school-house or houses in the manner proposed by said 
estimate. 

§ 12. The said board of education may call special meetings of said school district when- 
ever they may deem it necessary ; notices of a meeting shall be posted in eight or more 
public places, and published in a county paper at k-ast one week previous to such meeting, 
and no business shall be transacted at such meeting except that stated in the notice calling 
the same. Any person entitled to vote at any district meeting shall be an elector or legal 
voter for all purposes under this act. 

§ 13 All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed so far as 
the same relate to district number three, in the town of Flushing, in the county of Queens. 

FLUSHING, DISTRICT No. 5. 

[Laws of l&i8, chap. 81, as amended by chap. 117 of 1849, and 284 of 1854.] 

Section 1. School district number five, in the town of Flushing, in the county of Queens, 
snail form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the town 
superintendent of common schools for the town in which said district is situated. 

§ 2. The said district shall be lander the direction of a board, to be styled •' The board of 
education," which board shall consist of five members, three or more "of whom shall con- 
stitute a quorum for the transaction of business ; Effingham W. Lawrence, Edward E. 
Mitchell, Samuel B. Parsons, William H. Fairweather and Thomas Leggett, junior, shall 
compose the first board of education, and shall hold their offices from one to five years; that 
is to say, one shall go out of office in each year, and in the order in which their names 
stand recorded in this section 

§ .3. There shall be elected in each year, in said district, one member of said board of 
education, who shall be a resident and taxable inhabitant of said district, and shall hold 

67 



530 Flushing. 

his office for five years ; the said election shall take place at the annual meeting of said 
district ; and the board of education shall cxppoint three suitable persons as inspectors of 
said election, and of all other elections provided for by this act, except as provided in sec- 
tion fourteenth of this act, within thirty days next preceding any such election; such 
elections shall be by ballot, and notice thereof shall he given, the same shall he held and 
conducted, the votes shall be canvassed and the result of the election determined, in the 
same manner as in the case of the annual election of other village officers. 

§ 4. The hoard of education may make all necessary hy-laws for their government ; they 
shall h9,ve the entire control and management of all the common schools within the said 
district, and all the property belonging^ to the same ; they sball have and possess, within the 
said district, all the rights, powers and authority of town superintendent of common 
schools. They may appoint a collector, with all the powers and duties of a district collec- 
tor, or may employ the town or village collector for that purpose ; and such collector shall 
collect and pay over the school moneys assessed upon said district to the treasurer of the 
hoard of education in the same manner and under the same conditions as is imposed hy 
the laws of the town or village of which he is such collector. They shall require two of 
the memhers of said hoard to visit each school in said district at least once in each week, 
to render such assistance to the teachers and advice to the pupils as may he necessary, and 
to see that the regulations are rigidly adhered to. 

§ 5. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to raise a sum 
not exceeding the sum of five thousand dollars, -either by a tax on said district or by a loan, 
such loan to be secured by a mortgage upon the public school property of said district, to 
be executed hy said hoard in their official capacity. 

§ 6. The said board of education, in addition to the other taxes Avhich they are hereby 
authorized to raise, may levy and collect a sum sufficient to pay interest on loans, a? the 
same becomes due ; and whenever any part of the principal of such loans becomes due, 
they shall levy and collect an amount sufficient to pay the same, which sums, when collected, 
shall be paid over by said board in discharge of such principal and interest. 

§ 7. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect hy 
tax in each year, upon all the taxable property in said district, such sum as may be neces- 
sary, not exceeding in amount one-fourth of one per cent on the value of such taxable 
property, as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town of Flushing. And the 
said board shall add to the amount of any warrant for the collection of taxes such amount 
as they shall deem proper, as the collector's fees for collection, which compensation, how- 
ever, shall in no case exceed five per cent on the amount of any warrant. 

§ 8. The town superintendent of common schools of the town of Flushing shall pay over 
to the treasurer of the board of education all the public moneys to which said district 
number five shall be entitled for school purposes. 

§ 9 The said board of education shall call an annual district meeting at such time in the 
year as they may think proper, and shall submit thereto a full report in writing of their 
doings as such board, and shall state therein the number and condition of the schools in 
said district under their charge, and the number of scholars attending the same, the studies 
pursued, the amount of moneys received from the State, as well as the amount required in 
the district for school purposes, and the expenditure of the same, and, generally, all the 
particulars relating to the schools in said district ; which report shall, immediately after it 
is made, be published in a newspaper published in the town of Flushing, for two weeks, 
and once in each week. 

§ 10. The board of education shall have control and charge of the district school library in 
said district ; they may employ a librarian, make such addition to the library and such regu- 
lations in relation thereto as they mav deem necessary. 

§ 11. The school for the colored children under the charge of the female association in the 
village of Flushing may, with the consent of said association, be taken under the charge 
of the board of education and be organized as a district school, and be supported as the 
other schools in said district are under this act. 

§ 12. Whenever the said board of education shall deem it necessary to erect one or more 
school-houses in said district, they shall prepare an estimate showing the location proposed, 
the cost of the ground required, a plan of the building, with the estimated cost of the 
building and appurtenances, and shall submit the same to the electors of said district at a 
special meeting, to be called for that purpose in the same manner as other special meetings 
are required to be called, and if a majority of all the electors present at such meeting shall 
vote in favor of the same, then said board may proceed to erect said school-house or houses 
in the manner proposed by said estimate ; and if the sum authorized to be raised by section 
five of this act should be insufficient to pay the estimated cost of such buildings and 
ground, with the expense of grading and regulating the grounds, building the necessary 
out-h uses and fences, with the cost of the necessary books, stationery and necessary 
apparatus for the school-house and rooms, then the said board of education may raise a 
sum, in addition to the sum mentioned in section five, and in the manner therein authorized, 
a sum not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars ; and they are also authorized to levy and 
collect such amount, as may be necessary to pay the principal or interest of such additional 
sum as may become due, in the same manner as is provided in section sixth of the said act, 

§ 13. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever 
they may deem it necessary ; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written^ or 
printed notice thereof, in at least four public places in said village, and hy publishing 
the same in a newspaper published in the village of Flushing, at least one week previous to 
the time fixed for said meeting, which notice shall state the time and place of such meeting 
and the purpose for which the same is called ; and no business shall be transacted at any 
Buch special meeting except that stated in the notice calling the same. 



Flushing. 531 

flushing, district no. 7. 

[Chap. 50, Laios of 1858, p. 82.] 

Section 1. School district number seven, in the towa of Flushing, in the county of 
Queens, shall form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the 
school commissioner of the assembly district in which said school district is situated. 

§ 2. Said school district shall hereafter be bounded as follows : Comraencinf^ at the south- 
west corner in the center of the front road leading from the villa<^e ot Flushing to 
Clintonville, and north boundary of district number five ; thence westeriy along the north 
line of said district number five to the waters of Flushing bay ; thence northerly along 
the waters of said bay to the East river; thence an easterly course along the waters of said 
river until it comes to Nostrand's cove and the north-west boundary of district number 
three ; and thence along the west boundary of said district number three to the place of 
beginning. 

§ 8. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled the " board of 
education," which board shall consist of ^ve members, three or more of whom shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. Augustus Drebling, Francis Zoeller, 
William £. Chisholm, Conrad Pappenhausen, and Herman A. Schleicher shall compose the 
first board of education, and shall hold that office from one to five years, that is to say : one 
shall go out of ofiice in each year, and in the order in which their names stand recorded in 
this section. 

§ 4. At the first annual meeting held in said district, and at each annual meeting there- 
after, there shall be elected one member of said board of education, who shall hold his 
office for five years, who shall be a resident and taxable inhabitant of said district. Said 
election, and all other elections provided for by this act, shall be held by three inspectors, 
who shall be appointed by the board of education, at least thirty days preceding such 
election, and shall be by ballot and conducted in the same manner as the anmial election. 

§ 5. The said board of education shall, at their first annual meeting, choose one of their 
number for president, one for secretary, and one for treasurer, who shall hold ofiice for one 
3^ear; the treasurer shall execute a bond conditioned for the faithful performance of his 
duty, in such form and with such sureties as the said board shall approve, and the said 
board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their government. They shall have 
the entire control and management of all the common schools within the said district, and 
of all the property belonging to the same. They shall have and possess within said district 
all the rights, and powers, and authority of school commissioners. They may appoint 
a collector, who shall have all the powers and duties, and shall be subject to all the condi- 
tions that district collectors now ai'e, or may employ the town collector for that purpose, 
and such collector shall collect and pay over the school moneys assessed upon said district 
to the treasurer of the board of education, in the same' manner and under the same condi- 
tions as the laws of the town of which he is such collector require. They shall appoint two 
of the members of said board, who shall visit each school in said district at least once in 
each week, to render such assistance to the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be 
necessary, and to see that the regulations are rigidly adhered to. 

§ (5. Tlie said board of education are hereby auth(n-ized and empowered to raise a sum, 
not exceeding the sum of five thousand dollars, either by tax on said district or by a loan, 
such loan to be secured by a mortgage upon the public school property of said district, to 
be executed by said board in their official capacity. Such money, when raised by tax or 
loaned, shall be paid over to said board of education or treasurer thereof, to be applied 
directly by them in purchasing a site and erecting or purchasing a school-house or school- 
houses for said district, in grading and regulating the grounds and building the necessary 
fences and out-houses. 

§ 7. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect by 
tax in each j-ear, upon all the taxable property in said district, such sums as may be neces- 
sary for teachers' wages, to pay the interest due on loans and a part of the principal, to 
furnish the teachers Avith necessary books and stationery, to furnish the necessary apparatus 
for the school-house and rooms, and for such other purposes as they may deem proper. Such 
tax shall not exceed in amount one-fourth of one per cent on the value of such taxable prop- 
erty as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town of Flushing; and the said 
board shall add to the amount of any warrant for the collection of taxes such amount as 
they may deem proper as the collector's fees for collecting, which compensation, however, 
shall in no case exceed five per cent on the amount of any warrant. 

§ 8. The supervisor of the town in which said school district is situated, shall pay over 
to the board of education all the public moneys to which said district number seven is or 
shall be entitled to for school purposes. 

§ 9. The said board of education shall call an annual meeting of the district at such time 
in the year as they may deem proper. They i-»iall post up written or printed notices of the 
same in eight or more public places in said district, at least one week previous to said 
meeting, and shall submit thereto a full report in writing of their doings as such board, and 
shall state therein the number and condition of the schools in said district under their 
charge and the number of scholars attending the same, the studies pursued, the amount 
of moneys received from the State, as well as the amount required in the district for school 
purposes, and the expenditure of the same, and generally all the particulars relating to the 
schools in said district, which report shall, immodiately after it is made, be published in one 
or more newspapers published in the village of Flushinir. 

§ 10. The board of education shall have entire control and charge of the district school 
library in such district. They may employ a librarian, make such additions to the library, 
and such regulations in relation thereto as they may deem expedient. 



532 Fort Covington. 

§ 11. Whenever the said board of education shall deem it necessary to erect one or more 
Bchool-houses in said district, they shall prepare an estimate showing the location pro- 
posed, the cost of the ground required, a plan of the building with the estimated cost of 
building and appurtenances, and shall submit the same to the electofs of said district at a 
special meeting- called for that purpose, in the same manner as other special meetings are 
required to be called : and if a majority of all the electors present vote in favor of the same, 
the said board may proceed to erect said school-house or school-houses in the manner pro- 
posed by said estimate. 

§ 12. The said board of education may call special meetings of said school district when- 
ever they may deem it necessary. Notices of a meeting shall be ])osted in eight or more 
public places, and published in a county paper at least one week previous to such meeting, 
and no business shall be transacted at such meeting except that stated in the notice calling 
the same. Any person entitled to vote at any district meeting shall be an elector or legal 
voter for all purposes under this act. 

§ 13. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as 
the same relate to district number seven, in the town of Flushing, county of Queens. 



FOET CO^^NGTON. 
Laws of 1853, chaj). 155, p. 285.] 

Section 1. There shall hereafter be elected in school district number one, formed of 
school districts numbers one and two. in the town of Fort Covington and county of Frank- 
lin, three or five trustees, who shall respectively hold their offices three or five years (as the 
term of office may be). Preserved Ware, Warren L. Manning. William Hogle, G. A. Streeter, 
H. B. Mears. and Geoi-ge A. Cheney are hereby appointed trustees of saicl district, and shall 
respectively hold said office as follows, namely: The term of office of Preserved Ware and 
Warren L." Manning shall expire at the sarhe time that the term of office of Henry A. 
Paddock, a trustee of said district, shall expire : the term of office of William Hogle'and 
G. A. Streeter shall expire, at the same time that the term of office of A. M. Liucohi, a 
trustee of said district, shall expire : and the term of office of H. B. Mears and George A. 
Cheney shall expii-e at the same time that the term of office of Christopher Briggs, as trustee 
of said district, shall expire. 

§ •>. The trustees of said district, and their successors in office, shall constitute a board of 
education for said district; and, for the purposes of this act, in addirion to tue present 
powers and duties of trustees, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the 
name and title of -'The board of educa^tion of the village of Fort Covington:" and said 
corporation shall have power to establish and organize a classical school in said village, to 
be known by the name of the " Fort Covington academy ; '" and sucli classical schoof shall 
be subject to all laws and regulations applicable to other incorporated academies of this 
State, and shall be entitled to share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund, 
upon the same terms as other academies of this State : and the Regents of the University 
ehall recognize said academy as such, as soon as the required sum of money shall be 
expended in buildings and competent teachers employed therein. 

§ 3. Said board of^education shall appoint one of fheir number president of said board, 
who shall preside at the meetings of said board, when present : when absent, a president 
pro tempore shall be appointed in his stead. They shall also appoint one of their number 
secretary, who. shall record all the acts and resoliUions of said board : and in the absence of 
the secretary, a secretary pro tempore shall be appointed to discharge such duties. They 
shall also appoint a collector, librarian and treasurer of said district, who shall hold their 
offices 'respectively) one year from their appointment, and until others are appointed in 
their places, unless sooner removed by said board : such collector, librarian and treasurer 
shall each, within ten days after notice has been received of their appointment in writing, 
and before entering upon their duties of office, execute and deliver to said board of educa- 
tion a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as said board may require, conditioned 
for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. In case such bond shall not be given 
within ten days after receiving such notice, such office shall thereby become vacated, and 
said board of education shall thereupon make an appointment to fill such vacancy. 

§ 4. The said board of education shall have power to fill any vacancy which may happen 
by reason of the death, removal from ofiice, or fi'om the said district, of any of said board ; 
and the officer so appointed shall hold his office for the unexpired term of the person to 
supplj- whose place he shall be appointed. 

§ 5. Said board of education, or any one of them, may be removed from off.ce for the non- 

Ecrformance of any duty imposed uijon them, or any one of them, as set forth in this act, 
y a two-third vote of the legal voters pi'esent of said district, at any annual or special 
meeting of said district : and the vacancies or vacancy then caused may be filled at such 
annual or special meeting by a majority of the legal voters then and then^ present. Notice 
of annual and special meetings shall be given, in the same manner that annual and special 
meetings are given in the common school districts of this State. 

§ (i. Said board of education shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties 
in respect to said district that the trustees of common schools are now subject to or now 
possess. 

§ T. The taxable inhabitants of said district, at any annual, special or adjourned meeting 
legally held, may vote to raise such sum of money as they shall deem expedient for the pur- 
pose of purchasing a site and building a school-house in said district, or for the purpose of 
purchasing any suitable building for such purpose, and direct the trustees to cause the sum 



Fort Covixgtox. 533 

to lie levied and raided by installments, and make out a tax for the collection of the pame, as 
often as such installment? shall become due ; and the le2;al voters at any such mcetini? are 
authorized to fix the compensation for collecting and paying over t% the said board of edu- 
cation the amount so levied. 

§ 8. The inhabitants of said district shall have no power to rescind the vote to raise such 
sum of money at any subsequent meeting, unless the same be done within ten days there- 
after; nor siiall they"have power to reduce the amount of the same after the expiration of 
ten days from the time the tax was first levied, but may remit such sum as shall remain 
unappropriated after paying for the site and erection of the house or purchase of suitable 
buildinsrs. 

§ 9. The said board of education are hereby authorized to obtain by loan the whole or any 
part of the money legally voted by said district, and secure the payment of the same by 
their official bonds. 

§ 10. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to sell at public 
auction, to the highest bidder, the school-houses and sites belonging to said district, by 
giving public notice, to be posted in ten public places in said district, ten days previous to 
such sale, towards purchasing a site and erecting a school-house in said district, or to such, 
other purpose as said district shall direct : such sale may be made upou such terms of credit 
as said board of education shall determine upon, and a bond and mortgage taken by said 
board for the whole or any part of the purchase money or price for which said site and house 
maybe sold, and such bond and mortgage may be sold and assigned by said board at par, 
for money to be applied by them as herein provided. 

§11. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to make such 
by-laws and regulations as they may deem necessarj' to secure the prosperity, order and 
government of said school, and divide the same into primary and higher departments, 
and regulate the transfer of scholars from one department to the other, and provide suitable 
instructors for each department, direct what text books shall be used in the same, in carry- 
ing out the above provisions of this secticm; the town superintendent of common schools 
in said town shall constitute one of said board ; said board shall purchase fuel and other 
necessaries for the use of the school or schools in said district, and all ccmtracts made by 
Them in their official capacity shall be binding on them and their successors in office : to 
fix and regulate the terms of tuition fees in said primary and other higher departments, 
to sue for and collect in their corporate name any sum of monej' due to said district, to 
receive and apply to the uses of said school or schools, or any department thereof, any 
gift, legacj', bequest, or annuities, given or bequeathed to said board, and apply the same 
according to the instruction of the said donor or testator; to take and hold any real estate 
given or bequeathed to said board for the purpose of said school or schools, or any depart- 
ment thereof, and apply the same, or the interest or proceeds thereof, according to the 
terms and instructions of the donor or testator ; to have in all respects the superintendence, 
supervision, manairement and control of said schools or any department thereof except when 
otherwise provided for in this act) and to hire, pay, and dismiss any teacher or teachers 
employed by them in said school or any department thereof. 

§ 12. Said board of education shall, in all respects, be subject to the restrictions and con- 
trol of the stiperintendentsof common schools of the town, county and State, in the same 
manner that the common schools in this State are subject. 

§ 13. Said board of education shall have power, and are hereby authorized to receive into 
said academy, and cause to be instructed therein, any pupil or pupils residing in or out of 
said district, and to regtilate and establish the terms of tuition fees of such resident or 
non-resident pupils. And said board of education shall have power to regulate the tuition 
fees and rates of charges in the higher English and classical departments of said academy, 
and shall have power^ to make such application of the money raised for the support oi 
common schools in said district, for the payment of teachers' wages, as said board shall 
determine, and may divide and apportion the" same as said board may deem best, to pay the 
salaries of teachers employed in said academy or the elementary English branches in 
the schools connected therewith or maintained in said district under their supervision. 
The rates of tuition in the elementary English branches in the schools maintained in said 
district shall be subject to the general laws relating to common schools, and after applying 
such portion of the money received in said district as said board shall determine, to the 
support of such elementary English department, such sura, not to be less than one-half of 
all the moneys received in said district for the support of common schools therein, the 
additional sum required to pay teachers' wages and provide fuel and other contingent 
expenses necessary to the support of such elementary schools, shall be estimated, assessed, 
collected and applied in the manner provided in chapter one hundred and forty and four 
hundred and four of the Session Laws of one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, or in 
such other manner as shall be hereafter provided bylaws for the support of comiiion schools. 

§ 14. All moneys raised in said district for the purpose of said school, and all mcmeys to 
be received by such district from the common school fund or other sources, shall be annually 
paid to the said board of education or to their order, and be applied by them for the uses of 
said school or schools according to law. 

§ 15. The members of said board of education, before receiving any moneys belonging to 
said distri^ct, shall severally execute to the town superintendent of common schools of "the 
town of Fort Covington their separate bonds, with two sufficient sureties, to be approved 
by said town superintendent, in a penalty at least double the amount to be expended by 
them for the benefit of said school during the next ensuing vear; conditioned, that such 
trustee giving such bond will faithfully account for the expenditure of all moneys he shall 
receive for said district and pay over the balance remaining in hi« hands at the time of the 
expiration of his office to the other trustees ; and the district, at any legal meeting thereof, 



534 Glen's Falls — Hamilton. 

may require the penalty of such bond to be increased or additional security to be given by 
either or all of the trustees, if they shall deem the same insufficient; and any trustee or 
treasurer of said district, or any member of said board, who shall apply any moneys of said 
district to his own use, shall be deemed guilty of embezzlement. 

§ l(j. The trustees and stockholders of "Fort Covington academy"' are hereby empow- 
ered, by a vote of a majority of its members at any regular meeting, to convey to the board 
of education hereinbefore named, their buildings, apparatus, books, funds, together with 
all the appurtenances to the said "Fort Covington academy" belonging. 

§ 17. The said board of education shall have the same control over the watering places and 
military lands on the mile square, in the town of Fort Covington, as the board of trustees 
of Fort Covington academy has heretofore possessed. 

iChap. 228, Laivs of 1866, p. 517. ] 

Section 1. The board of education of the village of Fort Covington is hereby authorized 
to sell and convey that portion of out lot number seven in the mile square in said village, 
heretofore used as a site for school-house number one in said town, together with the school- 
house thereon erected, and the commissioners of the land office are hereby required to 
issue letters patent to the purchaser of said lot. 

§ 2. The said board of education is also authorized to sell and convey the site of district 
school-house number two in said town, and use the proceeds of both the said lots, in the 
erection of more commodious school-houses. 

§ 3. Chapter one hundred and twenty-seven of the Laws of one thousand eight hundred 
and thirty-two, is hereby amended so as to authorize and empower the said board of edu- 
cation t(j make selection of a portion of the public square in said village for a site for a 
new academy and free grade school building or buildings, and to inclose and use such por- 
tion of the said public square as they may select and deem proper and necessary for the 
purposes of the said academy and grade schools. 

§ 4. All portions of the acts of eighteen hundred and twenty-one, and eighteen hundred 
and thirty-two above referred to, inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby 
repealed. 

GLEN'S FALLS. 

By chapter 424, Laws of 1851, the libraries of districts two, seven, eight, eighteen, nineteen 
and twenty, in the town of Queensbury, in Warren county, were united into one common 
library, called the common school library of Glen's Falls, under the charge of three directors, 
appointed by the trustees of the village of Glen's Falls. 



HAMILTON. 

Chap. 158, Laws of 1857, p. 357, vol. 1. Chap. 2(>4, Laws of 1861, p, 591. And chap. 401, 
Laws of 1865, p. 739. 

Section 1. The board of education of consolidated school districts numbers one. fourteen 
and seventeerx in the town of Hamilton, shall have power and are authorized, in their discre- 
tion, to employ teachers, without reference in their contracts to the moneys which shall be 
appropriated or subject to their order or drafts during the current year, and nothing con- 
tained in the act entitled " An act to provide for the establishment of iinion free schools," 
passed June eighteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-thi'ee, shall be constrned to prevent said 
board from exercising said power, and in case of any deficiency of funds for the payment of 
teachers' wasres, beyond the amount of public moneys appropriated and belonging to said 
consolidated districts, and other moneys, whether appropriated by a vote of said district or 
arising from the tuition fees of non-resident pupils, or otherwise, "the said board shall have 
power to raise the same by rate bill, to be made out by the said board of education, against 
those sending to school in propoi'tion to the number of days and children sent, to be deter- 
mined by the teacher's list ; said rate bill to be collected by the collector of said consolidated 
districts, in the same manner as now provided by law for the collection of school district 
taxes. In making out such rate bill, it shall be the duty of said board to exempt, either 
wholly or in part, as they may deem expedient, such indigent inhabitants as may in their 
judgment be entitled to such exemption ; and the amount of such exemption shall be added 
by them to the first tax list thereafter to be made out by said board for the purposes of said 
consolidated districts, or shall be separately levied by them as they shall deem most expe- 
dient : and for the purposes of levying and directing the collection of any sums so exempted 
from said rate bill, the said board shall have the same power that trustees of common 
school districts now possess. 

§ 2. The said board of education shall have power to apply the public moneys annually 
received by them, or subject to their order, for the payment of teachers' wages to the several 
terms during which school shall be kept in said consolidated districts, in such proportion as 
they shall deem expedient. 

§ 3. The collector appointed by said board shall possess the same power, be entitled to the 
same fees, and subject to the same liabilities as are now provided by law for collectors of 
common school districts, not inconsistent with the provisions of the said act of June eigh- 
teenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-three. 



Hamilton. 535 



§4, 

new school 
of struct 



The paid board of education in any contract and expenditures for the construction of 
•hool buildin-s, or for the alteration, repairs or improvements with reference to site 
oi .iracture<in the academy or free school buildings, or iii buying apparatus or fixtures, 
sLuhave power to make such contracts and expenditures in advance ot levying and collec- 
S of am oirhi ions then voted and authorized to be raised lor such purposes and may 
* ' tl c^^m e to the fall amount of such appropriations so voted ^>f /" «;> [Jf^^f, ' "i'Sf-en 
uouut thereof, and nothing contained in the said act ot June eighteenth eighteen 
..V ..,,1 iit>v.ihr.-,^ shall be construed to prevent said board Irom exercising such 



tiou 
make 

the amouL. , „ , 

hundred and hfty-three, shall be construed to prev( 

^Ts^'tIic provisions of the first and second sections of this act shall apply only to the 
departments of said union free school below the academical. 



[CMp. 2G4, Laws of 1861.] 

SfctionI Nothincr contained in the act entitled "An act to change the school, and to 
amenrthe statute in relation to public instruction," passed April twelth, eighteen hundred 
SfiftveiS't shall be so construed as to affect or interfere with the union free school 
fnthe tow r of Hamilton, established in pursuance ot the act entitled "An act to provide 
fSr the e'tabHshinent of union free schools,- passed June eighteenth eighteen hundred and 
fiftv-thi^e or to afi-ect or interfere with any of the officers of said school, or ol he districts 
Jompoihi'^ the same ; but the said school, the boards of instruction, and the other othcers 
of^Jid d strict^^ sha 1 in all respects, remain and continue subject to the provisions ol said 
act of J me%hteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, and of any special acts here otore 
msved in relatton to said s'chool, except that sections one and two ot said act of April twellth 
?i%Steen hundred and fifty-eigh , shall apply to said union free school and to the districts 



T?Tle%resent board of education of consolidated school districts number one fourteen 
anV'seventeeu n the t^own of Hamilton, now acting as such, and consisting of nine m 
^Ih^rlvicV been elected wholly in pursuance of the, said act of June eighteenth, 



± The present 

^^mnberiiavimV^been elected wholly in pursuance of tne saia aci oi dime eigutv^cuLu 
PicrCenhiindT-ecl and fifty-three, is herel^ be the boaM of education of said 

rmr4^?d\ted cUstrict^ and the acts of said board heretofore done and performed are hereby 
fpT^iSed ami Si firmed that is to say, such acts shall not be impeached or held inva id on 
l^>:'i^ltrJ"'^..^l'' ov^ 1^^^^^^ hP.fin elected and constituted under and m accordance with the 



account of said board having been elected and const 



^^r^tncnne nf «aid act of June eighteenth, eighteen hundred and filty-thn 
^r^ A ma^oiSv of the members of said board of education shall constitute a quorum, and 
Bhiil hav?power to transact all business and do aU acts that said board is legally authorized 
to perform. 

\_Chap. 401, Laws of 1865.] 

Sfctiov 1 The board of education of consolidated school districts number one, fourteen 
«nrl seventeen in the town of Hamilton, shall have power and are authorized, m their dis- 
n^.Hn7 to emolov teachers without reference in their contracts to the moneys which shall 
Wnm^omk^ed Jr^s^^^^^ their order or drafts during the current year; and noilung 

^Lt^FnPrl i 1 tlie act entitled " An act to revise and consolidate the general acts relating to 
^?.h t^fistracUon " pSsed May second, eighteen hundred and sixty-foui-, shall be cons rued 
F"^rPVP Ssaid bokr? said power, and in case of any deficiency of .funds for 

ihi^nnvment of teSher? wa-cs, bevSud the amount of the public money appropriated and 
Ipin^cAna ?o ?he said consolidated districts, and other moneys, whether appropnarect by a 
?^pn"fX said districts or arising from the tuition of any non-resident pupil or otherwise, 
thi «nJrl boaid mav rais^ the same by rate bill, to be made out by the said board ol education 
1 «^r, t thoSe «Sn- in proportion to the number of days and children sent, to 

f"Ttir,SdlwtSr teacher's list. Said rate bill to be collected by the collector of said 
be detenmned by the teacne^ provided by law for the collection of school 

^?^?r?cl Axes In makin^^^^^^^^ it shall be the duty of the. said board to exempt 

district taxes. "^^";^,^/"= Y^;' ,„„„ a^^^ expedient, such indigent inhabitants as may in 
tf.^r^nSLtbl^^n i^^^ ^''^'' exemption shall be 

?rJd\o them by the firs? a^^ Ust, thereafter to be made out by said board for the purpose of 
^?[^ ?m?solicSted Set or shall be separately levied by them, as they shall deem most expe 
riJf^nd for the oS-e of levying a^^ directing the collection of any sum so exempt 
ftSsatfl rate bili? the sa?d board shalfhave the same^power that trustees of common school 

•^'f ^''^ThHIirbS of education shall have power to apply the public money annually 

^ '^- 1 ^,. th^nf or <nl ipct to their order for the payment of teachers' wages to the seve- 

rartrrms''rrli?"vS[ch"s^r^^^^^ in said Jon'solidated districts, in such proportion 

^Vo'^rfe'coUecJSr^'iSedbysaW shall possess the same powers, be entitled to 

fh! «;mrfee° andV^ibject to the same liabilities as are now provided by law for collectors 
Sconimon school dJltiicts, not inconsistent with the provisions of said act of May second, 

eiff ^"he^SdT.oaTd'^of edl'caSon, in any contract and expenditure for the construction of 
§ 4. ^^^^^^ ,7^4 ''V;;^'' " f .y^ alteration repairs or improvements with reference to site of 
''tnUurefn the SS^^^ or in buying apparatus or fixtures, shall 

^*Tnnwe?trmS such contract and expenditure in advance of the levying and collectiou 
have powei to maKe bucu ^.^nt J. , ^aicprt for such nurnose. and may make the 



of 



rnrap?roprSuon7oTeranrauth^i^ be raised for Buch purpose, and may 



536 Hempstead. 

Bame to the full amount of such appropriation so voted, but In no case to exceed the amount 
thereof: and nothing contained in the said act of May second, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
lour, shall be construed to prevent said board from exercising such power. 

§ 5. The said consolidated districts, numbers one, fourteen and seventeen, of the town of 
Hamilton, shall be known and designated by the name of union free school of Hamilton, 
and be numbered school district number one of the said town of Hamilton. 

§ 6. The provisions of the first and second sections of this act shall apply only to the 
department of said union free school below the academical. 



HEMPSTEAD. 
[Chap. 116, Lmvs of 1863, p. 174.] 

Section 1. School district number one in the town of Hempstead, in the county of Queens, 
shall form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the conmis- 
sioner of .common schools for the district in which it is situated. 

§ 2. The boundaries of said district shall remain as at present on the west and south ; but 
shall hereafter, on the east, run from the house of John Petit to the house of Stewart S. 
Haff, thence to the house of Lewis F. Randall, thence to the house of Jacob Bates, and 
thence running north to the line dividing the town of North Hempstead, thence along the 
district school boundary to the place of beginning. 

§ 3. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled " the board of 
education," which board shall consist of five members, three or more of whom shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. John Harold, Wm. M. Carmichael, Richard 
Brower, Richard lug-raham and A. Y. Cortelyou shall compose the first board of education, 
and shall hold their office from one to five years, that is to say, one shall go out of office in 
each year, and in the order in which their names stand recorded in this section. 

§ 4. The board of education shall fill all vacancies which may happen by death, resignation, 
or removal from the district ; the members so appointed shall hold their office until the next 
annual meeting, and at each annual election a person shall be elected to supply the place of 
any member of the board so appointed, and the person thus elected shall serve out the 
unexpired term. 

§ 5. At the annual meeting of said district in each year, there shall be elected one member 
of said board of education to serve five years, who shall be a resident and taxable inhabitant 
of said district. Said election, and all other elections provided for by this act, shall be held 
by three inspectors, who shall be appointed by the board of education, at least tliirty days 
preceding such election ; and said election shall be by ballot : and due notice shall be given, 
by publishing a notice of said election in the village newspapers at least three weeks pre- 
vious to said election, and shall be conducted in the same manner as the annual election of 
village officers. 

§ 6. The said board of education shall, at their first annual meeting, choose one of their 
number for president, and one for secretary, and one for treasurer, who shall hold their 
offices for one year. The treasurer shall execute a bond for the faithful performance of his 
duties in such form and with such sureties as the said boai'd shall approve, and such bond 
shall be deposited with the president of said board ; the said board may make all necessary 
by-laws for their government ; they shall have the entire control and management of all the 
common schools within the said district, and all the property belonging to the same ; they 
shall have and possess within the said district all the rights, powers and authority of com- 
missioners of common schools ; they may appoint a collector, with all the powers and duties* 
of a disl'-ict collector, or may employ the town or village collector for that purpose, and 
such collector shall collect and pay over the school moneys assessed upon said district, to 
the treasurer of the board of education, in the same manner and under the same conditions 
as is imposed by the laws of the tovni or village of which he is collector. They shall require 
one or more of the members of said board to visit each school in said district at least once 
in each week, to render such assistance to the teachers, and advice to the pupils, as may be 
necessary, and see that the regulations are rigidly adhered to. 

§ 7. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect by 
tax in each year, upon all the taxable property in said district, such sums as may be neces- 
sary, not exceeding in amount one-fourth of one per cent on the value of such taxable 
property, as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town of Hempstead, or 
incorporated village of Hempstead. And the said board shall add to the amount of any 
warrant for the collection of taxes such amount as they shall deem proper, as collector's 
fees for collection, which compensation, however, shall in no case exceed five per cent on 
the amount of any warrant ; and on all sums voluntarily paid to the treasurer of the board 
of education, before the warrant is placed in the collector's hands, only one per cent shall 
be charged as collector's fees. 

§ 8. The supervisor of the town of Hempstead, or any other officer having charge of the 
same, shall pay over to the treasurer of the board of education all the public moneys to 
which said district number one shall be entitled for school purposes. 

§ 9. The said board of education shall call an annual district meeling at such time in the 
year as they may think proper, and shall submit thereto a ftill report in writing of their 
doings as such board, and shall state therein the number and condition of the schools in 
said district under their charge, and the number of scholars attending the same, the studies 
pursued, the amount of moneys received from the State as well as the amount required in 
the district for school purposes, and the expenditure of the same, and generally all the 
particulars relating to schools in said district, which report shall, immediately after it is 



HoosicK — Hudson . 537 

made, be published in the newspapers pi;blished in the village of Hempstead two succes- 
sive weeks. 

§ 10. The board of education shall have control and charge of the district school library 
in said district ; they may employ a librarian, make such additions to the library, and such 
regulations in relation thereto, as they may deem necessary ; but no books shall be loaned 
to residents out of the district. 

§ 11. A school for colored children may be organized as a district school, and be supported 
as the other schools in said district are under this-act. 

§ 12. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary ; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written or printed 
notice thereof in at least, four public places in said village, and by publishing the same in a 
newspaper published in the village of Hempstead, at l(3ast one week previous to the time 
fixed for said meeting, and th'^ purpose for which the same is called; and no business shall 
be transacted at any such special meeting, except that stated in the notice calling the sb 



HOOSICK. 

[Oha]). 194, Laws of 18G4, ;;. 384.] 

Section 1. The trustees of school district number one in the town of Hoosick, in the 
county of Rensselaer, shall annually, at least three weeks before their annual meeting, pre- 
pare an estimate of the amount which they shall deem necessary to pay the debts of such 
district, and for the support of common schools therein, for the ensuing year, exclusive of 
the moneys which they may be entitled to receive from the town supervisor, and including 
the sums" required for the 'purchase of necessary furniture, apparatus and books, and the 
contingent expenses : and shall cause printed or written notices thereof to be posted for 
two weeks thereaftci", in five or more of the most public places in said district. They shall 
present such estimate at such annual meeting, when the inhabitants of such district entitled 
to vote at school district meetings then present shall vote thereon : and the same having 
been approved of by a majority of such inhabitants, shall be levied and raised by tax on 
such district, as now provided by law for raising a district school tax. 

§ 2. When the trustees shall have completed the tax list, they shall issue their warrant to 
the collector of taxes of said district, returnable in thirty days, for the collection of the 
same, and take from such collector approved security for the performance of his duty ; such 
warrant may be renewed from time to time. The moneys so collected shall be paid to 
such trustees, and by them appropriated to the purposes "for which the same were voted, 
unless otherwise directed by a vote of the inhabitants at their anntial district meeting, or a 
special meeting called for the purpose. 

§ 3. The tax hereby imposed shall be a lien upon the land tax, to be enforced and collected 
by sale, in the manner that county taxes are, upon a report to be made by said collector to 
the treasurer of the county of all unpaid taxes in said district. 



HUDSON. 

{Laws of 1841, chap. 350, p. 332, as amended by chap. 12, Laws of 1843, p. 10, and chap. 132, 
Laws of 1844, p. 122.] 

Section 1. The members of the common council of the city of Hudson shall, by virtue of 
their office, be commissioners for common schools in and for said city, and in common 
council shall perform all the duties of such commissioners, and shall possess all the rights, 
powers and authority, and shall be subject to all the duties and oblioations of comraissio'nera 
of common schools in the several towns of this State, and shall have power: 

1. To divide the city into school districts, of which there shall not be less than three in 
the compact part of the city ; 

2. They shall designate, jpurchase or lease, or otherwise obtain, in each school district, a 
site or sites for a school-house or the school-houses therein, and shall fence or improve 
the same in such manner as to them shall appear suitable and proper : 

3. They shall cause to be built or procured in each district such school-house or school- 
houses and out-houses, as shall appear to them suitable and sufficient ; 

4. They shall complete, improve, enlarge or repair any district school-house, from time to 
time, as they shall think proper : and they shall supply tlie district school-houses, whenever 
they shall deem it expedient, with such school apparatus, books, furniture and appendages 
as they may think necessary: 

5. They shall appoint, in the manner provided by them for the appointment of other 
officers of said city, three persons, to be denominated a board of superintendents ; of these 
three persons the one first chosen shall continue in office for three years, the one next 
appointed shall continue in office for two years, and the one last appointed shall continue 
in office for one year : 

6. They shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to make such by-laws and ordinances 
as may be in their opinion necessary for the prosperity and good order and efficient govern- 
ment of the common schools, and the security and the preservation of the school-houses and 
other property belongiui; to the school districts : and to prescribe the duties and powers of 
the board of superintendents, in all cases not provided for by this act ; 

68 



638 Hudson. 

7. They shall require and take from the superintendents and collectors such security as 
they shall deem expedient ; and, if such security is not given by any superintendent or 
collector, the said common council may declare his office forfeited, and appoint another 
superintendent or collector in his place ; 

8. They shall supply a vacancy produced in the board of; superintendents from any cause ; 
the person appointed to fill such vacancy shall continue in office during the unexpired 
remainder of the term for which his predecessor was chosen, and no longer, unless 
reappointed ; 

9. They shall divide the district schools in said city into primaiy and higher departments, 
or otherwise, whenever they shall deem such division desirable: and they shall prescribe 
regulations for the transfer of scholars from one department to another, and they shall direct 
the board of superintendents to provide a sufficient number of suitable instructors for each 
of these departments. 

§ 2. The clerk of said city, by right of office, shall be the clerk of the mayor and aldermen 
thereof, when acting as commissioners oi common schools, and he, as such clerk, shall 
perform all the duties in reference to said city that the town clerks in the several towns in 
this State perform as clerks of common schools in such towns, and be subject to the same 
penalties for the neglect thereof. 

§ 3. The board of superintendents of common schools in the city of Hudson shall, in 
respect to the common schools in said city, possess all the powers and be subject to all the 
duties and obligations of the inspectors of the common schools in the different towns in 
this State ; it shall carry into efi"ect all the ordinances and orders of the common council 
in respect to common schools ; and it shall be lawful for the said common council to assign 
to said board any duty required of them in respect to the common schools in said city. The 
said board shall be under the direction of the common council, and they shall have power, 
and it shall be their duty : 

1. To contract for and superintend the building, enlarging, improving, furnishing and 
repairing of all school-houses under the charge of said common council, and the making of 
all repairs and improvements on and around the same ; 

2. To provide for the safe keeping of the district school-houses in said city ; 

3. To contract with and employ all the teachers in the several districts therein ; 

4. To prevent scholars resident in one district from attending a school in another district ; 
and. also, to prevent scholars from going from one school to another in the same district 
without having, in both the above cases, written permission so to do from the said board ; 

5. To select such books as they shall deem most suitable to be used as class books in the 
schools, and to establish an uniformity in all the schools in regard to the books used 
therein ; 

6. To visit each school as often as once in each quarter, and to report the condition of 
the same, with such suggestions for the improvement thereof to the common council as 
they may deem advisable ; which reports shall be published by the common council in two 
of the city papers ; 

7. To remove any teacher on manifest neglect of duty, or upon his violating his contract, 
upon paying such teacher pro rata for the time he has been employed : 

8. To pay the wages of all the teachers, l:y orders on the common council, as commis- 
sioners of common schools, so far as the public money in their hands, or the money raised 
by tax, as to be hereafter provided for, and the money paid over by the collector of the rate 
bills, shall be sufficient for the purpose ; 

9. To make out rate bills for the payment of teacher and contingent expenses against the 
parent or guardian of each scholar, and expense of collection of the same (except those 
exempted, as hereafter to be provided for), which shall not, however, exceed two dollars per 
quarter for each scholar, and no bill shall be made out for less time than one quarter, and 
to annex thereto a warrant for the collection thereof. 

§ 4. The said common council of the city of Hudson shall appoint a collector or collectors 
for the purpose of collecting the rate bills, if anj^ are made out by the board of superinten- 
dents : rate bills shall be made out and levied upon the parents or guardians of children 
sent to the district schools, in the manner provided by law in respect to school districts, 
except such as shall procure a certificate of inability to pay the same from the aldermen or 
assistant aldermen of the ward in which such parent or guardian resides. 

§ 1. [Act of 1843.] The board of superintendents, appointed or to be appointed under 
the act hereby amended, are hereby authorized to receive all the moneys intended for the 
support of common schools in and for the city of Hudson, and to expend the same as 
provided in said act. 

§ 2. [Act of 1843.] It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the county of Columbia, and of 
the collectors of taxes in and for the city of Hudson, and of the collectors of rate bills, 
under the provisions of the act hereby amended, to pay over directly to the said board of 
superintendents all the moneys that may come into the hands of said treasurer and said 
collectors, respectively, intended for the benefit and support of common schools in said city. 

§ 5. The said common cotmcil shall be authorized to borrow the sum of five thousand 
dollars for twenty years, at a rate of interest not exceeding six per cent per annum, for the 
purpose of procuring suitable school-houses for said city, with such appurtenances and 
improvements as may be deemed expedient. 

§ 6. The comptroller is hereby authorized to loan to the city of Hudson the sum of five 
thousand dollars, to be paid in twentv equal annual installments, out of any moneys, now 
or hereafter in the treasury of this State, belongins to the capital of the common school 
fund, on receiving from the chamberlain, in behalf of the said city, a bond, conditioned 
from him, as treasurer of said city, and his successor in office, to repay the said sum in 
twenty equal annual installments, together with the annual interest on said loan from the 



HUNTIXGTON. 539 

time it was made at the rate of six per cent per annum, and whicL bond said chamberlain 
is hereby authorized to make and execute. 

§ 7. The common council of said city are hereby authorized to raise by tax upon the real 
and personal property of said city, in the same manner as the general taxes of said city are 
levied and collected, the annual interest of the above mentioned loan, and to pay over the 
eame in discharge of such interest; and also, in each year in which an installment of 
the above loan shall become due, to raic-e, levy and collect, in the same manner, a sum equal 
to that installment, and to pay over the same in discharg:e thereof; and the said common 
council shall also in the same manner raise, levy and collect such sum annually, not exceed- 
in*^ two hundred dollars, as may be necessary for repairs, furniture of said school buildings, 
and contingent expenses. 

§ 8. The 'common council of the city of Hudson, at their annual meeting in each year, 
shall cause a sum of money equal to four times the amount of money apportioned to the 
city of Hudson from the common school fund, together with the collector's fees, to be raised, 
levied and collected in the same manner that other taxes are raised, levied and collected, 
and when so raised to be paid to the board of superintendents for the support of common 
schools in said city. 

§ 9. After the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, the common council shall 
have it in their' power to reduce, if they deem it expedient, the above sum to twice the 
amount apportioned to the city of Hudson from the common school fund, and have recourse 
to the system of rate bills, as adopted in the several towns in this State, to supply defi- 
ciencies. 

§ 1. [Act of 1S14.] It shall be the duty of the board of superintendents of common schools 
of the city of Hudson annually hereafter to appoint a librarian for the joint school district 
library in said city, who shall perform all the duties and be subject to all the restrictions and 
liabilities now required or imposed upon librarians in the several school districts of the 
State ; and may be removed from olfice and a successor appointed by said superintendents 
for any willful neglect of duty, and whenever they shall have reason to apprehend the loss 
of or injury to any of the books belonging to such library through his misconduct. 

§ 2. [Act of 1844.] The common council of said city are hereby authorized and empowered 
annually to appropriate such sum for the compensation of said" librarian as they may deem 
expedient, not to exceed the sum of fifty dollars, which shall be raised, levied and collected 
in the manner as other city charges. &vd when so collected shall be paid over to the superin- 
tendents aforesaid, to be by them appropriated as specified in the first section of this act. 

§ 10. All the general laws of this State relating to common schools and their officers, 
except as the same are modified by this act, shall extend to and include the schools estab- 
lished under this act, and the commissioners, inspectors and other officers having charge 
thereof or in any way connected therewith. 

§ 11. All laws relating to the appointment of commissioners and inspectors of common 
schools in the city of Hudson, and the act entitled "An act to authorize the raising of 
money for the support of the Lancaster school of the city of Hudson," passed May 11, 1835, 
and ail other acts which conflict with this act, are hereby repealed. 

[Laws of 1854, c7iap. 179, p. 383.] 

TITLE XI.— OP COMMON SCHOOLS. 

§ 104. The act entitled " An act in relation to common schools in the city of Hudson,' 
passed May 26, 1841, and the amendments thereto, shall continue in force, except that section 
eight of said act shall be and hereby is amended, so as to make it the duty of the common 
council of the city, instead of the supervisors of the county of Columbia, to cause the 
requisite amount of school moneys to be levied and collected with the tax for city purposes. 



HUNTINGTON. 

[Chap. 387, Laws of 1857, i?. 794, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. School districts number three, four and five of Huntington, in the county of 
Suffolk, are hereby consolidated for the purposes^ in this act specifie^d, and shall hereafter 
for such purposes form but one school district, to be called the union school district of 
Huntington. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board to be styled " the board of 
education,'" which board shall consist of six members, four or more of whom shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. George A. Scudder, Brewster Conklin, 
Smith Woodhull, Brewster Skidmore, Richard B. Post and George W. Conklin. shall com- 
pose the first board of education, who shall be divided into three equal classes, each clasa 
containing two members, and shall determine by lot their respective terms of office, so that 
the first class shall serve to the first annual meeting ensuing ; the second one year and the 
third two years from said meeting. 

§ 3. At the annual meeting of said district, to be held on the first Monday in January iu 
each year, there shall be elected for three years, two members of said board of education, 
who shall be residents and taxable inhabitants of said district, as also a clerk, librarian and 
collector, for one year : and in case of a vacancy of any olfice in said board or other office of 
the district, occasioned by the death of such officer, his refusal to serve, removal out of the 
district or any cause other than the expiration of the term of office of persons elected, said 
board of education may make an appointment to fill such vacancy until the next annual 
meeting. 



540 IsLiP. 

§ 4. Said board of education shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duticfc 
in respect to said die trict that the. trustees of common schools now possess, and such other 
powers and duties as are given or imposed by this act. 

§ 5. The legal voters of said district, at any annual, special or adjourned meeting, legally 
held, may vote to raise such sum of money as they shall deem expedient, for the purpose of 
purchasing a site and building a school-house in said district, or for the purpose of purchasing 
any suitable building and site for such purpose, to erect suitable out-buildings, to inclose 
the same with a suitable fence and for such other improvements as may be considered neces- 
sary, and also direct the board of education to cause the same to be levied by installments, 
and make out a tax list for the collection of tlie same, as often as such installments shall 
become due ; and the said board of education are hereby authorized to obtain by loan the 
whole or any part of the mouQy legally voted by said district, and secure the payment of 
the same by their official bond as representatives of said district, as also to collect by tax 
fnmi said district a sum sufficient to pay interest on said loans. 

§ 6. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to make such by- 
laws and regtilations as the}' may deem necessary to secure the prosperity, order and 
government of said school, and divide tlie same into primary and higlier departments, and reg- 
ulate the transfer of scholars from one department to the other, and provide suitable 
instructors for each department, direct what text books shall be used in the same, purchase 
fuel and other necessaries for the use of the school or schools in said district ; and all con- 
tracts made b}'' them in their official capacity shall be binding upon them and their successors 
in office ; to fix and regulate the terms of tuition fees in said primary and other higher 
branches in said school or schools, to sue for and collect in their corporate name any sum 
of money due to said district, to receive and apply to the uses of said school or schools, or 
any department thereof, any gift, legacy, bequest or annuities, given or bequeathed to said 
district for the purposes of said school or schools, and apply the same, or the interest or 
proceeds thereof, according to the terms and instructions of the donor or testator; to have 
in all respects the superintendence, supervision, management and control of said school or 
schools, and to hire, pay and discharge any teacher employed by them in said schools. 

§ 7. Said board of education shall in all respects be subject to the restriction and control 
of the commissioner of common schools for the district in the same manner as the common 
schools in this State are subject. 

§ 8. Every person elected or appointed to any office mentioned in this act who, without 
sufficient cause, shall reluse to serve therein, sliall forfeit the sum of ten dollars, and every 
person so elected or appointed, and not having refused to accept, who shall neglect to dis- 
charge the duties of such office, shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars to said board of 
education. It shall be the duty of said board forthwith to prosecute for all forfeitures and 
penalties under this act, and when recovered to apply the same to the purposes of education 
m said district. 

§ 9. The trustees of said districts numbers three, four and five, holding office at the time of 
the passing of this act, shall, as soon as it can be done conveniently, sell, at public auction 
or private sale, as they shall deem expedient, the district property in their respect- 
ive districts, and after paying the jtist debts of the respective districts, apportion the 
balance so received from each district among the taxable inhabitants thereof in the ratio 
of their several assessments upon the last assessment roll of the town. 



ISLIP. 

iChaj). 455, Laws of 1865, p. 820.] 

Section 1. School district number twelve, in the town of Islip, in the county of Sufi"olk, 
shall form a union free school district. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board to be stj'led " the board of 
education," such board to consist of three members, two of whom shall constitute a qtiorum 
for the transaction of business. Eobert W. Pearsall. Stephen Sharp and William Metcalf 
shall compose the first board of education, and shall hold their office from one to three 
years, from the second Tuesday in October next, that is to say, one shall go out of office in 
each year, and in the inverse order in which their names stand recorded in this section. 

§ .3. At the annual meeting held in said district in eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and at 
each annual meeting thereafter, there shall be elected one member of said board of educa- 
tion, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, and who shall be a resident and 
tax payer in said district. 

§ 4. The said board of education shall, at their first meeting, choose one of their number 
president, and one clerk, and one treasurer, who shall hold office until the annual meeting 
of said board. The said board of education shall also appoint one of the taxable inhabitants 
of their district collector of the moneys raised and to be raised within the same for school 
purposes, who shall hold such appointment during the pleasure of the board. The said 
treasurer and collector shah each execute a bond conditioned for the faithful performance 
of his duties and with such sureties as the board shall approve. 

§ 5. The said board of education may make such by-laws as they may deem necessary for 
their own government ; they shall have the entire control and management of all the common 
schools within their said district, and all property belonging to the same ; they shall require 
one of the members of said board to visit each school in said district at least once in each 
week, to render such assistance to the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be necessary, 
and to see that the rules and regulations are strictly enforced. And the said board of edu- 
cation shall have the power to take by purchase or by devise, and to hold any real and personal 



Ithaca. 541 

estate necessary for the purposes of this act, and also to sell and convey the school-house or 
school-houses and site or sites situated in their district, and to execute and deliver good and 
valid conveyances therefor when authorized by a majority of votes of the tax payeVs of the 
said district present at a special meeting called for that purpose. 

§ (). Said board of education shall have the power, and are hereby directed, to levy and 
collect by tax once in each year upon all the taxable property and inhabitants in said dis- 
trict, as the same shall have been last assessed by the town assessors of the town in which 
eaid district is situated, such sums as said board shall estimate to be necessary for the 
following purposes : 

1. To pay teachers' wa^es ; 

2. To alter, repair and improve the school-houses belonging to said district and their 
appurtenances : 

3. To hire sites, school-houses and rooms for the use of said school district when 
necessary ; 

4. To insure the school-houses and property belonging to said district ; 

5. To pay all necessary contingent expenses of said school district and board of education. 

§ 7. All moneys belonging to the said district shall be deposited in a bank or trust com- 
pany to be designated by the board of education. No moneys shall be paid out, except by 
direction of said boai'd, and upon the order of the president, countersigned by the secretary. 

§ S. Wiienever said board of education shall deem it necessary to erect one or more school- 
houses in said district or to enlarge that or those already built, they shall submit the plans 
and estimated cost of such buildings, and of furnishing the satne. to the voters of the said 
district, at an annual meeting or at a special meeting called for that purpose ; and if a 
majority of such voters present shall vote in favor of the same, the said board may proceed 
to carry the said improvements into full effect. 

§ 9. the said board of education, in addition to the other taxes which they are authorized 
to raise by this act, may levy and collect a sum sufficient to pay interest on loans as the 
same becomes due ; and whenever any part of the principal of said loans becomes due, they 
shall levy and collect an amount sufficient to pay the same, which sums, when collected, 
ehall be paid over by said board in discharge of such principal and interest; and the said 
board shall add to the amount of any warrant for the collection of taxes such amount as 
they shall deem pi'oper as the collector's fees for collection, which compensation, however, 
shall in no case exceed five per cent on the amount of any warrant. 

§ 10. The public schools in the district shall be free to all the children residing in the 
district : and the said board of education may permit persons not residents within the said 
district to attend such schools on such terms as they shall prescribe ; and the said board 
may, in their corporate name, and for the benefit of the said district, sue for and recover 
of the father or mother, master or mistress, or any person under whose charge such non- 
resident child or children may be, all such sums as shall be so prescribed, with costs of suit. 

§ 11. The supervisor of the town of Islip, or such other officer as may be authorized to 
receive the school moneys from the county treasurer for said town, shall pay over to the 
treasurer of the said district all the public moneys in his hands apportioned to the said 
district number twelve. 

§ 13. The collector of this school district shall, in the collection of any tax authorized by 
this act, proceed in the same manner and have all the powers which collectors of town and 
county taxes now possess. 

§13. The said board of education shall submit a full report in writing, at the annual 
meeting of said district, of their doings as such board, and thej' shall state therein the 
number attending their schools ; how many white children and how many colored ; the 
condition of schools in said district under their chai-ge and the number thereof ; the studies 
pursued; the amount of money received from the State and other sources, as well as the 
amount raised in the district for school purposes, and the expenditures of the same, and 
generally all the particulars relating to schools in the district. 

§ 14. The board of education shall have control and charge of the district school library 
in said district. They may employ a librarian, make such additions to the library and such 
regulations therefor as they shall deem necessary. 

§ 15. A school for colored children may be organized by said board, and be supported in 
the same manner as other schools shall be supported under and by virtue of this act. 

§ l(j. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary ; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written or printed 
notice thereof in at least six public places in said district, and by publishing the same in the 
newspapers published in said district at least one week previous to the time fixed for such 
meeting, and state the purpose for which the same is called; and no business shall be 
transacted at any such special meeting except that stated in the notice calling the same. 

§ 17. In all respects, except as expressly provided otherwise by this act, the said district 
shall be held and regarded as organized under and subject to the provisions of title nine, 
chapter five hundred and fifty-five, of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and the 
amendments thereto that are or may hereafter be made. 

ITHACA. 

[Chap. 60, Laws of 1861, p. 87.] 

Section 1. School district number sixteen in the town of Ithaca, in the county of Tomp- 
kins, shall form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the 
school commissioner of said county. 



542 Jamaica. 

§ 2. The school? in said district shall be free to all the children residing therein between 
the ages of four and twenty-one years, and no rate bill shall hereafter be imposed 

§ 3. Trustees for said school district shall continue to be elected for the same time and in 
the same manner, as is now provided by the general school laws of this State. The trustees 
shall have the control and management of all the district schools within the said district 
and all the property belonging to the same. They shall appoint a collector, who «hall have 
all the powers, and perform all the duties, of a school district collector, as now provided 
by the general school laws of this State, and who shall cive bonds with sureties satisfactory 
to the trustees for the faithful performance of his duties before he shall be permitted to 
enter upon the discharge thereof, that he will pay over to said trustees upon demand or 
Tipmi their written order, all moneys which he shall have collected and belonging to said 

§ 4. The trustees shall submit at the annual meetings of said district, which shall be held 
as now provided by law, on the second Tuesday of October of each and every year a full 
report m writing of their ofRcial doings, and shall state therein the number and condition 
of the schools m said district under their charge, the amount of all monevs received and 
expended, the source from whence received, and the purposes for which expended. Thev 
shall also prepare and present at such annual meetinc: a statement ot the amount of money 
which they shall deem necessary to pay any debts of said district, and for the support of 
schools therein, for the ensuing year, exclusive of the money Avhich thev may be entitled 
to receive from the supervisor of the town, and including the sum of money'required for 
the purchase of necessary furniture, apparatus, books, and for library and contingent 
expenses. They shall present such statement at such annual meeting, when the inhabitants 
of said district entitled to vote at school district meetings then present shall vote thereon 
and the same having been approved by a majority of such voters, shall be levied and collected 
by tax on the taxable property as now provided by law. 

§ 5. The trustees of said district shall have control and charge of the district library in 
said district : they shall appoint a librarian, make such additions to the library, and such 
regulations in relation thereto as they shall deem necessary; but such regulations shall 
in no wise impair or conflict Avith the general regulations which are or may^be prescribed 
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. ' 

§ R. The trustees shall have power to suspend fr -m school, for such len?th of time as they 
may think proper, those pupils whose bodily condition, irregularity in aftendance. habitual 
truancy, or insubordination, shall, in their judgment, prove injurious to the best interests 
of the schools. 

§ 7. _A special school meeting of said district may be called and held by the trustees, 
inserting a notice of the time, place and object of such meeting once a week for two suc- 
cessive weeks in two of the village newspapers published within said district. 

§ 8. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as 
the same relate to district number sixteen in the town of Ithaca. And all school laws in 
force on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, shall by virtue of this 
act. remain in force so far as the sanie relate to said district, and are not repealed by the 
provisions of this act. 

JAMAICA, 

[Chap. 533, Laics of 1853, p. 997.] 

Section 1. The village of Jamaica, in the town of Jamaica, in the county of Queens, shall 
form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the town superin- 
tendent of common schools for the town of Jamaica. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled "the board of 
education." Such board shall consist of five members, three of whom shall constitute a 
quorum for the transaction of business. Gasper Phraner. Pierinont Potter, John A. King, 
John D. Shelton and Latham M. Jaggar shall compose the first board of education, and 
shall hold their office from one to five'years : that is to say. one shall 2:0 out of oflice in each 
year, and in the order in which their names shall stand recorded in this section. 

§ 3. At the first annual meeting in said district, and at each annual meeting thereafter, there 
ishall be elected one member of said board of education, who shall hold his ofiice for the term 
of five years : also a district collector, both of whom shall be residents and tax payers in said 
district : and said collector shall collect and pay over the school moneys assessed upon 
said district to the treasurer of the board of education, in the same manner and upon the 
same conditions as the town collector. And the board of education shall appoint three 
suitable persons as inspectors of said election, and of all other elections, as provided by 
this act. within thirty days next preceding anj"^ such election. Such election shall be 
by ballot: and notice thereof shall be given, the same shall'be held and conducted, the votes 
shall be canvassed, and the result of the election shall be determined in the same manner as 
for village oflftcers. 

§ 4. The said board of education shall, at their first annual meeting, choose one of Iheir 
number for president, one for secretary, and one for treasurer, who shall hold office for one 
year. The treasurer shall execute a bond conditioned for the faithful performance of his 
duties, in such form and with such sureties as the said board shall approve. An election 
for said ofticers shall be held thereafter on the same day of the same week of the same 
month on which the first election was held. If fi'oni any cause the election shall not take 
place on the day appointed, it shall be held within one w"eek thereafter. Until such election 
the old officers shall continue to oerform their respective functions. 



Jamaica. 543 

§ 5. The said board of education may make such by-laws as they may deem necessary for 
their own government ; they shall have the entire control and management of all the com- 
mon schools within their said district, and all the property belonging to the same ; they 
shall have and possess, within the said district, all the rights, powers and authority of town 
superintendent of common schools. They shall require one of the members of said board 
to visit each school in said district at least once in each week, to render such assistance to 
the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be necessary, and to see that the rules and 
regulations are strictly enforced. And the said board of education shall have the power to 
take by purchase and devise, and to hold any real and personal estate necessary for the 
purposes of this act, and also to sell and convey the school-houses and sites now situated ill 
eaid district, and to execute and deliver good and valid conveyances therefor. 

§ 6. All moneys belonging to the said district shall be deposited in a bank or trust com- 
pany, to be designated by the board of education, or loaned out on interest upon ample 
security, under the direction of the board. No money shall be paid out, or securities 
changed, except under the direction of the board of education, and then by order of the 
presi'clent., countersigned by the secretary. 

§ 7. Whenever the said board of education shall deem it necessary to erect one or more 
school-houses in said district, and before they shall proceed to raise any money, as provided 
for in section eight, they shall prepare an estimate, showing the location proposed, the cost 
of ground, a plan of the building, with the estimated cost of construction, and shall submit 
the same to the electors of said district, at a special meeting to be called for that purpose, 
in the same manner as other special meetings are required to be called, and if a majority of 
all the electors present shall vote in favor of the same, then said board may proceed to erect 
said school-house or houses in the manner proposed by said estimate ; and if the sum 
authorized to be raised by section eight of this' act should be insuflficient to pay the esti- 
mated cost of such erection or erections, and premises, with the expenses of grading and 
regulating the grounds, building the necessary out-houses and fences, with the cost of neces- 
sary books, stationery and appurtenances for the school-house or houses and rooms, then 
the said board of education may raise, in addition to the sum mentioned in section eight of 
this act, and in the manner therein authorized, a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars ; 
and they are also authorized to levy and collect such amount as may be necessary to pay the 
principal or interest of such additional sum or sums, as the same may become due, in 
the manner provided by section nine of this act. 

§ 8. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to raise a sum not 
exceeding five thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting a school-house or houses in said 
district, either by tax on such district or a loan, to be secured by a mortgage upon the pub- 
lic school property of said district, to be executed by said board in their official capacity, 
signed by the president and secretary, or by the issue of certificates of loan, in sums of not 
*e'ss than one hundred dollars, the said certificates to be signed by the president of said 
board, and to be a lien upon the school district property. The Comptroller of the State of 
New York is hereby authorized to loan to said district any moneys in the treasury belonging 
to the capital of the common school fund as is authorized by this section to be borrowed. 

§ 9. The said board of education, in addition to the other taxes which they are authorized 
to raise by this act, may levy and collect a sum sufficient to pay interest on loans as the 
same becomes due, and whenever any part of the principal of such loans becomes due, they 
shall levy and collect an amount sufficient to pay the same, which sums, when collected, 
shall be paid over by said board in discharge of such principal and interest. 

§ 10. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect 
by tax. in each year, such sum as may be necessary, upon all the taxable property in such 
district, not exceeding in amount one-fourth of one per cent on the value of such taxable 
property, as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town of Jamaica, and the 
eaid board shall add to the amount of any warrant for the collection of taxes such amount 
as they shall deem proper as the collector's fees for collection, which compensation, how- 
ever, shall in no case exceed five per cent on the amount of any warrant. [As amended by 
chapter 867, Laivs of 1867, vd. 2, p. 2179.] 

§ 11. The town superintendent of common schools of the town of Jamaica shall pay over 
to the treasurer of the board of education all the public moneys to which said district shall 
be entitled for school purposes. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall call an annual district meeting at such time in the 
year as they may think proper, by giving the notice now required by law for annual meet- 
ings in school districts, and at such meeting they shall submit thereto a full report, in 
writing, of their doings at such board ; and they shall state therein the number of children 
residing in the said district for whom public money is drawn, how many white .children and 
how many colored ; they shall also state the number and condition of the schools in said 
district under their charge, and the number of pupils attending the same, the studies pur- 
sued, the amount of moneys received from the State or other sources, as well as the amount 
raised in the district for school purposes, and the expenditure of the same, and generally all 
the particulars relating to the schools in said district. 

§ 13. The board of education shall have control and charge of the district school library 
in said district ; they may employ a librarian, make such additions to the library, and such 
regulations therefor as the\' shall deem necessary. 

§ 14. A school for colored children may be organized by said board, and be supported in 
the same manner as other schools shall be supported, under and by virtue of this act. 

§ 15. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary ; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written or 
printed notice thereof, in at least six public places in said district, and oy publishing the 
same in the newspapers published in said district, at least one week previous to the timo 



644 Kingston". 

fixed for 8^^ch meeting, which notice shall state the time and place of such meeting, and the 
purpose for which the same is called; and no business shall be transacted at any such 
special meeting except that stated in the notice calling the same. 

§ 16. All laws and part? of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as 
they relate to the A^llage of Jamaica. 

KINGSTON. 

{Chap. 360, Laivs of 1863, p. 594, as amended by chap. 40, Laws of 1864, j?. 65.] 

Section 1. From and after the last Monday in May, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
school districts numbers five, eight, eleven and fifteen of the town of Kingston, county of 
Ulster, are hereby consolidated for the purposes and to the extent in this act specified, and 
shall hereafter, for such purposes and to such extent, form but one school district, to be 
called "The Kingston school district." 

§ 2. Said school districts, numbers five, eight, eleven and fifteen shall remain and continue 
separate and distinct for the purposes and to the extent in this act specified, and shall be 
called " primary school districts," and shall not be subject to alteration except by resolu- 
tion of the l)oard of education hereinafter created. The school-houses in said primary 
districts shall be used for the instruction of the children residing in said districts, entitled 
to attend common schools, and when such children shall arrive at sufficient age and profi- 
ciency in learning they may be transferred, upon the proper testimonials, into the more 
advanced departments created and authorized by this act, the age, qualifications and testi- 
monials to be prescribed by the laws, rules and regulations of the board of education 
hereinafter created. 

§ 3. Abram Wood, residing in primary district number five, and whose term of office shall 
expire on the first Monday of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-five ; Edwin W. Buding- 
ton, residing in primary district number eight, and whose term of office shall expire on the 
first Monday of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-six ; John W. Kerr, residing in primary 
district number eleven, and whose term of office shall expire on the first Monday of Janu- 
ary, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and Isaac Denike, residing in primary district 
number fifteen, and whose term of office shall expire on the first Monday of January, eigh- 
teen hundred and sixt5^-eight, are hereby appointed trustees in and for said temporary school 
districts respectively ; and Charles W. Shaff'er and Henry H. Eeynolds, whose terms of 
office shall expire on the first Monday of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-uve ; William 
C. Hale and George Southwick, whose terms of office shall expire on the first Monday of 
January, eighteen hundred and sixty-six ; and Marius Schoonmaker and Solomon Honimel, 
whose terms of office shall expire on the first Monday of January, eighteen hundred and 
eixty-seven, are hereby appointed trustees for and in behalf of said Kingston school district. 

§4. Whenever the term of office of trustees of any of the said primary school districts expires 
on the first Monday of January in any year, there shall be elected in and for the said primary 
school districts, on the first Monday of December preceding, in the manner that trustees of 
school districts are elected, one trustee who shall be a resident of said primary school dis- 
trict and who shall hold his office for three years. There shall also be elected in said primary 
school district, at the time of electing trustee, a clerk who shall hold his office for three 
years. Within ten days after such election the clerk of said primary school district shall 
certify to the board of education hereinafter created the names of the officers so elected. 

§ 5. On the second Monday in December in each year, after the present year, there shah be 
elected in the same manner that trustees of school districts are elected, two trustees in and 
for the said Kingston school district, who shall hold their office for three years from the first 
Monday of January following. Every officer appointed or elected under the provisions of 
this act shall hold his office until his successor is elected or appointed and enters upon the 
discharge of the duties of his office. 

§ 6. Notices of elections and all other meetings of said districts shall be given by said 
board of education hereinafter created, at least ten days before such election or meeting, by 
publishing notice in one or more of the newspapers published in the said Kingston scnool 
district, and by posting the same on the outer door of the school-house or houses in the 
district in and for which such election or meeting is to be held, and not less than five other 
public places in said district. 

§ 7. In case of vacancy of any office of trustee mentioned in this act, occasioned by the 
death of such officer, his refusal to serve, removal out of the district for which he was 
appointed or elected, his incapacity, or any other cause, other than the expiration of the 
term of office of persons so elected, said board of education may make an appointment to 
fill such vacancy. The officer so appointed shall hold his office for the unexpired term of 
the person to supply whose place he shall be so appointed. 

§ 8. Any trustee or other officer of the said Kingston school district may be removed from 
office for official misconduct by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the board of educa- 
tion hereinafter created ; but a written copy of the charges preferred against him shall be 
served upon him at least ten days before the time appointed for a hearing of the same, and 
he shall be allowed a full and fair opportunity of refuting such charges before such removal. 

§ 9. The said trustees of the said Kingston and primary school districts, and their succes- 
sors to be chosen as provided in this act, shall constitute a board, to be styled the " Kingston 
board of education," which shall be a body corporate, with all the general powers of a 
corporation under the Revised Statutes. The first meeting of the board shall be held in the 
said village of Kingston on the last Wednesday of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
and the annual meeting of said board shall be held on the last Wednesday of April in each 
year. At the first meeting of the board, and annually thereafter at the annual meeting, they 



Kingston. 545 

Bhall elect one of their number president of the board, and whenever he shall be absent a 
president pro tempore shall be appointed. The members of the said board shall not receive 
any compensation for their services; neither shall they be interested directly or indirectly 
in any contract for improvements or repairs, which may be made by said board. 

The said board shall meet for the transaction of business as olten as once m every three 
mouths and may adjourn for a shorter period. Special meetings may be called by the 
president, or in his absence or on his refusal or inability to act, by a majority of the members 
of the board, as often as necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, 
or by cansing a written or printed notice to be left at his place of residence at least twenty- 
four hours before the time for such special meeting. 

*S 11. The said board shall appoint a secretary, who shall be a taxable inhabitant of said 
district, and who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board. The said secretary 
shall attend the meetings of said board, and make and keep a record of the proceedings 
thereof in a book to be provided by the board for that purpose, and shall perform such other 
duties as the board may require. 

§ 12 The said board shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to appoint a treasurer 
and collector for the said " Kingston school district," who shall be a taxable inhabitant of 
said district, and who shall severally hold their appointments for one year and until others 
are appointed in their stead, unless sooner removed by the board for cause, and only one such 
appointment shall be held by the same individual at the same time. Such treasurer and 
collector shall severally and within ten days after notice in writing of their appointment, 
and before entering upon the duties of their office, execute and deliver to said board of 
education, a bond in such penalty and with such sureties as the board may approve, condi- 
tioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of their respective offices, and that they will 
Avell and truly account for and pay over on demand to said board of education all moneys 
which they may receive as such officers. 

§ 1.3. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, 
from time to time, bv tax, to be levied upon all the real and personal estate in said Kingston 
school district, which shall be liable to taxes for the ordinary county and town charges, in 
like manner as county and town charges and taxes are levied and raised, such sums as they 
may determine to be necessary and proper for the payment of the salaries of the superin- 
tendent and teachers in the public schools under their charge, repairs of school-houses, 
fences, out-buildings and grounds belonging thereto, and all other necessary and contingent 
expenses for establishing and maintaining the said public schools, and the necessary and 
contingent expenses of the board of education. And they may also raise such additional 
sum, not exceeding five thousand dollars in any one year, as the taxable inhabitants of 
said Kingston school district may, at any meeting regularly called, authorize or direct for 
the purchase of school-houses, lots or sites for school-houses, and to defray the expenses 
of the erection, altering and improving school-houses, out-houses, and their appurtenances, 
or for such other purposes as are included within the powers and duties of the board of 
education as hereinafter mentioned. {As amended by § 1, chapter 40, Laws of 1864, p. 05.] 

§ 14. For the purpose of collecting any tax or taxes voted to be raised or levied by said 
board of education, such board shall make out. or cause to be made out. a tax list "in the 
manner by law provided in cases of school district taxes, and shall issue their warrant in 
like manner for the collection thereof, and shall deliver the same to the collector, which 
Avarrant maybe renewed from time to time by said board in their discretion. The collector, 
upon receiving such warrant, shall immediately proceed to collect the taxes directed thereby 
to be collected ; and in making such collections shall proceed in the same manner, possess 
the same powers, and be entitled to the same fees, as collectors of taxes in school districts. 

§ 1.5. All moneys raised or to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all 
school moneys bylaw appropriated to or provided for said Kingston school district, whether 
from the common schools or literature fund, or under "An actio establish free schools 
thnnighoutthe State." or otherwise, shall be paid to the treasurer appointed by said board. 
The said treasurer shall be liable to the same penalty for official misconduct in relation to 
the said moneys as the treasurer of the village of Kingston would be for any similar mis- 
conduct in relation to moneys of said village. 

§ Ifi. All moneys raised by virtue of this act, or received by said Kingston school district, 
for the use of the public schools therein, shall be deposited for safe keeping with the treas- 
urer appointed by said board, and the said treasurer shall keep all the funds which may 
come to his hands, separate and distinct from all other moneys, and any violation of this 
section shall be deemed a misdemeanor and punished accordingly. 

§ 17. The treasurer shall be furnished by the board of education with necessary books in 
which to enter and keep his official accounts ; and he shall keep a true account of all the 
moneys received and disbursed by him. and of the parties from whom received, and to 
whom and for what purpose paid out. He shall also keep an account with every teacher or 
other person employed by the board of education, and every officer of the district who shall 
receive any pay or compensation ; and shall make reports to the board whenever required 
by them. The drafts drawn on the treasurer shall be numbered consecutively, and the 
treasurer in any question of priority of payment shall pay all such drafts in the order of 
their respective numbers, unless otherwise specially directed by the board of education. 
The books of the treasurer, and also the records of the proceedings of the board of educa- 
tion, shall at all times be subject to inspection by the taxable inhabitants of said district. 

§ 18. No moneys shall be paid from the treasury, except on drafts drawn by the president 
and countersigned by the secretary of said board of education, in pursuance of a resolution 

* So in originaL 

69 



546 Kingston. 

of said hoard, which draft shall be made payable to the order of the person or persons 
entitled to receive said moneys, and shall state on their face respectively the purpose or 
service for which the same are drawn. 
§ in. The said board shall have power and it shall be their duty: , 

1. To establish and organize in said Kingston school district so many primary school 
districts, primary departments or schools, and departments of higher, grades, including an 
academical department, to alter and discontinue the same as they may deem advisable ; 

2. To hire or purchase school-houses, school rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, or 
sites with buildings thereon, to be used as school-houses, and to fence and improve such 
sites, and to sell the same with their appurtenances, as they may deem proper; provided 
such sale be authorized by a vote of the district ; 

3. To build, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, with their out-houses and 
appurtenances, as they may deem advisable ; 

4. To have custody of said school-houses, out-houses, books, furniture and appurtenances, 
and to see that the ordinances, in relation to the care and safe keeping of the same, be 
observed ; 

5. To contract with and employ all teachers in said public schools, the number of teachers 
not to be less than one for every fifty pupils attending such schools ; 

f). To pay teachers' wages after the application of public money which may by law be 
appropriated and provided for that purpose, from the money authorized by this act to be 
raised for that purpose ; 

7. To defray all necessary and contingent expenses of establishing and maintaining the 
said public schools with proper furniture, library and apparatus, and the necessary and 
contingent expenses of said board of education ; 

8. To have in all respects the superintendence and management of the public schools of 
the said school disti'ict, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, a« they may 
deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, government and instruction, 
for the reception of pupils and their transfer from one department to another, and generally 
for their good order and government ; to receive into said public schools pupils residing out 
of the said " Kingston school district," to regulate the tuition fees of such non-resident pupils 
and to collect the same ; to expel any scholar for misconduct or cause injurious to the inter- 
est > of the school ; to regulate the transfer of pupils from one department to another ; to direct 
Vi^hat text books shall be used in said public schools ; to provide and keep in repair school 
a;)par;itus. books, furniture and appendages; to provide fuel and other necessaries for the 
raid jniblic schools, and to appoint assistant librarians, as they may from time to time deem 
proi^er. and regulate their duties. 

§ -30. The said trustees shall be trustees of the school libraries in said school district, and 
all the provisions of law relative to school district libraries shall apply to said trustees in 
like manner as to the trustees of any school district; they shall also be invested with the 
same discretion as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by law for the purchase of 
libraries as is conferred by law upon inhabitants of school districts. It shall be their duty 
TO provide rooms for such libraries and the necessary furniture thereof. Tlie librarian shall 
report annually to the board the condition of the libraries under his charge, and the said 
board shall make all purchases of books for said libraries, and direct the mode of their 
distribution. 

§ 21. The title to the school-houses, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurtenances, 
and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall be vested in the said board of 
education, and the same, while used or appropriated for school purposes, shall not be subject 
to taxation, and shall not be levied on or sold by virtue of any warrant, or execution, except 
for teachers' w'ages, and the purchase price of articles bought by direction of the said 
board, and except that liens and all proceedings for enforcing the same, of mechanics and 
others for labor, and materials furnished in erecting, altering, or repairing buildings and their 
appurtenances, shall in no way be aifected or impaired by this act ; and the said board in 
its corporate capacity shall have full right and authority to take and hold any personal and 
real estate transferred to it by grant, gift, devise or bequest, subject to the limitations 
provided by law, in trust for tlie public schools or educational interest of said Kingston 
school district, whether the same be in terms to said board in its corporate name, or by 
any other designation, or to any person, persons or bodies for the benefit of said public 
schools ; and all real or personal estate so transferred shall be accepted, held, used and 
applied as specified in the article or deed of transfer. 

§ 22. The said board of education shall, once m each year, and at least fifteen days before 
the annua] meeting for the election of officers, make a report to the inhabitants of the district, 
in which they shall set forth the whole amount and items of the money received, raised 
and collected" by them during the year preceding the date of such report, and the amount 
and items of the expenditures for the same time ; also the number and condition of the 
various schools and departments in said school district ; the number of pupils attending 
Biich schools and departments during the year; the number and names of the teachers 
employed by them, and the text books in use in such schools ; the number of volumes and 
condition of the books in the libraries of such districts, and such other facts and informa- 
tion relative to the afi"airs of said district as In their judgment may be of interest to the 
inhabitants thereof. [A^i amended by § 2, chapter 40. Lawn of 1804.] 

§ 2.3. The academical department which may be established, as aforesaid, shall be entitled 
to its distributive share of the literature fund in like manner and on like conditions with 
the academies of this State : and the said academical department shall be subject to the 
visitation of the Regents of the University in like manner with the other academies of 
this State. 
§ 24. It shall be lawful for the inhabitants of any school district in the town of Kingston 



Lansingbukgh. 547 

adjoining said Kingston school district, at any annual or special meeting, by a vote of a 
majority of the legal voters present, to declare .<aid district to be a primary district, and to 
form a part of the said " Kingston school district.'" They shall then elect one trustee and one 
clerk, in the maimer provided by this act, and shall hold their office for the term of three 
years from the hrst Monday of January following. The said trustee shall be a member of the 
said •• Kingston board of education,'" and the siiid primary district shall be subject to all tho 
conditions^ rules and regulations of said '•Kingston board of education," the same as any 
other primary district included in the said '■Kingston school district," but no such action of 
any school district shall take etfect or become operative for any ])urpose until said " Kingston 
board of education" shall by resolution accept such school district as such primary district. 

§ -25. Nothing in this act s'hall be construed to afl'ect or impair the powers or duties of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, in relation to the school distri(;ts hereby consolidated, 
but the same shall apply and be in foi'ce as to the school district hereby created, and the 
Bchool or schools which may be maintained in said districts in like manner with the other 
districts and schools of this State. 

§ 2(). On the third Wednesday in May, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, a meeting shall 
be held at the court-house, in the said village of Kingston, of the persons qualified to vote 
at school district elections in the several school districts mentioned in the first section of 
this act, at which the president of the board of trustees of the village of Kingston, or, in 
case of his non-attendance, any one of the trustees of the said village, to be designated by 
a majority of those present at the opening of the meeting, shall preside and regulate the 
proceedings, and decide all questions whicii may arise thereat, at the said meeting. And it 
shall then and there be determined, by the vote' of a majority of those who may attend and 
vote at the said meeting, whether the board of education, herein mentioned, shall or shall 
TH)t organize : the votes shall be by ballot ; on each ballot shall be written or printed, " For 
the school law;" or. "Against the school law." The poll shall open at eight o'clock 
in the forenoon, and remaiii open till six o'clock in the afternoon. A clerk or clerks, to be 
appointed by the presiding officer, shall receive the votes, keep a proper poll list of the 
persons voting, and canvass the votes given. The result of the said election shall be 
certified in due form by the presiding officer, and his certificate thereof be filed within 
twenty-four hours after the poll shall close, with the clerk or other proper officer of the 
said board of trustees. If a majority of the votes thus given be " For the school law," 
the said board of education shall organize a* provided by this act; but if a majority of the 
said votes shall be "Against the school law," then and thereafter the provisions of this 
act shall be of no further force or efi'ect, and the said several school districts mentioned in 
the first section hereof shall be and remain separate school districts as they now are. 

[Chap. 40, Laws of 1864, 2;. 65.] 

§ 3. The annual meeting of the inhabitants of the Kingston school district for the 
election of officers shall be held at such time as is now or shall hereafter be designated in 
the general school law of this State for holding annual school meetings, at such convenient 
place within the district as shall be designated by the Kingston boord of education. In case 
of the failure of the inhabitants of the Kingston school district, from any cause, to hold the 
annual meeting at the time above specified, the same may be held at such other time there- 
after as the board of education shall, by resolution, designate, and it shall be the duty of the 
board of education, after such failure, forthwith to make such designation, ard give the 
requisite notice thereof 

§ 4. The trustees of Kingston academy are hereby authorized to transfer and convey their 
property, real and personal, to the Kingston board of education, absolutely or upon such 
terms and conditions as may be agreed lipon. And it is hereby declared that such transfer, 
if made, shall not operate to dissolve the corporation, or corporate existence of the trustees 
of Kingston academy. 



LANSINGBUEGH. 

[Laivs of 1847, Chap. 336, ;;. 442.] 

Section 1. The trastees of school district number one, in the town of Lansingbur^rh, in 
the county of Rensselaer, shall annually, at least three weeks before their annual meeting, 
prepare an estimate of the amount which they shall deem necessary to pay the debts of such 
district, and for the support of common schools therein, for the ensuing year, exclusive of 
the moneys which they may be entitled to receive from the town superintendent, and 
including the sums required for the purchase of necessary furniture, apparatus and books, 
and for contingent expenses, and shall caus.e printed or written notices thereof to be posted 
for two weeks thereafter, in five or more of the most public places in said district. They 
shall present such estimate at such annual meeting, when the inhabitants of snch district, 
entitled to vote at school district meetings, then present, shall vote thereon, and the same 
having been approved of by a majority of such inhabitants, shall be levied and raised by 
\:ix on such district, as now provided hv law for raising a district school tax. 

§ 2. When the trustees shall have completed the tax list, they shall issue their warrant 
to the collector of taxes of said district, returnable in thirtv davs. for the collection of the 
Baaie, and take from such collector approved security for the performance of his duty; such 
warrant may be renewed from time to time. The moneys so collected shall be paid to said 
trustees, and by them appropriated to the purposes for which the same was voted, unless 
otherwise directed by a vote of the inhabitants, at their annual district school meetin<', or 
a special meeting called for the purpose. ° 



548 Little Falls and Manheim — Lockpoet. 

§ 3. The tax hereby imposed shall he a lien upon the lands taxed, to he enforced and 
collected by sale, in the manner that county taxes are, upon a return to be made by said 
collector to the treasurer of the county, of all unpaid taxes in said district. 

{Chap. 333, Laws of 1857,;?. 697.] 
This act is a transcript of the forei?oing act, and is applicable to district number five, 
Lansingburgh. The provisions in both are the same. 

LITTLE FALLS AND MANHEIM. 
IChap. 193, Laws of 1866, p. 375.] 

Section 1. School district number one in the towns of Little Falls and Manheim, Herkimer 
county, is hereby constituted a free school district. 

§ 2. The trustees of said district and their successors in office shall cause to be raised 
annually by tax on the taxable property of said district, a sum not exceeding four thousand 
dollars, which sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be applied, in addition to 
the public money appropriated to said district, to the payment of qualified teachers' wages. 

§ 3. Any surplus of the moneys so raised remaining after the payment of all wages due to 
qualified teachers may be applied by said trustees and their successors in office to the pur- 
chase of fuel and necessary appendages, books and apparatus for the use of the school in 
paid district. 

§ 4. The school commissioner of the commissioner district in which said school district 
number one is situated shall have jurisdiction to alter the same in like manner with dis- 
tricts not under special act, provided, that no alteration whereby any property shall be set 
off from said school district shall be made without the written consent of the Superintend- 
ent of Public Instruction. 

LOCKPOET. 
[Laws of 1847, chap. 51, p. 50 ; Laivs of 1850, chap. Ti, p. 112 ; Laws of 1866, chap. 378, p. 189.] 

Section 1. All the territory embraced in priraaiy school districts numbers one, two. three, 
four, five, six and seven, as now constituted, which lies within the boundaries of the city 
of Lockport, and all other territory within the boundaries of said city, are hereby consoli- 
dated for the purpose and to the extent in this act specified; and shall hereafter, to such 
extent, form but one school district, to be called the union school district of the city of 
Lockport. Such parts of any of said primary districts as now bounded, as are outside the 
boundaries of said city, shall be annexed to adjoining districts in the town of Lockport. 

§ 2. Said seven school districts shall remain and continue separate and distinct, for the 
purposes and to the extent in this act specified; and shall be called "primary school dis- 
tricts," and numbered an follows : said district number one shall form primary district 
number one; said district number two shall form primary district number two; 'said dis- 
trict number seven shall form primary district number three ; said district number fifteen 
shall form primary district number four: said district number eight shall form primary 
district number five ; said district number sixteen shall form primary district number six ; 
and said district number five shall form primary district number seven. Said districts shall 
not be subject to alteration except by the acts of the Legislature, or by resohition of the 
board of education hereinafter created. The schools in said primary districts shall be used 
as preparatory schools for the instruction of children until they arrive at a certain age, and 
attain a certain proficiency in learning, who shall then be transferred, upon the proper testi- 
monials, into the union school hereinafter mentioned ; the age, qualifications and testimonials 
to be prescribed by the by-laws, rules and regulations of the board of education hereinafter 
created. 

§ 3. Sullivan Caverno, residing in primary district number one ; William G. M'Master, 
residing in primary district number two ; Joseph T. Bellah, residing in primary district 
number three ; Silas H. Marks, residing in primary district number four; Isaac C. Conlton, 
residing in primary district number five : John "S. Woolcott, residing in primary district 
number six, and Edwin L. Boardman, residing in primary district number seven, are hereby 
appointed trustees in behalf of such districts respectively: and Nathan Da.yton, Samuel 
Works, Jonathan L. Woods, Lyman A. Spaulding and Hiram Gardner are hereby appointed 
trustees in behalf of said union district. The trustees so named, and their successors, to 
be chosen as hei'einafter provided, are hereby constituted a corporation by the name of the 
board of education for the city of Lockport. 

§ 4. On the first Monday of September next there shall be elected, in the manner that 
trastees of school districts are nov/ elected, by each primary district, one trustee (who shall 
be a resident of such primary district), to fill the places of those named in the last section, 
in behalf of such districts respectively. On the first Monday of October next there shall be 
elected, in lilvC manner, by a meeting of the persons qualified to vote for school district 
officers, residing within the bounds of said union district, five trustees, resident of said 
union district, to fill the places of those named in the last section, in behalf of said union 
district. Annually thereafter, on the days above specified for such electi(nis. there shall, in 
like manner, be elected four trustees to fill the places of those whose terms shall next 
thereafter expire, as hereinafter provided. The trustees named in the third section above 
Bhall hold their offices until the first Monday of January next, and until their successors 
phall be chosen and enter upon the discharge of the duties of their offices respectively. 
Every officer elected under this act shall enter upon the duties of his office on the first 



LocKPORT. 549 

Monday of January next succeeding his election, and shall hold his office for the term here- 
inafter'providcd, and until his successor shall be elected, and shall enter upon the discharge 
of the duties of hisoflice. Within ten days after any such election, the clerk of such district 
shall certify to said board of education the names of the officers so elected. 

§ 5. Within ten days after the first election of trustees of said union district, as provided 
in the last section, all the trustees so elected by said primary and union districts, or a 
majority of them, shall meet and cause the whole number of trustees so elected to be divided 
into three classes, to be severally numbered first, second and third. The term of office of 
the first class shall expire at the end of one year ; of the second class, at the end of two 
years ; and of tlie third class, at the end of three years from the first Monday of January 
next. There shall also be elected in each of said districts, at the time of so electing trustees, 
a clerk, who shall hold his office for one year, and until his successor be elected and enter 
upon the duties of his office. 

§ 6. There shall annually be appointed, by said board of education, a collector, librarian 
and treasurer of said union district, v.'ho shall each, within ten days after receiving notice 
in writing of his appointment, and before entering upon the duties of his office, execute 
and deliver to said board of education a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as 
paid board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. 
In case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiving such notice, such office 
shall thereby become vacated, and said board of education shall thereupon make an 
appointment to supply such vacancy. 

§ 7. Notices for annual elections and all other meetings of said districts shall be given by 
said board of 3ducation, at least ten days before such" election or meeting, by publishing 
such notice once in each of the newspapers printed in the village of Lockport ; and if such 
notice be for an election or meeting of said union district, by posting the same on the door 
of the school -house in each primary district; if such notice be for an election or meeting 
of any primary district, then by posting such notice on the door of the school-house in such 
district. 

§ 8. In case of a vacancy of any office mentioned in this act, occasioned by the death of 
Btich officer, his refusal to serve, removal out of the district for which he shall have been 
elected or appointed, his incapacity, or any cause other than the expiration of the term of 
office of persons elected, said board of education may make an appointment to fill such 
vacancy. The officer so appointed shall hold his office for the unexpired term of the person 
to supply whose place he shall be so appointed. 

§ 9. Said board of education shall be a corporate body, in relation to all the powers and 
duties conferred upon them by virtue of the provisions of this act; a majority of the board 
shall Ibrm a quorum. 

§ 10. Said board of education shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties, 
in respect to all of said school districts, that the trustees of common schools now possess 
or are subject to, and such other powers and duties as are given or imposed by this act. 
The clerk, collector and librarian of said union district shall possess all the powers and be 
subject to all the duties, in respect to said union district, that like officers of common 
schools now possess or are Subject to, and such other powers and duties as are given or 
imposed by this act. The offices of collector and librarian, and two of the trustees' of each 
of the school districts hereby consolidated, shall be abolished from and after the time when 
said union school shall go into operation. In the mean time, such officers and the several 
districts, in district meetings, shall continue to discharge such ordinary powers and duties 
as said board of education may by resolution prescribe ; but they shall not possess or exer- 
cise any right or power which may conflict with the provisions of this act, or impair 
the powers" hereby intended to be conferred on said board of education, or in any way 
embarrass the said board of education in the exercise of the powers or in the discharge of 
the duties conferred or imposed upon said board by the provisions of this act. 

§ 11. Said board of education shall, at its first meeting, and annually thereafter, at their 
meeting held next after the first of January in each year, appoint one of their number 
president and another secretarj'. In the absence of either of such officers at any regular 
meeting of the board, a president or secretary may be appointed for the time being. 

§12. The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of said board of education, 
which record, or a transcript therefrom, certified by the president and secretary, shall be 
received in all courts as presumptive evidence of the facts therein set forth. 

§ 1.3. Each member of said board of education, and every other officer of said union 
district, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe the oath of 
oflice prescribed by the Constitution of this State and file the same with the secretary of 
said board. 

§ 14. Said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize so many primary schools as they shall deem requisite and 
expedient, and to alter and discontinue the same ; 

2. To purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to fence 
and improve them as they may think proper ; 

3. Upon such lots or sites, and upon any lot or site now owned by any primary district, 
to build, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances, 
as they may deem. advisable ; 

4. To puVchase. exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; to provide fuel for the schools, and defray their contingent expenses and the 
expenses of the library and salary of the librarian ; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, apparatus, 
hooks, furniture and appendages, and see that the ordinances and by-laws of said board in 
relation thereto be observed ; 



550 LOCKPOET. 

6. To contract with and employ all teachers in all the schools under their charge, and at 
their pleasure to remove them ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the public money and tuition fees to be 
received by them, accoi-diug to the provisions of this act, so far as the same shall be suffi- 
cient, and the deficiency, if any, out of the moneys to be raised' for general purposes of 
education under and by virtue of the provisions of this act ; 

8. To fix the rate of tuition fees in said union school, subject to the limitations and 
restrictions hereinafter contained, and to designate some person or persons to whom the 
same may be paid previous to issuing the warrant for the collection thereof ; and, by a 
resolution of said board, to be recorded by the secretary, to exempt from the payment of 
the whole or any part of the tuition fees such persons as they may deem entitled to such 
exemption, from indigence or any other sufficient cause ; and the said board may include 
the amount so exempted or remitted in the estimate of the amount necessary to be raised 
nnder the provisions of the fifteenth section of this act. and when collected the same shall 
bj credited to the teachers' fund; 

9. After the close of each quarter of said union school to make out a rate-bill containing 
the name of each person liable to pay tuition fees for tuition in said union school, who 
shall not have paid the same prior to making out such rate-bill, according to the provisions 
of the List preceding subdivision of this section, and the amount for which such person is 
liable, adding thereto a sum not exceeding five cents on each dollar for collectors fees 
(which fees shall be fixed by said board at the time of making out every rate-bill) ; to 
annex thereto a warrant for the collection thereof, to be signed by the president of said 
board or a majority of the members thereof, and deliver the same to the collector, who shall 
collect the same in the same manner a? collectors of school districts are by law authorized 
and required to execute like warrants issued by the trustees of common school districts, 
and who, in the execution of the same, shall be under the same protection, possess all the 
powers and be subject to all the duties as such collectors now have, possess and are subject 
to in respect to like Avarrants ; and, for this purpose, the jurisdiction of said board of edu- 
cation and of said collector shall extend to any other district or town, and to any resident 
of such other district or town who may be liable for tuition in said union school, in the 
same manner and with the like authority as to said union district or residents of said union 
district : 

10. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision, management and control of 
all the schools mentioned or contemplated in and by the provisions of this act ; to prescribe 
the course of studies therein, the books to be used, and establish an uniformity in respect 
to such course of studies and books ; from tine to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, 
as they may deem expedient, rules, regulations and ordinances for the organization, govern- 
ment and instruction of such schools, for the reception of pupils and their transfer from 
one school to another, for the promotion of their good order, prosperity and public utility, 
for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school-houses, lots, sites and 
appurtenances, and all other property connected with or appertaining to such schools ; 

11. To cause such rules, regulations, ordinances and by-laws to be published in such 
manner and form as they may deem best calculated to give general information ; to cause one 
copy thereof, together with a copy of this act, to be kept in each of said schools ; and such 
parts thereof as relate to such schools, respectively, to be read therein at least once during 
each quarter ; 

IJi. Said board of education shall in all respects be subject to the visitation and control of 
the superintendents of common schools of the town, county and State, in the same manner 
as the common schools in this State are subject. 

§ 15. Said board of education shall, at the commencement of each year, make an estimate 
by the best means in their power, and determine by resolution the amount of money which 
will be needed for ail the purposes of education in said union school district for the current 
year, and for all other purposes provided for by this act, over and above the moneys to be 
received from the Regents of the University, from the State and for tuition, and shall trans- 
mit a copy of said resolution to the common council of the city of Lockport, and said 
common council shall assess and collect the amount so certified, by a tax upon all the taxa- 
ble property of said city, upon the same assessment roll, and at the same time and in the 
same manner that city taxes are now required to be assessed and collected, and the amount 
so estimated and collected shall be paid by the city treasurer upon orders drawn in pursu- 
ance of resolutions of said board of education, such orders to be signed by the president of 
said board and certified by its secretaiy. The amount of money so to be'raised in any one 
year shall not be less than the amount received in behalf of all said districts from the 
State school tax for the year next precedins:. nor more than four times that amount, unless 
such greater amount shall be authorized by a vote of the inhabitants of said union district, 
at a regular meeting of such district ; and said board is hereby authorized, in making the 
estimate lor the year eighteen hundred and sixty-six, to include a sufficient amount to pay 
all expenses contemplated by the foregoing provisions, which shall accrue before the first 
day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven : and whenever any money shall be 
needed for the use of any primary or secondary district for any of the purposes contem- 
plated by this act, said board of education shall estimate and certify the same to said 
common council, whose duty it sliall be to assess and collect the same by tax on the 
taxable property of such primary or secondary district, in the same manner as above 
provided for the assessment and collection of the general tax, and the moneys so collected 
shall be paid on orders drawn as above provided, and shall be applied for the benefit of the 
respective districts upon which the same shall have been assessed. 

§ 16. Said board of education shall have poAver, and it shall be their duty, forthwith to 
purciiase a suitable lot, so situated as best to convene the whole of said union district, not 



LOCKPORT. 551 

to exceed in cost the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars, and procure a clear title tlierec^f, to 
he vested, by deed, in said board of education ; to cause said lot to be o;raded, fenced and 
otherwise properly improved: to erect thereon a suitable and proper building or buildings, 
to be built of stone or brick, not to exceed in expense the sum of eight thousand dollars, 
nor to cost less than five thousand dollars ; furnish the same with all proper, uselul and 
necessary furniture, apparatus and appendages ; as soon as the building is in proper condi- 
tion, employ a sufticient number of well educated teachers, male and female, and cause a 
school to be commenced therein, to be called " the Lockport union school," in which shall 
be taught onlv the higher branches of education. 

The tuition fee in said union school shall not exceed two dollars each per quarter for 
pupils whose parents or guardians reside within the territory of said union district ; for all 
other pupils, said tuition fee shall not be less than two dollars nor more than five dollars per 
quarter. No tuition fee shall thereafter be charged, nor any rate-bill be made, for tuition in 
the primary schools, but the same shall be free schools. 

§ IT. Said board of education shall, as soon as practicable, make an estimate of the 
amount of money which, in their opinion, will be necessary for the purposes in the last 
section specified, and also for such purposes specified in section fourteen of this act as may 
be needed or required for the first year, and shall forthwith assess, levy and collect the 
same, by tax upon real and personal estate, as specified in section fifteen of this act. They 
shall, for this and all other taxes to be raised by them, make out a tax list, in the manner 
and form in which like tax lists are now made by trustees of school districts, so far as such 
form is applicable ; annex thereto a warrant, in like form, signed by the president or a 
majority of the members of said board, and deliver the same to the collector; which, when 
so made and signed, shall be as efiectual, to all intents and purposes, as like tax lists and 
warrants when made by the trustees of common school districts. Said board may, in respect 
to the collection of all taxes, conform to the provisions of the twenty-ninth, thirtieth and 
thirty-first sections of the one hundred and eightieth chapter of the Session Laws of one 
honsand eight hundred and forty-five, and require the collector to comply with the pro- 
visions of said sections, so far as the same are applicable. Said board may so far vary from 
the provisions of said sections, as to time and places, as to render them applicable, and 
may make such warrants rettirnable at sixty or ninety days, in their discretion, instead of 
thirty days, as now required by law in respect to such warrants made by trustees of common 
school districts ; but all property now exempt, by section twenty-two, title five, chapter six, 
part third of the Revised Statutes, from execution, shall be exempt from all such war- 
rants. 

§ 18. All moneys to be raised by virtue of this act, and all moneys by law appropriated to 
or provided for said district, shall be paid to the treasurer of said board, who, together with 
the sureties upon his ofiicial bond, shall be accountable therefor to said board of education. 
Said treasurer shall not pay out any of such moneys, except by resolution of said board, 
and upon an order drawn by th* president and certified by the secretary, to be so drawn in 
pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 19. Said board of educati(m shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once 
in each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by 
the president, or, in his absence or inability to act, by the secretary or any other member 
of the board, as often as necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, 
or causing a written or printed notice to be left at his last place of residence, at least twenty- 
four hours before the hour of meeting. No member of said board shall receive any pay or 
compensation for his services. It shall not be lawful for any member of said board, or any 
other officer of either of said districts, to become a contractor for building or making any 
improvement or repairs authorized by this act, or be in any manner directly or :'cjdir'ectly 
interested either as principal, partner or surety in any such contract. All contracts made in 
violation of this provision shall be absolutely void, and the person so violating shall forfeit 
the sum of fifty dollars, to be prosecuted for and recovered by said board. 

§ 20. Instead of the report now required by law to be made by trustees of school districts 
to the town superintendent of common schools, the trustee to be elected for each primary 
district shall, within the time now required by law, make such report to said board of 
education, and shall therein embrace such other and further matters as may be required and 
presci-ibed by said board, or as such trustee may think the interests of such primary district 
or school may require. Said board of education shall annually, between the first of Jan- 
uary and the first of March in each year, make to the town superintendent of common 
schools a report containing all such matters, relating as well to said union district and 
union school as to said primary districts and their schools, as is now or shall hereafter be 
required by law. or the regulations of the Superintendent of Common Schools, to be reported 
to said town superintendent, and such other and further matters as thej' may deem advisa- 
ble. Such report shall be received, by said town superintendent, instead of the reports now 
required from each of said seven districts. A copy of such report shall be filed with the 
secretary of said board. 

§ 21. Said board of education shall, from time to time, appoint such and so many members 
of their board as they may deem proper, not less than three in number, a visiting committee, 
whose duty it shall be to visit said union school and each of said primary schools as often 
as once in each quarter, and make a report in writing to said board, showing the state and 
condition of each school, school-house, apparatus and appendages, and such other matters 
as said board may require of them, and such suggestions for the improvement of the same 
as they may deem proper and advisable; such reports shall be filed and kept among the 
papers of said board. Such board may, in their discretion, cause such reports, or any parts 
of the same or the substance thereof, and any and all other matters relating to said schools, 
to be published in such form as they may deem advisable. They shall, at the close of each 



652 LOCKPORT. 

year, publish in one or more of the village newspapers a report of the moneys received and 
expended by them during the year, and such other matters as they deem advisable. 

§ 22. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, the interests of any primary district require 
the sale or exchange of the school lot therein, said board may cause such sale or exchange 
to be made, and hold the proceeds thereof for the use and benefit 'of such primary district. 

§ 23. The title of school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurtenances, 
and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall be vested in said board of educa- 
tion ; and the same, while used for or appropriated to school purposes, shall be exempt from 
all taxes and assessments, and shall not be liable to be levied upon or sold by virtue of any 
warrant or execution. Said board of education in their corporate capacity shall be able to 
take, hold and dispose of any real or personal estate transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest 
or devise for the use of said schools or any or either of them ; provided, however, that said 
board shall not have power to sell, grant, dispose of or incumber said union school lot. 

§ 24. Every officer in this act mentioned, having at the time the possession, custody, care, 
charge or control of any property belonging to said schools or any or either of them, or any 
money raised by the provisions of this act or provided by law for the purposes of education 
in said village, shall, at the expiration of his term, or whenever such officer shall resign, be 
removed from office, cease to act, or his office be otherwise vacated, transfer all such property 
and pay over all such money to the board of education. 

§ 25. Every resignation of officers appointed or elected under this act shall be made to the 
board of education ; and such resignation shall have no force or effect, nor in any degree 
excuse such officer from the discharge of his duties, until the same be accepted and 
approved by a resolution of said board. 

§ 2(i. Any such officer may be removed from office for any official misconduct or neglect 
of official duty by resolution of said board, two-thirds of the members thereof concurring. 
Opportunity shall be given to every such officer to be heard in his defense before any such 
resolution shall be adopted. 

§ 27. Every person appointed or elected to any office mentioned in this act, who, without 
sufficient cause, shall refuse to serve therein, shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars ; and every 
person so appointed or elected, and not having refused to accept, who shall' neglect to 
discharge the duties of such office, shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars to said board of 
education. It shall be the duty of said board of education forthwith to prosecute for all 
forfeitures and penalties tinder this act, and when recovered to apply the same to the pur- 
poses of education in said village. All officers mentioned in this act shall be deemed public 
officers, within the intent and meaning of section thirty-eight of title six of chapter one, 
part four of the Revised Statutes, and, as such, liable to the penalty therein prescribed, in 
addition to the penalty in this section before provided. 

§ 28. The several libraries of the said seven districts are hereby consolidated into one. 
Said board of education shall cause a suitable and proper room to be fitted up in said union 
echool building, and furnished with necessary and suitable fixtures, furniture, apparatus and 
appendages, and transfer said library thereto and put it under the charge of a librarian. They 
shall annually allow and pay to said librarian such salary as in their opinion shall be a fair 
and reasonable compensation for his services, but not to exceed the sum of fifty dollars in 
any one year. They shall pass such by-laws for the regulation and preservation of said 
library and for the discharge of the duties of the librarian as they may think necessary. 
The library money hereafter to be received in behalf of said districts shall be paid by the 
town superintendent to the treasurer of said board. Said board shall expend such money 
entirely for the purchase of books and maps for the library. 

§ 29. Lands of residents and non-residents of said districts may be sold by said board for 
uncollected taxes, assessed thereon for school purposes by virtue of the provisions of this 
act, in the same manner and by like proceedings as the trustees of said village adopt to sell 
lands for unpaid taxes assessed for village purposes, and such sales shall have the like effect 
as sales so made by the trustees of said village ; or, the lands of residents and non-residents 
of said districts said board may cause to be returned to the county treasurer, in the same 
manner as trustees of common school districts are now authorized by law to return unoc- 
cupied and unimproved real estate of non-residents of their districts Ibr unpaid taxes 
assessed thereon. Said county treasurer shall pay to said board the amount of such taxes 
out of any moneys in the county treasury raised for contingent expenses; and such pro- 
ceedings, in all respects, shall thereafter be had by said county treasurer and the board of 
supervisors of the county of Niagara, in relation to all lands so returned as they are by law 
required to take in respect to unoccupied and unimproved lands of non-residents when so 
returned by trustees of common school districts; but no lands shall be so sold or returned 
until a reasonable eflfort shall have been made to collect such taxes by warrant, as provided 
in section seventeen of this act, and the collector shall have returned that he cannot collect 
the same. 

§ 30. Said board of education may cause a school for colored children to be taught in said 
village, and include the expenses thereof in the amount so to be raised annually by tax for 
contingent expenses and other purposes of education provided for in this act. 

§ 31. Said board of education may organize in said union school a department for the 
instruction of teachers, for such parts of the year and under such rules and regulations as 
they may by their by-laws adopt relative thereto. 

§ 32. Said board of education may at any time hereafter, whenever in their opinion the 
wants and interests of said schools shall require it, establish a class of so many schools, 
intermediate said primary and union schools, as they may deem advisable, to be called 
secondary schools ; and for this purpose consolidate such and so many of said primary dis- 
tricts as they may deem advisable, prescribe the tuition fees and course of studies therein, 
and so arrange and regulate the system of instruction in all of said schools that the transfer 



LOCKPORT. 553 

of pnpils shall thereafter be from the primary directly into the eecondary and thence into 
the union school ; and for this purpose, and for the organization, government and regulation 
of said secondary schools, said hoard shall have all such powers as are hereinbefore con- 
ferred npon them in respect to said primary and union schools and their districts and 
property. 

§ M. Said board of education shall have power to borrow money, from time to time, 
whenever necessary, by reason of the non-payment of taxes, or a failure to collect a suffi- 
cient amount to pay the current expenses of the schools under its charge, as contemplated 
and provided for in section fifteen of this act, as amended ; but in no case shall they borrow 
a greater amount than the amount estimated and reported to the common council, as 
provided by this act as amended. 

[C/iap. 77, Laws of 1850.] 

§9. "The said board of education for the city of Lockport " is hereby authorized to 
increase the rates of tuition fees in the union school under its charge and to graduate the 
parae according to the brjinches of instruction pursued, and may require fees for tuition of 
non-resident pupils to he paid in advance. 

§ 3. Said board of education is hereby authorized to appoint a superintendent of the 
schools under its charge, with such powers and duties and compensation as said board shall 
prescribe, and such superintendent shall have power to examine and give certificates to all 
teachers who shall be employed in said union school district, and such certificates so 
given by said superintendent shall have the same force and effect as certificates given by 
county or assembly district superintendents have heretofore had and now have. 

§ 4. From and after the first day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, all secondary 
schools under the charge of the board of education for the city of Lockport shall be free, 
and no fees for tuition therein shall be charged or collected by said board. 

§ 5. Said l)oard shall not raise by tax, upoli the property in the union school district, any 
money for the salaries of teachers in the union school district which shall accrue after the 
first day of April next. 

§ 6. The acts and doings of said board of education, in accordance with the provisions of 
their act of incorporation, since the act entitled " An act establishing free schools through- 
out the State," passed March 2(5, 1849, took eftect, are hereby ratified and confirmed. 

§7. The public money which shall be apportioned to the districts included in the said 
union school district shall be paid to said board, and be applied by them to teachers' wages, 
in the several schools in their charge in said district, in proportion to the average nurnber 
of scholars pursuing common school studies in each of said schools. The annual report of 
the receipts and expenditures, required to be published by said board, shall specify all sums 
received, and from whom, and all persons to whom payments were made, and the general 
character of the demands paid. 

Upon the application of said board of education to "the Regents of the University of the 
State of New York," said Regents may acknowledge and declare said union school to be an 
academy ; and it shall thereafter be an academy, subject to and to be governed by the pro- 
visions of the act authorizing- said union school, and subject to such rules and regulations 
as said Regents may prescribe. 

[Chap. 365, Latvs of 1865, i?. 644.] 

Section sixteen, of title nine, is as follows : 

§ 16. The boundaries of the union school district shall be and the same are hereby changed 
to include all the territory contained in the limits of the city of Lockport, not now included 
in the said district. 

[Chap. 95, Laws of 1858,^;. 189.] 
Section 1. All taxes hereafter to be levied and collected within the bounds of the " union 
school district of Lockport," for contingent expenses appertaining to the union school, 
the secondary schools, the primary schools, and the colored school, shall be levied and col- 
lected of all the taxable property, real and personal, in said union school district, as one 
feneral tax, and shall be expended for the benefit of the said several schools, under the 
irection of the board of education for the village of Lockport ; and no separate tax on 
the unicm school district, the secondary school districts, primary school districts, or for the 
colored school, shall hereafter be levied or collected for contingent expenses ; but the 
expenses of purchasing a lot, or lots, for secondary or primary schools, and the erection of 
buildings or oth^r ptn-naanent fixtures thereon, shall be levied and collected of all the taxable 
property, real and personal, in each of the said several districts. 

[Cha2y. 377, Laws of ism,p. 637.] 
This is a temporary act, authorizing the purchase of several lots of land for school pur- 
poses, and the levying of taxes to pay for the same. 

[Chap. 822, Laws of 1867, p. 2070, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. The common school report now required to be made by the board of education 
for the city of Lockport shall hereafter be made to the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, instead of the school commissioner of the first assembly district of Niagara 
county, as the same has heretofore been made 

§ 2. The public money apportioned to the union school district of the city of Lockport 
Bhall hereafter be paid to the treasurer of the board of education for'the city of Lockport, 
instead of the supervisor of the town of Lockport, as the same has heretofore been paid. 

70 



654 Lyons. 

LYONS. 

[ Chap. 129, Laws of 1856, p. 192, as amended by chap. 290, Laws of 1860, p. 499, and by chap. 
260, Laws of 1863, p. 469.] 

Section 1. School district number six, in the town of Lyons, county of Wayne, shall, for 
the purposes in this act specified, be hereafter known and called " the Lyons union school." 

§ 2. Said district shall not be subject to alteration, except by an act of the Legislature, 
or by some resolution of the board of education hereafter created. 

§ 3. John T. Mackenzie, Saxon B. G-arritt, Morton Browuson, Lyman Sherwood, Caleb 
Rice, Zebulon Moore, George W. Cramer, William H. »isson, and Aaron D. Polhamus, 
residing in the said district, are hereby appointed trustees in behalf of said district. The 
trustees so named, and their successors in office, to be chosen as hereinafter provided, are 
hereby constituted a corporation, by the name of " the board of education for the village of 
Lyons." 

§ 4. On the third Monday of December next there shall be elected, in the manner that 
school district officers are now elected, by a meeting of the persons qualified to vote for 
school district officers, residing within, the bounds of said district, nine trustees, residents 
of said district, to fill the places of those named in this act. Annually thereafter, on the 
days al)ove specified, there shall, in like manner, be elected three trustees to fill the places 
of those whose terms shall next thereafter expire, as hereinafter provided. The trustees 
named in this act shall hold their offices until the first Monday of January next, and until 
their successors shall be chosen and enter upon the discharge of the duties of their offices 
respectively. Every officer elected under this act shall enter upon the duties of his office 
on the first Monday of January next succeeding his election, and shall hold his office for the 
term hereinafter pi-ovided, and until his successor shall be elected, and shall enter upon the 
duties of his office. Within ten days after any such election, the clerk of such district 
shall certify to said board of education the names of the officers so elected. 

§ 5. Within ten days after the first election of trustees, as provided in the last section, all 
the trustees so elected, or a majority of them, shall meet and cause the whole number of 
trustees so elected to be divided by lot iuto three classes, to be severally numbered first, 
second and third. The term of ofiice of the first class shall expire at the end of one year ; of 
the second class, at the end of two years ; and of the third class, at the end of three years from 
the first Monday of January next. There shall also be elected in said district, at the time 
of so electing trustees, a clerk of said district, who shall hold his office for one year, and 
until his successor be elected and enter upon the duties of his office. 

§ 6. There shall annually be appointed, by said board of education, a collector, librarian 
and treasurer of said district, who shall each, within ten days after receiving notice in 
writing of his appointment, and before entering upon the duties of his office, execute and 
deliver to said boai'd of education a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as said 
board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. In 
case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiving such notice, such office 
shall thereby become vacant, and said board shall thereupon make an appointment to supply 
such vacancy as often as it may occur. 

I 7. Notice for annual elections and all other meetings of said districts shall be given by 
said board of education, at least two weeks before such election or meeting, by publishing 
such notice once in each week in each of the newspapers printed in the village of Lyons, 
and by posting the same in at least five of the most public places in said district. 

§ 8. In case of a vacancy of any office mentioned in this act, occasioned by death, refusal 
to serve, removal, or any other cause than the expiration of the term of office of persons 
«^lected, said board may make an appointment to fill such vacancy. The officer so appointed 
shall hold his office for the unexpired term of the person to supply whose place he shall be 
appointed, and until his successor shall be elected and enter upon the duties of his office. 

§ 9. Said board of education shall be a corporate body, for the purposes and in relation 
to all the powers, conferred on them by virtue of the provisions of this act, and also by 
virtue of the provisions of an act entitled " An act in relation to school district number six 
in the town of Lyons, Wayne county," passed April 19, 1855, all of which said act, incon- 
sistent with this act, is hereby repealed. A majority of said board shall form a quorum. 

§ 10. Said board of education shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties, 
in respect to said school district, that the trustees of common schools now possess or are 
subject to not inconsistent with this act, and such other powers and duties as are given or 
imposed by this act. The clerk, collector and librarian of said district shall possess all the 
powers and be subject to all the duties, in respect to said district, that like officers of 
common schools now possess or are subject to. not inconsistent with this act, and such 
other powers and duties as are given or imposed by this act. The offices of trustees, col- 
lector and librarian in said district, at the time of the passage of this act, shall be abolished 
from and after the time when said union school shall go into operation under this act, 
excepting so far as it shall be necessary for said trustees and collector to collect any tax 
heretofore voted, levied or assessed in said district, or any rate bill, or tax for exemptions, 
necessary to be raised for the payment of teachers' wages, that shall have accrued at the 
timeofthepassageof this act, or at the time said school shall go into operation under this act, 
or for any arrearages for taxes or rate bills, or other matters, the said trustees and collector 
are hereby authorized and required to continue their terms of office respectively, for the 
purpose of collecting such or any tax and rate bill, or either ; and if not already assessed 
and warrants issued, as required by law, time is hereby given them for that purpose, and 
dosing up such arrearages as herein stated, and for such purposes only said trustees and 
collector sliall have all the powers, and be subject to all the duties and liabilities that like 
officers now possess and are subject to. 



Lyons. 555 

§ 11. Said board of education ghall, at its first meeting, and annually thereafter, at their 
meotinfj held next after the first of January in each year, appoint one of their number presi- 
dent arid another secretary. In the absence of either of such ofticers at any regular meeting 
of the board, a president or secretary may be appointed for the time being. 

§ 12, The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of said board of education, 
which record or a transcript therefrom, certified by the president and secretary, shall be 
received in all courts as presumptive evidence of the facts therein set forth. 

§ 13. Each member of said board of education, and every other officer of said school 
district, before entering upon the duties of his olfice, shall take and subscribe the oath of 
oflice prescribed by the Constitution of this State, and file the same, or a certificate thereof, 
Bigned by the ofticer administering the same, with the secretary of the said board; hut no 
fee or compensation shall be taken or demanded for administering such oath. 

§ 14. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school lot and buildings belonging to said 
district, and to fence and improve the same as they may think proper; 

2. Upon such lot to alter, improve and repair the school building and out-houses thereon, 
and to build, enlarge, repair and improve out-houses and appurtenances thereon, as they 
may deem advisable ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; to provide fuel for the said school, and defray tlieir contingent expenses and 
the expenses of the library and salary of the librarian ; 

4. To have the custody and safe keeping of the apparatus, books, furniture and append- 
ages, and see that the ordinances and by-laws of said board in relation thereto be observe^ 
and enforced; 

5. To contract with and employ all teachers in all the schools under their charge, and also 
a janitor and librarian, and at their pleasure to remove them ; 

G. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the public money and tuition fees to be 
received by them, according to the provisions of this act, so far as the same shall be suffi- 
cient, and the deficiency, if any. out of the moneys to be raised as provided for by this act ; 

7. To divide said school into four grades, according to the branches of instruction pursued 
therein ; commencing with the primary departments or grades, designating the same by 
numbers first, second, third and fourth, 'concluding with the academical department ; 

8. To fix the rate of tuition fees in said school, subject to the limitations and restrictions 
hereinafter contained, and to designate some person or persons to whom the same may be 
p.'-iid previous to issuing the warra^it for the collection thereof; and, by a resolution of said 
board, to be recoi*ded by the secretary, to exempt from the payment of the whole or any 
part of the tuition fees'such persons as they may deem entitled to such exemption from 
indigence ; but no deduction for tuition fees shall be made by said board of education for 
the non-attendance of any pupil at said school after the time of the commencement of such 
pupil in any quarter until the close thereof, unless the same shall be satisfactorily excused 
to said board of education, within five dayy after the close of such quarter ; 

9. After the close of each quarter of said school to make out a rate bill containing the name 
of each person liable to pay tuition fees for tuition in said school, who shall not have paid 
the same prior to making out such rate bill, according to the provisions of the last preceding 
subdivision of this section, for the amount for which such person is liable, adding thereto a 
Bum not exceeding five cents on each dollar for collection fees (which fees shall be fixed by 
said board at the time of making out every rate bill); to annex thereto a warrant for the 
collection thereof, to be signed by the president of said board or a majority of the members 
thereof, and deliver the same to the collector, who shall collect the same in the same manner 
as collectors of school districts are by law authorized and required to execute like warrants, 
and, for this purpose, the jurisdictioii of said board of education and of said collector shall 
be the same as trustees and collectors of common schools now possess ; 

10. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision, management and control of 
all the schools mentioned or contemplated in and by the provisions of this act ; to prescribe 
the course of studies therein, the books to be used, and establish an tmiformity in respect 
tr such course of studies and books ; from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, 
as they may deem expedient, rules, regulations and ordinances for the organization, govern- 
ment and instruction of such schools, for the reception of pupils and their transfer from 
one department or grade to another, for the promotion of their good order, pn)sperity and 
public utility, for the protection, safe keeping and preservation of said school-houses, out- 
houses, lots and appurtenances, and all other property connected with or appertaining to 
Buch schools ; 

11. To cause such rules, regulations, ordinances and by-laws to be published in such 
manner and form as they may deem best calculated to give general information. The 
matters contained in subdivisions one, two and three of this section, shall not embrace any 
outlays beyond the sum or sums voted in each year by said district, to be raised by tax 
therein ; 

12. Said board of education shall in all respects be subject to the visitation and control of 
the superintendent of common schools of said town, and Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion of said State, in like manner as the common schools in this State now are ; 

13. Said board of education are empowered to establish, organize and maintain a classical 
department in the school under their charge in said district, agreeably to an act passed 
April nineteen, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, entitled '' An act in "relation to school 
district number six. in the town of Lyons, Wayne county." And the said Resfents are 
hereby authorized and required, at their next apportionment of the literature fund, to add 
to the portion to which this school may be entitled, such sum as said school would have been 
entitled the previous year had they made their annual report in season ; provided, however. 



556 Lyons. 

that nothing in this section shall affect the rights and duties of said board of education, 
granted or imposed by this act, or the statutes of this State relating to common schools. 

§ 15. Said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise from time 
to time, by tax upon the real and personal estate within the bounds of said district which 
shall be liable to taxation for the ordinary taxes of said village, or for town or county taxes 
or charges, such sums as may be determined, by resolution of said board, to be necessary 
to meet any deficiency for fuel, for the payment of teachers' wages, salary of janitor and 
librarian, and for text books for exempts, as contemplated by this act, Avithout a vote of the 
district, and also such other sum or sums of money as shall, or may at any time be voted by 
said district, for any purpose connected with the scbjedt of education in said district, to 

f)rovide for which, power shall be given to said board, by the provisions of this act, the 
aws relating to common schools, or the rules and regulations of the Department of Public 
Instruction of said State. Said board shall, at each annual meeting, submit an estimate of 
the amount of money which will, in their opinion, be needed for all the purposes of educa- 
tion and other purposes provided for by this act (except to meet deficiency for the payment 
of teachers' wages, and purchase of text books for exempts, over and above the moneys to 
be received from the town superintendent, tuition fees, and literature fund), to be voted at 
such meeting, and shall cause the sum or sums, so voted at such meeting, to be raised by 
one assessment and warrant, with power of renewal, as hereby granted to trustees. Such 
assessment may be made and levied, and warrant issued, in any one year as often as 
such tax shall be voted. Taxes to meet any deficiency for the payment of teachers' wages, 
and the purchase of text books for exempts, may be assessed, levied and collected by said 
board of education, in the same manner that taxes are assessed, levied and collected,' as in 
this act provided, whenever the same shall be deemed necessary by said board. The taxable 
inhabitants of said district are hereby authorized, at any regular meeting of such district, 
to levy and raise, in the manner now provided by law for raising money by tax in school 
districts, from time to time, such sum or sums as shall be necessary for the purposes of 
education in said district. 

(Section 16 is repealed.) 

§ 17. Said board shall, as soon as practicable, after any tax shall have been voted by Baid 
district, for the purposes in this act expressed and intended, forthwith assess, levy and 
collect the same, by tax upon real and personal estate, as specified in this act. They shall, 
for said tax and all other taxes to be raised by them, make out a tax list, in the manner and 
form in which like tax lists are now made by trustees of school districts, so far as such 
form is applicable, using as a basis for all assessments the last completed town or village 
assessment roll or warrant, or both, as the case may in their opinion require, and annex to 
such tax list a warrant, in like form, signed by the president or a majority of the members 
of said board, and deliver the same to the collector ; which, when so made and signed, shall 
be as efi'ectual, to all intents and purposes, as like tax lists and warrants when made by the 
trustees of common school districts. 

§ IS. All moneys to be raised by virtue of this act, and all moneys by law appropriated to 
or provided for said district, or to which the same shall at any time be entitled, shall be paid 
to the treasurer of said board, who. together with tbe sureties upon M# official bond, shall 
be accountable therefor to said board of education, when thereunto required. Said treasurer 
Ghall not pay out any of such moneys, except by resolution of said board, and upon an order 
signed by the president and certified by the secretary, to be so drawn in pursuance of such 
resolution. 

§ 19. Said board of education shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once 
in each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by 
the president, or, in his absence or inability to act, by the secretary, as often as necessary, 
by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or causing a written or printed 
notice to be left at his last place of residence, at least twenty-four hours before the hour of 
meeting. No member of said board shah receive any pay or compensation for his services. 
It shall not be lawful for any member of said board, or any other officer of said district, to 
become a contractor for building or making any improvement or repairs authorized by this 
act, or be in any manner directly or indirectly interested, either as principal, partner or 
surety, in any such contract. All contracts made in violation of this provision shall be 
absolutely void, and the person so violating shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars, to be 
prosecuted for and recovered by said board. 

§ 20. Said board of education shall, from time to time, appoint such and so many mem- 
bers of their board as they may deem proper, not less than three in number, a visiting 
committee ; whose duty it shall be to visit said school as often as once in each quarter, and 
make a report in writing to said board, showing the state and condition of each department 
or grade of said school, the school-house, apparatus, library and appendages, and such other 
matters as said board may require of them, and such suggestions for the improvement of 
the same as they may deem proper and advisable : such report shall be made at least one 
week prior to the close of each quarter, and shall be filed and kept among the papers of 
said board. Such board may, in their discretion, cause such repoi-t, or any part thereof, and 
any other matters relating to said school, to be published in such form as they may deem 
advisable. They shall, at the close of each year, publish in one or more of the village news- 
papers a report of the moneys received and expended during the year, specifying therein 
all sums received, and from whom, and all persons to whom payments were made, and the 
general character of the demand paid, and such other matters as they may deem advisable. 

§ 21. The title to the present site, buildings, furniture, books, apparatus and each and 
every of the appurtenances, and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall be 
vested in said board of education ; and the same, while used for or appropriated to school 

{)urposes, shall be exempt from all taxes and assessments, and shall not be liable to be 
evied upon or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution. 



Lyons. 557 

§ 22. Every officer in this act mentioned, having the possession, custody, care, charge or 
control of any property belonging to said district, or any money raised by the provisions of 
this act or provided by law for the purposes of education in said district, shall, at the expira- 
tion of his term, or whenever such otHcer shall resign, be removed from office, cease to act, 
or his ortice be otherwise vacated, transfer all such property and pay over all such money 
to the board of education. 

§ 2;i. Every resignation of officers appointed or elected under this act shall be made to 
the board ; and such resignation shall have no force or effect, nor in any degree excuse 
Buch otHcer from the discharge of his duties, until the same be accepted and approved by 
a resolution of said board. 

§ 24. Any such officer may be removed from office for any official misconduct or neglect 
of official duty by resolution of said board, two-thirds of the members concurring. Written 
notice of the charges shall be served upon, and opportunity shall be given to every such 
officer to be heard in his defense before any such i-esolution shall be adopted. 

§ 25. Every person appointed or elected to any office mentioned in this act, who, without 
sufficient cause, shall refuse to serve therein, shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars ; and every 
person so appointed or elected, and not having refused to accept, who shall neglect to dis- 
charge the duties of such office, shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars to said board of educa- 
tion. It shall be the duty of said board of education forthwith to prosecute for all forfeitures 
and penalties under this act, and when recovered to apply the same to the purposes of educa- 
tion in said district. All officers mentioned in this act shall be deemed public officers, within 
the intent and meaning of section thirt^'-eight of title six of chapter one, part tour of the 
Revised Statutes, and, as such, liable to the penalty therein prescribed, in addition to 
the penalty in this section before provided. 

§ 26. Said board shall cause the library belon<nng to said district to be kept in a suitable 
and proper room in said school building or other place in said district, properly fitted up 
and furnished with necessary fixtures, furniture and appendages, and shall put the same 
under the charge of a lil)rarian ; they shall annually allow and pay to the said librarian such 
ealary as in their opinion shall be a fair and reasonable compensation for his services ; they 
shall pass such by-laws for the regulation and preservation of said library and for the dis- 
charge of the duties of librarian as they may think necessary. The library money hereafter 
to be received in behalf of said district shall be paid by the town superintendent to the 
treasurer of said board ; said board shall expend such money entirely for the purchase of 
hooks and maps for the library. 

§ 27. Lands of residents and non-residents of said districts may be sold by said board for 
uncollected taxes, assessed thereon for school purposes by virtue of the provisions of this 
act, in the same manner and by like proceedings as the trustees of the village of Lyons 
adopt to sell lands for unpaid taxes assessed for village purposes, and such sales shall have 
the like efiect as sales so made by the trustees of said village ; or, the lands of residents 
and non-residents of said district, said boai'd may cause to be" returned to the county treas- 
urer, in the same manner as trustees of common school districts are now authorized by law 
to return unoccupied and unimproved real property of non-residents of their districts for 
unpaid taxes assessed thereon. Said county treasurer shall pay to said board the amount of 
such taxes out of any moneys in the county treasury raised for contingent expenses ; and 
such proceedings, in all respects, shall thereafter be had bj'^ said county treasurer and the 
board of supervisors of the county of Wayne, in relation to all land so returned, as they are 
by law required to take in respect to unoccupied and unimproved lands of non-residents 
when so returned by trustees of common school districts ; but no lands shall be so sold or 
returned until a reasonable efibrt shall have been made to collect such taxes by warrant, as 
provided in section seventeen of this act, and the collector shall have returned that he can- 
not collect the same. 

§ 28. Said board of education may organize a department in said school for the instruction 
of teachers, for such parts of the year, and under such rules and regulations as they may by 
their by-laws adopt in relation thereto. 

\_Chap. 550, Laws of 1855, p. 1048.] 

The following is the law referred to in sections nine and fourteen of the foregoing act : 
Section 1. The trustees of school district number six, in the town of Lyons, in the 
county of Wayne, and their successors in office, are hereby constituted a body corporate, by 
the name " of the Lyons union scliool " and empowered to establish, organize and maintain 
a classical department in the school undi-r their charge, in said district, by that name, which 
department shall be subject to the visiiation of the Kegents of the University of this State, 
and to all laws and regulations applicable to the incorporated academies thereof, and shall 
be entitled to all the privilefjes of such academies, and to share in the distribution of the 
moneys of the literature fund of this State, as the academies thereof; provided, however, that 
this act shall not affect the rights and duties of said trustees and district, under the statutes 
of this State relating to common schools. 

{Chap. 260, Laws of 1863, 2^- 469.] 

Section 1. The board of education of the village of Lyons shall not hereafter collect or 
receive any fees or compensation for the instruction in the school under the charge of said 
board, of pupils whose parents or guardians reside within the territoiy embraced in 
school district number six in Lyons, known as the Lyons union school ; the charges for 
tuition of all other pupils admitted into said school shall be regulated by said board from 
time to time, as they shall deem proper. 



558 Lysander and Yax Buren. 

§ 2. Any snms necessary for the payment of teachers' wages, after applying to that pur- 
pose any moneys, or income in the hands, or under the control of said board, applicable 
thereto, shall be levied and collected upon the taxable property of said district, as other 
taxes are now required bylaw to be levied and collected. 

§ 3. Section sixteen of chapter one hundred and twenty-nine of the Session Laws of 
1856, is hereby repealed. 

LYSANDER AND VAN BUREN. 
{Chap. 94, Laws of 1864. p. 138.] 

Section 1. School districts number two (2). of the town of Lysander, of the county of 
Onondaga, and number eighteen, of town of Van Buren, of the same county, are hereby 
consolidated for the purpose and to the extent in this act specified, and shall hereafter for 
such purposes and to such extent form but one school district, to be called " The Baldwins- 
ville union free school district.'" 

§ 2. Said t^ciiool di^^tricts shall remain and continue separate and distinct, for the purpose 
and the extent in this act specified, and shall be called '• primary school districts," and 
numbered a= follows : said district number two (2) of Lysander shall form district number 
one 1 1), and said district number eighteen (18), of Van Buren, shall form primary district 
number two '2), and said districts shall not be subject to alteration, except by resolution of 
the board of education hereinafter created. The schools in said primary districts shall be 
preparatory schools for the instruction of children, until they attain a certain proficiency in 
learning, who shall then be transferred into the academy or high school hereinafter men- 
tioned, the qualifications to be prescribed by the by-laws, rules and regulations of the board 
of education hereinafter created. 

§ 3. The following named persons, to wit : James Frazee, John P. Shumway, Abel H. TeU, 
Heniy Y. Allen, Silas H. Nichols and Payn Bigelow, and their successors to be chosen as 
hereinafter provided, are hereby constituted a corporation, by the name of the "board of 
education for the Baldwinsville academy and union free school." The three persons first 
named shall hold their office until the first Monday of January, one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty-five (1SG5), and the three persons last named until the first Monday of January, 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six (1866). 

§ 4. The annual meeting of the electors of said union district shall be held on the second 
Tuesday in October of each year, at such hour and place in said district as the board of 
education shall previously designate. The pi'esident of the board of education, or, in his 
absence, the president for the time being, shall preside ; and the clerk, or in his absence, 
the clerk for the time being, shall act as secretary thereof. 

§ 5. At the annual meeting to be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four 
(1864', three members of the board of education shall be elected to fill the places of the 
three persons first named in section three of this act. The places of the next three shall 
be filled at the annual meeting to be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixtj'- 
five ; and annually thereafter." on the second Tuesdaj^ of October, there shall in like manner 
be elected three members to fill the places of those whose terms of oifice shall next there- 
after expire. Every officer elected under this act shall enter on the duties of his office on 
the first Monday of January next succeeding his election, and shall continue in office for the 
term of two years. Of the three members of the board of education elected at any annual 
meeting, two shall be residents and taxable inhabitants of primaiy district number one, 
and one of primary district number two. At the first regular meeting of the board of educa- 
tion after any such election, the clerk shall certify to the board the names of the officers bo 
elected. 

§ 6. Said board of education shall be a corporate body in relation to all the powers and 
duties of this act, and a majority of the board shall form a quorum. 

§ 7. At the first regular meeting of the board of education, held in January in each year, 
they shall appoint a clerk, librarian, collector and treasurer of said union district, the last 
two of whom shall each, within twenty days after receiving written notice of his appoint- 
ment, and before entering upon the duties of his office, execute and deliver to said board 
of education a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as the said board may require, 
conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. 

§ 8. In case of a vacancy in any oliice mentioned in this act, occasioned by the death of 
such officer, his removal from the district, refusal to serve, his incapacity, or any cause 
other than the expiration of the term of office of persons elected, said board of education 
may make an appointment to fill such vacancy. The officer so appointed shall hold his 
office until the next annual election. 

§ 9. Notices for annual meetings and all other meetings of said union district shall be given 
by said board of education at least ten days before such meeting, by publishing such notice 
once in each of the newspapers printed in the village of Baldwinsville, and by posting the 
same on the door of each school-house in said union school district. 

§ 10. Said board of education, and the clerk, the librarian, and the collector of said union 
district, shall severally possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties, in respect to 
all the schools in said union district, that the trustees and other officers of common schools 
now possess or shall be subject to by law, and such other powers and duties as are given or 
imposed by this act. 

§ 11. From and after the first meeting of the board of education under this act. the offices 
of trustee, librarian, clerk and collector, in each of the school districts included within the 
limits of the said union school district shall be abolished, and the title of the property of 
the said school districts, real and personal, shall from thenceforth become the property 



Lysander and Van Buken. 559 

of and be vested in the said board of education, in its corporate capacity, as created by this 
act ; and said board shall t^ettle all business of the school districts forming said union dis- 
trict then remaining,' unsettled. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall, at their said first mectinjr, and uniformly thereafter, 
at their meeting to be held next alter the first Moiiday of January in each year, appoint one 
of their number president. The clerk of said union district shall act as secretary to said 
board. In the absence of either of said ofticers at any regular meeting of the board, a 
president and a secretary may be appointed for the time being. 

§ 13. The said clerk, in addition to such other duties as are or may be imposed on him by 
law, or required of him by the board, shall keep a record of the proceedings of said board 
of education, which record, or a transcript thereof, certified by the president and secretary, 
shall be received in all courts, and for all purposes, as presumptive evidence of the facts 
therein set forth. 

§ 14. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize a classical school in the village of Baldwinsville, to be known 
by the name of " The Baldwinsville academy." which school shall be subject to the visita- 
tion of the Regents of the University of this State, and to all laws and regulations applicable 
to the incorporated academies thereof, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of such 
academies, and to a share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund of this 
State, the same as the other academies thereof; 

2. To establish and organize such and so many primary schools in said district, including 
for that purpose the common schools therein, as they shall deem requisite and expedient, 
and to alter and discontinue, or change and consolidate the same ; 

3. To build, purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence, improve, adorn and repair the same, as they may think proper; 

4. Upon such lots or sites, and upon any lots or sites now owned by any school districts 
within the limits of said union district, erected by this act, to build, enlarge, alter, improve, 
adorn and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem advisable; 

5. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, globes, maps, furniture 
and appendages, books for indigent pupils and for the school library ; to provide fuel and 
lights, and defray the contingent expenses of the schools, of the board, the library and the 
salary of the librarian and clerk : 

6. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, and all the real 
and personal property belonging, or which shall belong to said union school district and 

Erimary schools, and see that the ordinances and by-laws of said board in relation thereto 
e observed ; 

7. To contract with and employ teachers competent in the several departments of 
instniction ; to remove them at any time for neglect of duty or immoral conduct, and to 
pay the wages of such teachers out of the moneys appropriated for that purpose ; 

8. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the public moneys and tuition fees received 
for that purpose, and the deficiency, if any, out of the moneys to be raised by tax for gene- 
ral purposes of education under this act; 

9. To fix the rates of tuition fees in said academy, and to designate some person or 
persons to whom the same maj' be paid : 

10. To have, in all respects, the superintendence, supervision, management and control 
of all the schools mentioned or contemplated, in and by the provisions of this act, to 
prescribe the course of studies therein, the books to be used, and to establish a uniformity 
in respect to such course of study and books ; from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and 
repeal, as they may deem expedient, rules, regulations and ordinances for the organization, 
government and instruction of such schools, for the reception of pupils, and their transfer 
from one school to another, for the expulsion of any pupil from any of said schools for 
misconduct, for the promotion of morals and good order in said schools, their prosperity 
and public utility; for the protection, safe keeping, and care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots, sites, fences, ornamental trees and shrubbery, and appurtenances, and all other 
property connected with or appertaining to such schools, and to cause such rules, regula- 
tions, ordinances and by-laws to be printed and published in such a manner as they may 
deem best calculated to give general inlormation thereof: 

11. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, from 
time to time, by tax upon all the real and personal estate within the bounds of said union 
district, which shall be liable to taxation for town and county charges, such sums of money 
as may be determined by resolution of said board, to be necessary for any and all the pur- 
poses mentioned in this act. or to meet any deficiency for any purpose of education in said 
district, to provide for which, power may "be given to the stiid board by the provisions of 
this act, or any law relating to common schools, or the rules, regulations, or any order 
of the Superintendent of Public Instruction ; 

12. Said board of education shall, at the commencement of each year, make an estimate, 
by the best means in their power, of the amount of money Avhich will be needed for all the 
purposes of education, and other purposes provided for by this act, over and above the 
public money and moneys to be received from the other sources, if any, and shall cause 
the same to be raised upon one assessment or warrant ; and not more than two taxes for 
such purposes shall be raised in one year. The amount of money so to be raised for 
teachers' wages, in any one year, shall liot be less than the amount received from the State 
for the support ot said schools for the year next preceding, nor shall more than four times 
that amount be raised by the board of education for that purpose, unless such greater 
amount shall be authorized by a vote of the voters at school mectimrs of said union free 
school district, at an annual or special meeting of such district, when they shall have power 
to vote such sum or sums as they may deem necessary for school purposes. 



560 Lysaxdeb and Van Buee:n-. 

§ 15. All tlie primary schools and the academy in said union school district, and which 
Bhall be under the charge of the board of education, shall be free schools, and no tuition 
shall be charged nor any rate bill made out foi the tuition in the regular or prescribed course 
of study of any pupils of lawful school age, who are or may be^actual residents of said 
union school district ; but said board of education shall have power to establish or charge 
6uch rates of tuition, as they shall see fit, for non-resident pupils, and for the instruction of 
all pupils in any branches of learning not embraced in the regular course of study prescribed 
by said board of education. 

§ 16. They shall, for all taxes raised by them, make out a list in the manner and form in 
which tax lists are or shall be required by law to be made out by trustees of school districts, 
so far as such form is applicable ; aunexthereto a warrant in like form, signed by the presi- 
dent, or majority of the members of said board, and deliver the same to the collector, 
which, when so made and signed, shall be as efi"ectual to all intents and purposes, as like 
tax lists and warrants, when made by the trustees of common school districts in this State. 
Said board may, in respect to the collection of taxes, conform to the provisions of the 
twenty-ninth, thirtieth and thirty-first sections of chapter one hundred and eighty of Session 
Laws of one thousand eight hundred and forty-five, and require the collector to comply with 
the provisions of said sections so f-ir as the same a"e applicable. 

Said board may make their warrants returnable at discretion, not less than thirty days, 
nor more than ninety days, from the issuing thereof. The said board may assess, levy and 
collect the amount of taxes to be raised under the preceding sections, in not more than 
two annual installments. 

§ 17. All moneys to be raised by virtue of this act. and all moneys by law appropriated 
to or provided foV said districts, shall be paid to the treasurer of said board, who. together 
with the sureties on his official bond, shall be accountable therefor to the said board of edu- 
cation ; said treasurer shall not pay out any of said moneys except by resolution of said 
board, and upon an order drawn by the president and certified by the secretary, to be so 
drawn in pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 18. Special meetings of the board of education may be called by the president, or in his 
abiiencs or inability to act. by the secretary, or any member of said board, as often as neces- 
sary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or causing a written or printed 
notice to be left at his place of residence, at least twenty-four hours before the hour for such 
epecial meeting. No member of said board shall receive, directly or indii'ectly, any pay or 
compensation for his services. 

§ 19. The said board of education shall annually make a like report in all respects as 
required from trustees of common school districts to the school commissioner. Such 
reports shall be received by the school commissioner instead of the reports now made by 
trustees of the school districts included in said union district. The supervisors of the sev- 
eral towns from which the said union district is taken shall, in making their apportionment 
of school or library moneys, allot to said union district its proportion of said moneys 
according to law. regulating its apportionments to districts formed out of two or more 
towns, and the report of its board of education shall be regarded as the report of its 
trustees. All such sums shall be paid by said supervisors to the treasurer of said board of 
education A copy of the reports of said board of education shall be filed with the clerk or 
secretary of the board. The board of education shall, at the close of each school year, pub- 
lish in one or more of the village nevrspapers, a report of the moneys received and expended 
by them during the year, showing the sources from whence received, and the objects of 
expenditure, and such other matters pertaining to public instruction in said district as they 
shall deem expedient. 

§ 20. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, a sale or exchange of any primary school- 
house or house and lot would be proper, said board may cause such sale or exchange to be 
made, and may buy a new site or may at any time buUd a new house for the accommodation 
of any portion of said district, when authorized thereto by a vote of a majority of the tax 
payers of said union district present and voting at any annaal or special meeting called 
together as herein provided. 

I 21. All the school property of said board of education, real and personal, while used for 
and appropriated to school piirposes, shall be exempt from all taxes and assessments, and 
shall not be liable to be levied upon or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution. Said 
board of education, in their corporate capacity, shall be able to take, hold and dispose of 
anvreal or personal estate transferred to it by gift, s"rant, bequest or devise, for the use 
of "said district or any schools under their charge. Said board shall not have power to sell, 
grant, dispose of or incumber said academy or school lots. No portion of the library money 
paid to said board of education shall be expended for teachers' wages, but shall be appro- 
priated exclusivelv for the increase and benefit of the library and fo'r school apparatus. 

§ 22. All the lands included in the bounds of said union district shall be subject to taxa- 
tion therein under this act. without regard to the residence of the owners thereof, and the 
board of education aiav cause them to be returned to the county treasurer, in the same 
manner as trustees of common schools are authorized to return unoccupied and unimproved 
real estate of non-residents of their districts for unpaid taxes assessed thereon. Said 
county treasurer shall pav to said board the amount of said taxes out of any moneys in the 
countv treasury not otherwise specifically appropriated, and such proceedings in all respects 
Bhall thereupon be had in relation to such taxes and lands, as required by law in relation to 
such lands when so returned by trustees of common school districts. 

§ 2.3. The taxes imposed bv the provisions of this act, shall be a lien upon the lands 
taxed, to be enforced and collected bv sale in the manner that county taxes are. upon a 
return to be made by the collector to the treasurer of the county of all unpaid taxes in said 
district. 



M ALONE. 50 1 

§ 24. The board of education, or a majority of the same, in conjunction with the school 
commissioner of the flrs-t commissioner district of Onondaga county, shall have power at 
any time to change the bounds of said union school district by annexing to the said district 
the whole or part of any adjoining common school district, the whole of a majority of the 
voters of said school district, and they shall further have power to set off to any adjoining 
district, any part of such union school district as the majority of the voters of said union 
school district may determine ; but no such change shall be made between the first day of 
April in any year, and the first day of October next following. 

§ 25. All the expenses incurred by said school district number two, of the town of Lysan- 
der, for alterations and repairs of school buildings, since the eighteenth day of December, 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and all the expenses incurred by both of said 
districts for teachers' wages, fuel, printing, rent of buildings, or any other expenses what- 
ever, connected with or incurred for the support of said schools in the said districts since 
the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, beyond the public 
moneys or other moneys on hand, shall be paid by tax, and the total amount of expenses 
incurred as specified in this section, shall be embraced in the first tax levied by the board 
of education of said union district ; and the board of education of said union school district 
is hereby empowered, and it shall be their duty, at their first regular meeting after the 
passage of this act, to levy a tax in accordance with the twelfth article of the fourteenth 
section of this act, for the support of the schools in said union school district for the current 
school year. 



MALONE DISTRICTS, NOS. 1, 14, 15 AND 23. 
[Chap. 370, Laws of 1858, p. 638.] 

Section 1. School districts numbers one, fourteen, fifteen and twenty-three, in the town of 
Malone, in the county of Franklin, are hereby consolidated, for the i)urposes in this act speci- 
fied, and shall hereafter form but one school district.to be called •' The village school district 
of the town of Malone." 

§ 2. Said district shall have five trustees, all of whom shall be resident freeholders, and 
any three of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. On the first 
Tuesday inMay next, after the passage of this act, at seven o'clock in the afternoon, the legal 
voters of said consolidated district shall assemble at the court-house in the village of 
Malone, and organize a school district meeting, by appointing a moderator to preside at 
said meeting, and a clerk to keep the minutes of its proceedings, and shall then proceed to 
elect five trustees, a clerk, librarian and collector of said district, in the manner prescribed 
bylaw for the election of officers of school districts. The term of office of the clerk, libra- 
rian and collector of said district sliall be one year, and those first elected, as above provided, 
shall hold office for one yenr frcmi the next annual meetingin said district ; and the term of 
office of the trustees of said district, who shall be ele'^ted after the first election, shall be five 
years. The said trustees elected at said first election shall determine by lot their respective 
term's of office, so that one shall serve one year, a second two years, a third three years, a 
fourth four years, and a fifth five years, from the next annual meeting in said district. There 
shall be elected in each year after the present, at the annual district meeting in said district, 
one trustee to supply the place of the trustee whose term of office will then expire. Vacan- 
cies in any of the offices in said district sliall be supplied as provided by law for filling 
vacancies in such offices in school districts. And said trustees shall possess all the powers, 
and be subject to all the duties in respect to said district, that the trustees of school dis- 
tricts possess and are subject to, and to such other powers and duties as are ctmferred or 
imposed by this act, or may be conferred or imposed by law. The said meeting hereby 
directed to be held shall fix the time for holding the annual meeting in said district. 

§ 3. The several school-houses, and all school district property belonging to the said 
several districts hereby ccmsolidated, shall form, and after the passage of this act be, the prop- 
erty of the said consolidated district, to be held, used and disposed of as the like kind of 
property may be held, used and disposed of by other school districts. 

§ 4. The said several school-houses, and such other as may from time to time be hired, pur 
chased or erected in said district for that purpose, may be used for primary schools in said 
district, and the said district maj', in the mode prescribed by law for hiring, erecting or 
purchasing school-houses, hire, purchase or erect, at suitable and convenient points in said 
district, school-houses for primary schools, and a school-house for a central school, for 
instruction in the higher grades of the English and common branches hereinafter prescribed, 
upon sites to be hired or purchased in the mode prescribed by law. 

§5. The said schools shall be wholly supported by the moneys appropriated to said 
district.and by tax upon the taxable property in said district ; and the said district shall 
receive its due pupil and library apportionments, according to the number of persons iu 
said district over four years a'nd under twenty-one years of age, authorized by law to be 
enumerated and reported with those forming the basis of the apportionment of public 
monoys. to said district, and district quotas according to section three, chapter one hun- 
dred and eighty of the Laws of eighteen hundred and fifty-six ; and all moneys apportioned 
or apportionable to the said several districts by this act consolidated, upon reports already 
made by the tnistees of said districts, but not yet paid, shall be paid to the trustees of said 
consolidated district ; and the said consolidated district shall draw for the year eighteen 
hundred and fifty-eight its due pupil and library apportionments, according to the number 
of pupils in said district as aforesaid, without regard to the length of time that a school 

71 



562 M ALONE. 

shall have been kept in said district by a qualified teacher, in ?aid year eis:hteen hundred 
and tifty-ei<>ht, and from district quotas for said year. 

§ 6. Tlie legal voters of said district, at said meeting hereby authorized, without any other 
notice than the publication of this act in the several newspapers published in the village of 
Malone. at least one week before the said meeting, and at any annual, special or adjourned 
meeting legally held, after such notice of any such annual, special or adjourned meeting, 
and of Its objects, as is by law required, may vote to raise such sums of money as they may 
deem expedient for hiring or purchasing school-houses or sites for school-houses, and 
erecting and repairing school-houses, and for hiring and paying teachers, and purchasing 
maps, charts, globes and books, and providing fuel, and erecting and maintaining out-build- 
ings, and inclosing and improving the grounds connected with the school-houses in said 
district, and defraying the contingent expenses of said schools. But no more than one 
tlKrasand dollars shall be raised by taxation in any one year, over and above the sums neces- 
sary to be raised for the payment of teachers' wages. 

§7. The trustees of said consolidated district are hereby authorized and empowered to 
make such by-laws and regulations as they may deem necessary to secure the prosperity, 
order and government of said schools, and to divide the same into primary and higher 
departments, and regulate the transfer of scholars from one department to another, and 
provide suitable instructors in each department, and direct what text books shall be used 
in the same ; but no higher or other branches than reading, spelling, penmanship, geog- 
raphy, English grammar, arithmetic, history. English composition, and declamation, shall 
be taught In said schools ; and no person not a resident of said district, and authorized to 
be enumerated and reported with those forming the basis of the apportionment of public 
moneys to said district, shall be permitted to attend any of the said schools. 

§ 8. The said schools shall be free to all persons in said district authorized to be enume- 
rated and reported with those forming the basis of the apportionment of public moneys to 
said district, and no charge for tuition shall be made against any such persons, or against 
their parents, guardians or employers, either by rate bill or otherwise. 

§ 9. The trustees of said consolidated school district are authorized from time to time to 
make arrangementd with the trustees or principal of the Franklin academy, in the village 
of Malone, to teach, in any or all of the several branches of education herein prescribed, 
any number of the scholars in said school district, on such terms and conditions as they 
shall deem expedient. 

§ 10. The said district, and the officers thereof, and the schools therein, shall, in all 
respects, be subject to the jurisdiction and control of the commissioners of common schools 
of the district in which the said consolidated district is located, and to the State Superin- 
tendent of Common Schools, the same as other school districts, and the officers thereof, and 
the schools therein, and all the general laws and regulations of this State in relation to com- 
mon schools, shall apply to the said district and its officers and schools, except as herein 
otherwise provided. 

iChap. 7, Laws of 1867, p. 32, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. The five existing trustees of the village school district of the town of Malone, 
associated with five trustees of the corporation of Franklin academy, in said village, and 
their respective successors in office, shall constitute a board of education for said village 
school district. 

§ 2. Upon the passage of this act the board of trustees of said Franklin academy shall 
elect five of its members, who shall be residents of said village school district, who shall be 
associated with said school district trustees, to form the board of education established by 
the foregoing section. Said academy trustees, so elected, shall determine by lot their 
respective terms of oflice, so that one shall serve one year, one two years, one three years, 
one four years, and one five years, and in each case the period of service shall commence 
and end with that of the trustees of said village school district. After such first election 
the said board of trustees of Franklin academy shall, at the time of the annual meeting of 
said village school district, elect one of its members to supply the place of the trustee whose 
term of office shall then expire. The trustees of said village school district shall continue 
to be elected as provided by section two of chapter three hundred and seventy of the Laws 
of eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. 

§ 3. The said board of education, when it sliall be duly organized under the foregoing pro- 
visions, shall have the care, management and control of all the schools in said village school 
district, and also of the academy therein ; but nothing in this act shall be held in "any wise 
to affect or impair the separate corporate existence of said academy, or any rights or 
privileges appertaining to it, as such corporation, except as herein expressly provided. 
And generally, except as qualified by this act, the said board of education shall have, possess 
and exercise all the powers and privileges conferred upon stich boards, in school districts, 
other than those whose limits correspond with those of any city or incorporated village, by 
title nine of chapter five hundred and fifty-five of the Laws of eighteen liundred andVixty- 
four. The said district schools shall be free only to those persons residing in the district, 
authorized to be enumerated and reported with those forming the basis for the apportion- 
ment of public money to said district. To all others, as well as to all attending the academy, 
whether from within or from without the limits of said district, a just and remunerative 
rate of tuition shall be charged, which rate, from time to time, shall be fixed by said board 
of education. 

§ 4. Except as modified by the foregoing provisions, so much of title iline, of chapter five 
hundred and fifty-five of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-four, as relates to school 
districts, other than those whose limits correspond with those of any city or incorporated 



Medina. 5G3 

villaj^e, is hereby extended and made applicable to " the village school district of the town 
of Malone." 

§ 5. So much of chapter three hundred and seventy, of the laws of ei.i^hteen hundred and 
fifty-ei^ht, being " An act to consolidate school districts one, fourteen, tifteen and twenty- 
three, in the town of Malone, in the county of Franklin,"' as conflicts oris inconsistent with 
the foregoing provisions is hereby repealed. 



MEDINA. 

[Laivs of 1S49, chap. 286, as amended by chap.. 381, Laivs of 1850.] 

Section 1. There shall hereafter be elected in school district number twelve, foi-med 
jiartly out of the town of Ridgeway and partly out of the town of Shelby, in the county of 
Orleans, and lying principally within the village of Medina, in the manner now provided by 
law, three trustees, who sliall respectively hold their offices three j^cars. Christopher 
Whaley, Silas M. Burroughs, John Ryan, Daniel Starr, Isaac W. Swan and Archibald 
Servoss are hereby appointed trustees of said district, and shall respectively hold said office 
as follows, namely : The term of office of Christopher Whaley and Silas M. Burroughs shall 
expire at the same time that the term of othce of Koswell Starr, as trustee of said, district, 
Bhall exprire ; the term of office of John Ryan and Daniel Starr shall expire at the same time 
that the term of otticc of Isaac K. Burroughs, as trustee of said district, shall expire ; and 
tiie term of office of Isaac W. Swan and Archibald Servoss shall expire at the same time 
that the term of office of Nathan Bancroft, as trustee of said district, shall expire. 

§ 2. The trustees of said district, and their successors in office, shall constitute a board of 
education for said district; and, for the purposes of this act, in addition to the present 
powers and duties of trustees, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the 
name and st3'le of " the board of education of the village of Medina : " and said corporation 
shall have power to establish and organize a classical school in said village, to be known by 
the name of '"the Medina academy,'' and such classical school shall be' subject to all law3 
and regulations applicable to other incorporated academies of this State, and shall be 
entitled to share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund, upon the same 
terms as other academies of this State ; and the Regents of the University shall recognize 
said academy as such, as soon as the required sum of money shall be expended in buildings, 
and competent teachers employed therein. 

§ 3. Said board of education" shall appoint one of their number president of said board, 
Avho shall preside at the meetings of said board when present ; when absent a president 
pro tempore shall be appointed in his stead. They shall also appoint one of their number 
secretary, who shall record all the acts, doings, and resolutions of said board ; and in the 
absence of the secretary a secretary pro tempore shall be appointed to discharge such 
duties. They shall also appoint a collector, librarian and treasurer of said district, who 
shall respectively hold their offices one year from their appointment, and until others are 
appointed in their places, unless sooner removed by said board; such collector, librarian 
and treasurer shall each, within ten days after notice of their appointment in writing, and 
before entering upon the duties of their" office, execute and deliver to said board of educa- 
tion a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties as said board may require, conditioned 
for the laithful discharge of the duties of his office. In case such bond shall not be given 
within ten (hiys after receiving such notice, such oflice shall thereby become vacated, and 
said board of education shall thereupon make an appointment to suppl}' such vacancy. 

§4. The said board of education shall have power to All any vacancy which may happen 
by reason of the death or removal from the said district of any member of said board, and 
the officer so appointed shall hold his office for the unexpired time of the person to supply 
whose place he shall be so appointed 

§ 5. Said board of education shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties, 
in respect to said district, that the trustees of common schools now possess or are subject 
to, and such other powers and duties as are given or imposed by this act. 

§ (i. The taxable inhabitants of said district, at any annual, special or adjourned meeting, 
legally held, may vote to raise such sum of money as they shall deem expedient for the pur- 
pose of purchasing a site and building a school-house in said district, or for the purpose of 
purchasing anj' suitable building for such purpose, and direct the trustees to cause the samo 
to be levied and raised by installments, and make out a tax for the collection of the same as 
often as such installments shall become due; and the legal voters at any such ii:eeting are 
authorized to fix the compensation for collecting and paj'ing over to the said board of educa- 
tion the amount so levied. 

§ 7. The inliabitants of said district shall have no power to rescind the vote to raise such 
sum of money, at any subsequent meeting, unless the same be done within ten days there- 
alter; nor shall they have power to reduce the amtmnt of the same alter the expiration of 
ten days from the time the tax was first levied, but may remit such sum as shall remain 
unappropriated after paying for the site and erection of the house or purchase of suitable 
buildiii^. 

§ 8. The said board of education are hereby authorized to obtain by loan the whole or any 
part of the money legally voted by said district, and secure tiie payment of the same by their 
official bond. 

§ 9. The Comptroller of this State is hereby authorized and directed to loan to the said 
board of education such sum as the said board of education shall certifv to said Comptroller 
to have been voted by the inhabitants of said district, iu pursuance of "this act, not exceed- 



664 • Medina. 

ing the sum of five thonsand dollars, out of the moneys in the treasurj' belonc^ing to the 
capital of the common school fund, and for the purpose of purchasing a s"ite and erecting or 

{)urchasing a suiiable building for a school-house in said district; and the money when 
oaned shall be charged upon the books of the Comptroller to said district, and the same 
shall be paid over to said board of education, to be applied by them for the purpose of pur- 
chasing a site and erecting or purchasing a school-house for said district. 

§ 10. The sum so loaned shall be paid to the Comptroller of this State, in annual install- 
ments thereafter, as determined by the vote of said district raising such sum of money, with 
annual interest thereon. 

§ 11. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to sell at public 
auction, to the highest bidder, the school-house and site thereof belonging to said district, 
by giving public notice, to be posted in ten public places in said district ten days previous 
to such sale, and apply the proceeds arising from such sale toward purchasing a site and 
erectmg a school-house in said district, or to' such other purpose as said district shall direct ; 
such sale may be made upon such term? of credit as said board of education shall determine 
upon, and a bond and mortgage taken by said board for the whole or any part of the pur- 
chase-money or price for which said site and house may be sold, and such bond and 
mortgage may be sold and assigned by said board at par, for money to be applied by them 
as herein provided. 

§ 12. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to make such 
by-laws and. regulations as they may deem necessary to secure the prosperity, order and 
government of said school, and divide the same into"^primaiy and higher departments, and 
regulate the transfer of scholars from one department to the other, and provide suitable 
instructors for each department, direct what text books shall be used in the same, purchase 
fuel and other necessaries foi the use of the school or schools in said district, and all contracts 
made by them in their official capacity shall be binding upon them and their successors in 
office : to fix and regulate the terms of tuition fees in said primary and other higher branches 
in said school or schools ; to sue for and collect in their corporate name any sum of money due 
to said district : to receive and apply to the uses of said school or schools', or any department 
thereof, any gift, legacy, bequest oi" annuities given or bequeathed to said board, and apply 
the same according~to the instructions of the donor or testator: to take and hold any real 
estate given or bequeathed to said board for the purposes of said school or schools, or any 
department thereof, and apply the same, or the interest or proceeds thereof, according to the 
terms and instructions of the donor or testator; to have in all respects the superintendence, 
supervision, management and control of said school or schools, or any department thereof, 
and to hire, pay and discharge any teacher or teachers employed by them in said school or 
department thereof. 

§ 13. Said board of education shall in all respects be siibject to the restrictions and con- 
trol of the superintendents of common schools of the town, county and State, in the same 
manner as the common schools in this State are subjecr. 

§ 14. Said board of education shall have power and are hereby authorized to receive into said 
academy, and cause to be instructed therein, any pupil or pupils residing in or out of said 
district, and to regulate and establish the terms of tuition fees of such resident or non- 
ret^ident pupils ; and said board of education shall have power to regulate the tuition fees 
and rates ol charges for instruction in the higher English and classical departments of said 
academy, and shall have power to make such application of the money raised for the sup- 
port of common schools in said district, for the payment of teachers" wages, as said board 
shall determine, and may divide and apportion the same, in such manner as said board shall 
deem best, to pay the salaries of teachers employt d in said academy, or the elementary 
English schools cot>nected therewith or maintained in said district under their supervision. 
The rates of tuition in the elementary English branches, in the schools maintained in said 
district, shall be subject to the general laws relating to common schools ; and. after apply- 
ing such portion of the money received in said district, as said board shall determine, 
toward the support of such elementary English departments, such sum, not to be less than 
one-half of all the moneys received in said district for the support of common schools 
therein, the additional sum required to pay teachers' wages and provide fuel and other con- 
tingent expenses necessary to the support of such elementary schools, shall be estimated, 
assessed, collected and applied in the manner provided in chapters one hundred and forty 
and four hundred and four of the Session Laws of eighteen hundred and fort3'-nine. or in 
such other manner as shall be hereafter provided by law for the support of common schools. 

§ 15. All moneys raised in said district for the purposes of said school, and all moneys to 
be received by such district from the common school fund or other source, ^hall be annually 
paid to the said board of education, and be applied by them for the uses of said school or 
schools according to law. 

§ If). The meinbers of said board of education, before receiving any moneys belonging to 
said district, shall severally execute to the town superintendent of common schools of the 
town of Ridirewav their separate bonds, with two sufficient sureties, to be approved by said 
town superintendent, in a penalty at least double the amount to be expended by them for 
the benefit of said school during the next ensuinc: year, conditioned that such trustee giving 
puch bond will faithfully account for the expenditiire of all moneys he shall receive for said 
district, and pay over the balance remainins in his hands at the time of the expiration of 
his office to the other trustees: and the district at any legal meeting thereof may require 
the penalty of such bond to be increased, or additional security to be given by either or all 
the trustees, if they shall deem the same insufficient ; and any trustee, treasurer of said 
district, or member of said board. Avho shall apidy any moneys belonging to said district to 
his own use, shall be deemed guilty of embezzlement. 



Mentz. 565 



MENTZ. 

[Chap. 305, Laws of 1S57, p. G2T, vol. 1, as amended bij chap. 97, Laws of ISGO, p. 169.] 

Section 1. All that territory embraced in school districts numbers six and fifteen, Mentz, 
Cayuga county, and so much of lot number forty-eight, Mentz, as lies south of the north 
line of the New York Central Railroad lanes, and east of the Owasco creek, is hereby con- 
eolidated and shall hereafter constitute one permanent school district, and shall not be 
subject to alteration except by the Legislature of the State of New York, to be hereafter 
known bv the name of •• Port Byron free school district." 

§ -2. David B. Smith, Amasa K. King, James D. Button, Finlay M. King, Alfred Mead, 
Jacob D. Schoonmaker, William D. Osboru. George Randall and William A. Halsej'-, are 
hereby appointed trustees of said district, to be divided by lot at their first meeiing into 
three classes, to be numbered one, two and thrt-e. and hold their offices as follows : Class 
number one until the first annual meeting, which shall be held on the first Tuesday in May, 
eighteen hundred and fifty-eight ; class number two until the next annual meeting there- 
after, and class number three until the next annual meeting thereafter; and at each annual 
meeting there shall be elected three trustees to supply the olaces of those whose terms of 
oflice shall expire, and all those elected at the annual meetings shall each hold their oflices 
for three years unless elected to fill a vacancy. If at any annual meeting there should be a 
failure to elect, those whose terms would expire shall hold their offices until others are 
elected in their stead. Notice of the annual or special meetings shall be given by posting 
the same in three public places in the said district, and by publishing the same in a news- 
paper, if one is printed in said district. 

§ 8. The trustees of said district, and their successors in office, shall constitute a board of 
education for said school district and for the purposes of this act. in addition to the duties 
of trustees, are hereby constituted a corporation by the name of •• the board of education 
of the village of Port Byron;" and the said board of education shall have power to establish 
and organize a classical school in the said village, to be known by the name of the Port 
Byron academy, and such classical school shall be subject to all laws and regulations appli- 
cable to other incorporated academies of this State, and shall be entitled to share in the 
distribution of the literature fund upon the same terms as > ther academies of this State; 
and the Regents of the University shall recognize said academy as such as soon as the required 
eum of money shall be expended in buildings and apparatus, and competent teachers 
employed therein. 

§ 4. The board of education shall appoint one of their number president of the said board, 
who shall preside at the meetings of the board when present, and when absent a president 
pro tempore shall be appointedln his stead. They shall also appoint one of their number 
secretary, who shall record all the acts, doings and resolutions of said board, and in his 
absence'a secretary pro tempore shall be appointed to discharge such duties. They shall 
also appoint a collector and treasurer, who shall each hold their offices for one year from 
their appointment and until others are appointed in their places, unless sooner removed by 
the said board. Such collector, librarian and treasurer shall each within ten days after 
notice in writing has been received of their appointment, and before entering upon the duties 
of their offices, execute and deliver to said board of education a bond, in such penalty and 
with such sureties as said board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the 
duties of his office, and unless such bond shall be executed and delivered within ten days 
after such notice such office shall become vacated and said board may fill such vacancy. 

§ 5. The said board of education shall have power: 

1. To pass such by-laws as they may deem proper for the regulation and exercise of their 
lawful business and' powers; 

2. To fill any vacancy which may happen in said board by reason of death, removal or 
refusal to serve of any member or officer of said board, and the person so appointed to fill 
such vacancy shall hold his office until the next election of trustees, as by this act provided ; 

3. To remove any member of their board or anj- officer of their appointment for official 
misconduct : but a' written copy of all charges for such misconduct shall be served upon 
him at least ten days before the' time appointed for a hearing, and he shall be allowed a full 
and fair opportunity to refute such charges before removal ; ~ 

4. To take charge and possession of the school-houses, sites and lots, furniture, books, 
apparatus and all the school property within their district: and the title of the same shall be 
vested in the said board of education, and the same shall not be subject to taxation for any 
purpose whatever ; 

5. To take and hold for the use of said schools or any department of the same anj' real 
estate transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, or any gift, legacy or annuity of 
whatever kind, given or bequeathed to the said board, and apply the sum or the interest or 
proceeds thereof according; to the instructions of the donor or testator; 

t). To receive into the said schools any pupils residing out of the said district, and to regu- 
late and establish the tuition fees of such non-resident pupils in the several departments of 
said schools, and also those of scholars residing in the said district and attending the said 
academy ; to regulate the transfer from the primary to the academical departments, and from 
class to class, of all scholars as their degree of scholarship may warrant ; to direct what 
text books shall be used therein; to provide fuel, furniture, apparatus and other necessaries 
for the use of the said schools, and sue for and collect all debts and demands due to said 
district in the corporate name of said board of education, and all contracts made by the 
members of said board in their official capacity shall be binding on them and iheir succes- 
Eors in office ; 



666 Mextz. 

7. To contract with and employ teachers competent in the several departments of the 
BChools : to remove them at any time for neglect of duty, immoral conduct or for any other 
cause by the said board deemed sufhcient, and to pay the wages and salaries of such teachers 
and instructors out of the moneys appropriated for that purpose ; ' 

8. To possess all the powers, privileges and immunities and be subject to all the duties in 
respect to the common schools which the trustees of the common schools now possess and 
are now subject to. not inconsistent with this act, and to enjoy all the immunities and privi- 
leges now enjoyed by the academies of this State ; 

9. The board of education are hereby authorized to convey the title of the old sites and 
school-houses to purchasers, and also purchase new sites and build school-houses and other 
necessary buildings, and purchase the necessary apparatus for the said schools, and to fence 
and improve the grounds thereof; provided, that it shall require the votes of seven mem- 
bers of the board of education, to be given and recorded by ayes and noes, to fix or establish 
any site for the building or buildinirs of said school. 

§ 0. It shall be the duty of said board to have reference in all their expenditures and con- 
tracts to the amount of moneys which shall be appropriated or subject to their order or 
drafts during the current year, and not exceed that amount, and the said board shall apply 
all the public moneys appropriated to the said district to the departments below the 
academical, and all moneys from the literature fund or otherwise appropriated for the sup- 
port of the academical department, to the academy. 

§ 7. The board of education shall cause to be levied and collected upon the taxable prop- 
erty of said district, in the manner provided by law for the assessment and collection of 
school district taxes in the several towns of this State, a sum which, together with the 
amount received from the common school fund, shall be sufficient to pay all teachers' and 
instructors" salaries and wages who are employed in said schools below the academical 
department. The fuel and other necessary contingent expenses of the school shall be raised 
by a tax on the taxable property of said district, as is now provided for. and ail Avarrants for 
the collection of taxes in the said district shall be issued under the hand and seal of the 
president and secretary or a majority of said board. The moneys received from the litera- 
ture fund shall be applied to the support of the academy, and the tuition fees of non-resident 
scholars in the primary departments may be applied in such manner as the board of educa- 
tion shall direct,either to the support of the primaryor academical departments of said school. 

§ 8. All moneys raised in the said district for the purposes of the schools, and all moneys 
to be received by such district from the common school fund or other sources, shall be paid 
to the treasurer of the district, to be paid by him on the warrant of the said beard of educa- 
tion, and to be applied by them for the use of said schools, according to the provisions of 
thi.^ act. 

§ 9. The taxable inhabitant? of the said district, at any annual, special or adjourned meet- 
ing, legally held, may vote to raise such sum of money as they may deem expedient, not 
exceeding"' eight thousand dollars, for the purpose of purchasing a site and building a school- 
house or houses in said district, and furnishing the same with necessary furniture, maps, 
globes, and other suital)le apparatus, and direct the trustees to cause the same to be levied 
and collected by tax upon the real and personal estate in the said district Avhich shall be 
liable to taxation for the ordinary taxes of town and county charges, by such installments 
as the legal voters may direct, and make out a tax for the same as oJten as such installments 
shall become due. 

§ 10. The inhabitants of said district shall have no power to rescind the vote to raise such 
sum of money at any subsequent meeting, unless the same be done within ten days there- 
after : nor shall thej-'have power to reduce the same after the expiration of ten days from 
the time that such sum was first- voted to be raised ; but they may remit such sum as shall 
remain unappropriated atVer paying for the site and erection of the buildings, and fencing 
and filling the grounds. 

§ 11. The said board of education are hereby authorized to obtain by loan the whole or 
any part of the money legally voted by the said district, and secure the payment of the same 
by their official bond. 

"§ 12. The Comptroller of this State is hereby directed and authorized to loan to the board 
of education of the village of Port Byron, tlie sum of five thousand dollars, out of the com- 
mon school fund, and receive their bond in their oflicial capacity, secured by mortgage on the 
site, which must be unincumbered, and by such other security as the Comptroller may deem 
adequate for the repayment of the sarae'ln six annual payments, with annual interest at 
seven per cent on the sum unpaid. The sum so loaned shall be expended by the said board 
for the purchase of a site in the village of Port Byron, and the erection of school buildings 
thereon. 

§ 13. There shall be levied and collected by the board of education hereby created, upon 
the real and personal estate of the Port Byron free school district, in the same manner as 
other village, town and county taxes are levied and collected, the sum of five thousand dol- 
lars, in six equal annual installments, the first installment to be levied and collected in the 
year eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and the residue in five annual installments thereafter, 
together with the interest anmially upon the whole sum unpaid, which shall be paid to the 
Comptroller of this State, in satisfaction of said loan. [As amended by chapter 97, Laws of 
ISfiO, paqe IfiO.] 

§ 14. The loan mentioned in the eleventh and twelfth sections of this act, shall not be 
made unless the same shall be authorized by a vote of the electors in said district entitled 
to vote therein for school taxes, at an annual or special meeting in said district. 

§ 15. In making out a tax list for the collection of taxes in said district, the valuation of 
taxable property shall be aecertained, so far as possible, from the last assessment roU of th» 
town of Mentz. 



MiDDLETOWN". 567 

§ 16. The said board of edncation are hereby anthorized and empowered to sell at public 
auction to the highest bidder, tlie school-houses and sites belonging to the said districts, 
by giving public notice, to be posted in ten public places in tiie said district, ten days pre- 
vious to such sale, and the proceeds of sucli sale shall be used toward purchasing a site, 
erecting the necessary school buildings, fencing and improving the grounds, or to such other 
purpose, for the benefit of the said schools, as the district shall direct ; such sale may be 
made on such terms of credit as the said board of education shall determine, and a bond 
and mortgage taken, by the said board for the whole or any part of the purchase-money, 
and such bond and mortgage may be sold and assigned by the said board at par, for money, 
to be applied by them as herein provided. 

§ 17. The members of the board of education, before receiving any moneys belonging to 
eaid district, shall severally execute to the president of the village of Port Byron their 
separate bonds, with two suflicient sureties to be approved by said president, in a penaltj-- 
at least double the amount to be expended by them for the benefit of said district the next 
ensuing year, conditioned that such trustee giving such bond, will faithfully account for the 
expenditure of all moneys he shall receive for said district, and pay over the balance re- 
maining in his hands to the other trustees at the expiration of his Term of office ; and any 
trustee or treasurer who shall apply any moneys belonging to said district to his own use 
shall be deemed guilty of fraud or embezzlement. 

§ IS. This act shall take effect on the first day of April, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven. 



MIDDLETOWN. 



[Chap. 431, Laiusof\^~,p. 10^, tol. 1.] 



Section 1. Every district or common school located in the village of Middletown, and 
every school which may hereafter be located in said village under the provisions of this act, 
shall be free to all children between the ages of four and tweut3-oue years, residing in said 
village. 

§ 2. All that part of the town of Wallkill included within the corporate limits of the village 
of Middletown shall hereafter constitute one school district. There shall be elected in said 
district, as soon after the passage of this act as the trustees of the village can order an elec- 
tion for that purpose, after giving two weeks" notice in two papers of said vihage, of the 
time and place of holding such election, nine persons, who shall constitute and 1)e desig- 
nated "the board of education of the village of Middletown.'' which board shall be a 
corporate body in relation to all the powers conferred upon them by this act. The term of 
office of three of the members of said board shall expire on the first Tuesday in April, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-eight. The tenn of office of three others of the members of 
paid board shall expire on the first Tuesday in April, eighteen hundred and sixt.vnine, and 
the term of office of the remaining three shall expire on^the first Tuesday in April, eighteen 
hundred and seventy. The terni of office of the several members of said board shall be 
determined by lot at the first meeting of the said board after their election. And there shall 
be elected annually thereafter, at the time of the election of officers of the village of Mid- 
dletown. three members of said board of education. 

§ 3. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appur- 
tenances, and all other school property in said village, in this act mentioned, shall be vested 
in said board of education, and such property shall not be subject to taxation for any pur- 
pose. And the said board of education, in its corporate capacity, may take, hold and dispose 
of any real or personal estate transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest, or devise, for the use 
of the schools in said village, established by authority of this act. 

§ 4. The first meeting of the board of education shall be on the Tuesday next after their 
election, and the annujxl meeting of the board thereafter shall be on the second Tuesday in 
April. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum, and be competent to transact 
any business of said board. The said board shall elect one of their number president, and 
whenever he shall be absent a president pro tempore may be appointed. The members of 
the board shall receive no compensation for their services. The said board shall appoint a 
clerk, who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board, and Avhose compensation 
shall be fixed by the board. The said clerk shall keep a record of the proceedings of the 
board, and perform such other duties as the board may prescribe. Such record, or a trans- 
cript thereof, certified by the president and clerk, shall be received in all courts as prima 
facie evidence of facts therein set forth. 

§ 5. The trustees of said village shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, 
from time to time, bj' tax to be levied upon all the real and personal property in said village 
which shall be liable for the ordinary village taxes, such sum or sums of money as the board 
iif education shall certify to the said trustees to be necessary for any or all of the following 
purposes: 

1. To purchase, lease, or improve sites for school-houses ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses and appur- 
tenances ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; 

4. To purchase fuel and pay the contingent expenses of the schools under their supervi- 
sion, and the expenses of the libraries of said schools ; 



508 MiDDLETOWN. 

5. To pay the wa^es of teachers, after applj-ing to that purpose all the public school 
moneys and all the other money? received by said board, or that shall be under their control, 
and which may by law be appropriated and provided for that object ; provided that no 
money? shall be raised for the purchasing of any site, or the erecting of any school-house, 
or the enlarging of any school building already erected, unless the consent of a majority of 
the taxable inhabitants of said village, authorized to vote, and voting at an annual or special 
meeting called for that purpose, be first obtained ; 

(>. The trustees of said village are hereby authorized and directed to raise by loan, in 
anticipation of the taxes, the moneys to be levied and collected as herein provided. The 
taxes to be levied as aforesaid, and collected by virtue of this act, shall be collected at the 
same time and in the same manner as other village taxes. 

§ 6. All moneys to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to and provided for the schools of said village, shall be paid to the 
treasurer of the village of Middletown, who, together with the sureties upon his official 
bond, shall be accountable therefor, in the same manner as for other moneys of said village, 
and who shall be liable to the like penalties for any official misconduct in relaticra to school 
as to other moneys of said village. Such moneys shall be deposited with such treasurer to 
the credit of said board of education, and shall be paid only by order of said board on drafts 
drawn by the president and countersigned by the clerk, payable to the order of the person 
or persons entitled to receive such moneys ; and said treasurer shall keep the funds received 
by him under this act separate and distinct from any other funds. 

§ T. The said board shall have the power and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize in said village such and so many free schools as said board 
shall deem requisite andexpedient, and to change or discontinue the same in their discretion. 

2. To hire school-houses or rooms for school purposes ; 

3. To alter, improve and repair school-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem advi- 
sable : 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages, and to defray the necessary expenses attendintr the same ; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school buildings, out-houses, books,, furni- 
ture and appendages, and to see that the ordinances in relation thereto are enforced ; 

6. To contract with, license and employ all necessary teachers, and at their pleasure to 
remove them ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the moneys appropriated and.provided by 
law for that purpose ; 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including an annual salary 
to the clerk ; provided the account ~of such expenses shall be first audited and allowed by 
the said board of education ; 

9. To expend all moneys raised by virtue of this act for building school-houses, purchas- 
ing sites, and other purposes for which the same may be raised, in such manner as they may 
deem proper : 

10. To have the entire supervision and management of the schools in said village, estab- 
lished under and by virtue of the provisions of this act ; and from time to time to adopt, 
alter, modify and repeal, as they may deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organ- 
ization, government and instruction, for the reception of pupils and their transfer from one 
school to another, for their advancement from class to class, as their degree of scholarship 
may warrant, and generally for the promotion of the good order and prosperity of said 
schools ; 

11. To sell and dispose of any schooi buildings, lots or sites, whenever in the opinion of 
the board it may be advisable : 

12. To determine and certify to the tnistees of the village, on or before the first day of 
March in each year, the sums of money in their opinion necessary to be raised, under the 
provisions of this act, for the year commencing on the first day of April following, specily- 
mg the purposes for which the same are required. 

§ 8. The board of education shall have a regular meeting at least once in each quarter, 
and shall appoint at such meetings one or more committees, each to consist of not less than 
two of their members to visit all the schools under their supervision in said village, and 
such committee shall visit all such schools at least twice during each school term. 

§ 9. The said board of education shall have power to allow the children of persons not 
resident within the village to attend any of the schools of said village under the control of 
said board upon such terms as said board shall by resolution prescribe. 

§ 10. The said board of education shall be trustees; of the school library or libraries in 
said village, and all the provisions of law relative to district school libraries shall apply to 
said board. They shall also be vested with the same discretion as to the disposition of the 
moneys appropriated by law for the purchase of libraries as is conferred upon the inhabit- 
ants of school districts. It shall be the duty of said board, in their discretion, to provide 
rooms for the school libraries of said village. The clerk of the board shall be the genera, 
librarian. The board shall also appoint one or more librarians to have the care of the books, 
and to superintend the letting out and return thereof The several local librarians shall from 
time to time inform the general librarian of the condition of their libraries, and the said 
board or the general librarian, under the direction of said board, may make all purchases 
of books for the libraries of such schools, and exchange or cause to be repaired the dam 
aged books belonging thereto. 

§ 11. It shall be the duty of said board, at least twenty days before the annual charter 
election in each year, to prepare and make to the trustees of the village a correct report of 
the receipts and disbursements of moneys under the provisions of this act, during the pre- 
ceding year, in which accounts shall be stated under appropriate heads : 



MiLTOX AND BaLLSTON MORRISANIA. 569 

1. The moneys raised by the trustees of the villajre under the provisions of this act; 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the village from the county treasurer; 

3. The moneys received by the board under the third section of this act ; 

4. All other moneys received by the treasurer subject to the order of the board ; 

5. The manner in which such money shall have been expended, specifying the purpose 
for which each amount was paid. And the said board shall cause such report to be pub- 
lished in one or more of the newspapers of said village ten days before such election. 

§ la. The trustees of said village shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to pass 
such ordinances and regulations as the said board of education may report as necessary and 
proper, for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of the school buildings, lots, 
sites, appurtenances and appendages, "libraries, and all property belonging to or connected 
with the schools in said village, and to impose proper penalties for the violation of the 
same, subject to the restrictions and limitations contained in the act to incorporate the said 
village, and all such penalties shall be collected in the same manner as the penalties for the 
violation of other village ordinances, and When collected shall be paid to the treasurer of 
the village, and be subject to the order of the board of education, in the same manner as 
other moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ 1.3. It shall be the duty of the trustees, within fifteen days after receiving the certificate 
of the board of education required by the fifth section of this act, of the sums necessary or 
proper to be raised under the fifth section of this act, to certify to said board of education 
that the amount will be raised by them for the year commencing!: on the first of April there- 
after, for the purpose mentioned in said fifth section, distinguishing between the amount 
to be raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses, and the amount to be raised for 
the repair of school-houses, which amounts shall be subject to the disposal of the board of 
education. 

§ 14. It shall be the duty of the trustees of district number three, in the town of Wallkill, 
within three months from the passage of this iict, to transfer and convey to said board of 
education, all school-houses, sites, lots, and all other school property of whatever name 
and description, and to place in the care of the board of education all school-district 
records, account books, vouchers, contracts, papers, and all other school property ; and the 
said school ofticers of the said district shall continue in ofiice until the unfiniirhed business 
of said district shall have been finally closed up, not exceeding three months after the 
passage of this act, with all the power and duties now by law imposed upon them. 

§ 15. The said board of education shall, annually, make a report to the school commis- 
Bioner of the second assembly district of Orange county, in the form and within the time 
required by law, of the trustees of common school districts. And it shall be the duty of 
the school commissioners of Orange county to apportion for the use of the board of educa- 
tion of Middletown, such portions of the school and library moneys as it shall be entitled 
to by its annual report, in the same manner as such moneys are apportioned to towns, certi- 
fying the same to the county treasurer of Orange county. The said county treasurer of 
Orange county shall pay over to the treasurer of the village of Middletown, for the use of the 
board of education created by this act, such proporticm of the school and library moneys 
apportioned to the said county of Orange, by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 
teachers' wages and libraries, as said school commissioners shall certify to be the just pro- 
portion of said board of education, in the same manner as school and library moneys are 
paid to supervisors of towns. 



MILTON AND BALLSTON, DISTRICT No. 12. 

[Chap. 228, Laws of 1848, p. 337.] 

Section 1, The trustees of school district number twelve in the town? of Milton and 
Ballston, in the county of Saratoga, are hereby directed and empowered to set apart from 
the school moneys appropriated to such district an amount equal to that which is drawn 
by the enumeration of children under the age of sixteen, w^ho work in any manufacturing 
establishment in said district, for the purpose of establishing an evening school. 

§ 2. The trustees of said district are hereby directed to employ a suitable teacher, who 
shall commence an evening school in the district school-house in the aforesaid district on 
the first Monday evening after the twentieth of September in each year, and the trustees 
are hereby authorized and empowered to levy and collect in the usual manner school bills 
are now collected by law, a sum not exceeding fifty cents for every child attending the school 
for each quarter of thirteen weeks. The trustees shall not continue such schooffor a longer 
time than two quarters of thirteen weeks each, and no longer than sutficieut monev to pay 
the expense of the same can be collected under the provisions of this act. 



MORRISANIA. 

[Chap. 35G, Laws of 1867, p. 788, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. The town of Morrisania, in the county of Westchester, shall form a permanent 
school district. 

§ 2. T^e said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be stjded the board of 
education of the school district of the town of Morrisania, which shall be a corporate body 

72 



570 MOIIRISANIA. 

in relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by this act, and shall possess 
the general powers and be subject to the liabilities and restrictions imposed by the eigh- 
teenth chapter of the first part of the Revised Statutes. They shall possess all the powers 
and be subject to all the duties in respect to said district that the trustees of common 
schools now possess or are subject to. together with such other powers and duties as are 
given and imposed by this act. The said board shall consist of nine members, a majority 
of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The said board of edu- 
cation shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once in each month, and may 
adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by the president, or, in his 
absence or inability to act, by the secretary or any other member of the board, as often as 
necessar3^ by giving personal notice to each member thereof, or causing a written or 
printed notice t»j be left at his place of residence, at least twenty-four hours before the hour 
of meeting. And if any member of the said board shall refuse or neglect to attend any 
three successive stated meetings of the board, and if no satisfactory cause of his non- 
attendance be shown, the board may declare his office vacant. No member of said board 
shall receive anj^ pay or compensation for his services. It shall not be lawful for any mem- 
ber of said board to become a contractor for building, or making any improvement or repairs 
authorized by this act, or be in any manner, directly or indirectly interested, either as prin- 
cipal, partner or surety, in any such contract. All contracts made in violation of this 
grovision shall be absolutely void, and the person violating shall forfeit the sum of five 
undred dollars, to be prosecuted for and received and used by said board for school 
purposes. 

§ 3. There shall be elected, at each annual district meeting, three members of said board 
of education, who shall hold office for three years ; and also three persons as inspectors of 
election for the enstiing year, all of whom shall be citizens, and taxable inhabitants of the 
district ; said election shall be by ballot ; notice thereof shall be given two weeks previous, 
by the board of edtication. in any two local newspapers having the largest circulation. The 
election shall be held and conducted, the votes shall be canvassed, and the result of the 
election shall be determined, in the same manner as for town officers. 

§ 4. The said board of education shall, at their next annual meeting, choose one of their 
number for president, one for secretary, and one for treasurer, who shall hold office for one 
year. In the absence of either of such officers at any regular meeting of the board, a presi- 
dent or secretary may be appointed for the time being: and election for said officers shall 
be held thereafter on the same day of the same week of the same month in which the first 
election was held. If from any cause the election shall not take place on the day appointed, 
it shall be held within one week thereafter; until such election, the old officers shall con- 
tinue to perform their respective functions. The treasurer shall, within ten days after 
receiving notice of his appointment, execute and deliver to the said board of education a 
Dond in stich penalty and with such sureties as they may require. In case such bond shall 
not be given within ten days after receiving sttch notice, such office shall thereby become 
vacated, and said board may make an appointment to supply stich vacancy. Said board 
may appoint a clerk, whose compensation shall be fixed by them, and who shall hold office 
for one year. The said clerk shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, and per- 
form such other duties as the board may prescribe. The said record, or transcript thereof, 
certified by the president and clerk, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence 
of the facts therein set forth. 

§ .5. The said board of education shall call an annual district meeting on the first Monday 
in June, and shall submit thereto a full report, in writing, of their doings as such board, 
and shall state therein the number and condition of schools in said district under their 
charge, and the number of scholars attending the same, the studies pursued, the amount of 
moneys received from the State and from other sources, as well as the amount raised in the 
district for school purposes, tbe expenditure of the same, and all the particulars, in detail, 
relating to the schools in said district, which report shall, immediately after it is made, be 
printed in the newspapers ptiblished in the district, for two weeks consecutively. 

§ 6. The said board of educaticm are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect 
by tax in each year, upon all the taxable property in said district, such sums as may be 
necessary, not exceeding in amount one per cent on the value of such taxable property, as 
the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town as taken from their last assessment 
roll, which sitm shall be applied to the necessary current and contingent expenses of the 
schools in said district; and when in the opinion of said board it becomes necessary to 
build an additional school-house or school-houses in the district, or to enlarge those already 
built, thev shall <rive public notice of at least fifteen days, of the site or sites selected for 
such purpose, and of the amount required for the purchase thereof, inclusive of the build- 
ings, and of the cost of the furniture and necessary fixtures, and at the same tim_e call a 
district meeting, to which the same is to be submitted, and if a majority of all the inhab- 
itants entitled "to vote at district meetings, present and voting at such meeting, shall 
approve of the site or sites and of the plans submitted, and of the amount proposed to be 
raised, then the said board may proceed to levy upon the taxable property of the district the 
amount required for such purpose, but said tax shall not in any one year exceed one per 
cent on the value of the taxable property of the district. 

§ 7. If in the opinion of the board of education it shall be for the best interests of the 
district to raise by loan or by the issue of bonds the amount required for the purposes pro- 
vided in the preceding section of this act, then it shall be lawful for said board to raise on 
certificates of loan or by the issue of bonds, a sum not exceeding the amottnt voted at a 
district meeting to be levied and assessed upon the taxable property of the district: said 
bonds and certificates of loan to be executed by said board in their official capacity, signed 
by the president and secretary. The bonds issued by the said board shall bear seven per 



MomiisANiA. 571 

cent interest, payable pemi-annually. and two thousand dollars of the principal of said 
bonds shall be payable one year Ironi the date of their issue, and two thousand dollars of 
the principal shall be payable every year thereafter, until the whole amount is paid. And 
if a loan shall be made by said board for the purpose herein prescribed, two thousand dol- 
lars of the amount borrowed by said board shall be payable at the end of one year, and two 
thousand dollars every year thereafter, until the whole amount shall be paid. 

§ 8. The sakl board of education, in addition to the otlier taxes wlwch they are authorized 
by law to raise, are hereby authorized and required to a!>scss upon the taxable property of 
said district, and cause to be collected, a sum of money sullicient to pay tlie principal and 
interest due upon any loan they may have made, or to pay the principal and interest of the 
bonds which they may have issued for the purposes provided in the sixth section of this act. 

§ y. The said board of education may m«ke all necessary by-laws for their own govern- 
ment. Vacancies iu the board occurring by resignation or any other cause, the same may 
be tilled by the board until the next annual election, when such vacancies shall be tilled iu 
the same manner as those caused by expiration of term of office. The title of the school- 
houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus, and appurtenances, and all otlier school 
property in the said district, shall be, and the same is hereby vested in the said board of 
education ; and the said board, in its corporate capacity, may take, hold and dispose of any 
real or personal estate transferred to it by gilt, grant, bequest or devise, for the use of com- 
mon schools in the said district. They shall have and possess, within the said district, all 
the rights, powers and authority of town stiperintendent of common schools. They shall 
have the entire control and management of all the common schools within the said district, 
and all tlie property belonging to the same. They shall require one of the members of the 
said board to visit' each school in said district at least once in each week, to render sucli 
assistance to the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be necessary, and to see that 
the regulations are rigidly adhered to. Said board shall have power to make all warrants 
for the collection of the taxes to be raised by them, returnable at sixty or ninety days, iu 
their discrelioji, and to renew the same whenever it shall become necessary. 

§ 10. All moneys to be received by virtue of this act, and all moneys by law appropriated 
to or provided for said district, shall be paid to the treasurer of said board, who, together 
with the sureties upon his oliicial bond, shall be accountable to said board of education. 
Said treasurer shall not pay out anj^ such money, except by resolution of said board, and 
upon an order drawn by the president, and certified by the secretary, to be so drawn in 
pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 11. The board of education shall have control and charge of the district school library 
in said district. They may employ a librarian and assistants, and make such additions to 
the library and such regulations therefor as they shall deem necessary. 

§ 12. Tlie said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever 
they may deem it necessary ; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written or 
printed notice thereof in at least live public places in said district, and by publishing the 
same in two newspapers published in said district, at least two weeks previous to the time 
fixed for such meeting, which notice shall state the time and place of such meeting, and the 
purpose for which the same is called ; and no business shall be transacted at any such 
special meeting except that stated in the notice calling the same. 

§ 13. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as 
relates to district number one, in the town of West Farms aforesaid. 

The town of Morrisania was erected from the town of West Farms, December 7, 1855. 
The new town included nearly all that part of the old town known as school district number 
one, for the government of which in school affairs the law relating to West Farms Avas 
passed. Thelaw remains in force, except as modified by the provisions of chapter 407, 
Laws of 1864. page 978 (see West Farms), and chapter 591, LaAvs of 1860, page 1262, and 
chapter .356, Laws of 1867, page 788, volume 1. 

Cnapter 263, Laws of 1S61. page o'X), authorized the board of education to borrow $10,0fiO 
to build a school-house, and to secure the money by a mortgage on the school property of 
the district. Whenever the money should become due. the board was authorized to levy 
and collect the amount due by tax. 

[ChajJ. 591, Laws of 1866,;?. 1262.] 

§ 2. If in the opinion of the board of ediication, it shall be for the best interests of the 
district to raise by loan, or by the issue of bonds, the amount required for the purposes 
required in the preceding sectKm of this act (referring to section seven as above amend'ed), 
then it shall be lawful for said board to raise on certilicates of loan or by the issue of bonds, 
a sum not exceeding the amount voted at a district meeting, to be levied and assessed upon 
the taxable property of the district; said bonds and certificates of loan to be executed by 
said board in their official capacity, signed by the president and secretary. The bonds 
issued by said board shall bear seven per cent interest, payable semi-annually, and two 
thousand dollars of the principal of said bonds shall be payable one year from the date of 
their issue, and two thousand dollars of the principal shall be payable every year thereafter, 
until the whole amount is paid. And if a loan shall be made by said board for the purpose 
herein prescribed, two thousand dollars of the amount borrowed by said board shall be 
payable at the end of one year, and two thousand dollars every yejir thereafter until the 
whole amount shall be paid. 

§ 3. The said board of education, in addition to the other taxes which they are authorized . 
by law to raise, are hereby authorized and required to assess upon the taxable property of 



5T2 MoRRisviLLE — Mount Morris. 

said district, and cause to be collected, a sum of money sufficient to pay the principal and 
interest due upon any loan which they have made, or to pay the principal and interest of the 
bonds, which they may have issued for the purposes provided in the first section of this act. 



MORRISVILLE. 

IChap. 820, Laws of 1867, p. 2068, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. The trustees of school district number eight, of the town of Eaton, in the 
county of Madison, known as the Morrisville union school, are hereby authorized to divide 
said school into two or more departments, and to establish therein an academical depart- 
ment whenever, in their judgment, the same is warranted by the demand for such instruction. 
Said trustees are also authorized to receive into said school any pupils residing out of said 
district, and to establish and regulate the tuition fees of said non-resident pupils in the 
several departments of said school. Said trustees are also authorized to regulate the transfer 
of scholars from the primary to the academical department in said school, and from class to 
class, as their degree of scholarship may warrant ; and to direct what text books shall be 
used in the different departments of said school. Said trustees are also authorized to estab- 
lish such rules and regulations concerning the order and discipline of the school in the 
several departments thereof, as they may deem necessary and proper to secure the best 
educational results. 



MOUNT MORRIS. 

iChap. 727, Laws of 1866, p. 1547, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. School districts numbers one, three and fifteen, of the town of Mount Morris, 
county of Livingston, and State of New York, and all that part of district number two, in 
the same town, which lies north of the State road and east of the highway on which the 
residence of Reuben Weeks, late of Mount Morris aforesaid, deceased, stands, and east of 
a line in continuation of the center of said highway extended northerly to the Genesee 
river, are hereby consolidated for the purposes and to" the extent in this act specified ; and 
shall hereafter, for the purposes of this act, form but one school district, to be called and 
known as '• the Mount Morris union free school district.'" And said consolidated district, 
for the purpose of the apportionment and distribution of school moneys from any source, 
shall be recog'nized and regarded as and shall be a school district under the general school 
laws of this State. 

§ 2. The schools organized under this act, except the academical department herein 
provided for, shall be free to all pupils between the ages of five and twenty-one years resid- 
ing in said consolidated district. Pupils not residents of said district, of the age above 
indicated, may be admitted into any free school Avithin said consolidated district only on 
the written consent of the board of education herein provided for, or a majority of them, 
and upon such terms and conditions as to tuition, and in other respects as said board may 
from time to time prescribe. All tuition received from non-resident pupils shaU be 
applied to the payment of teachers' wages in the primary department. 

§ 3. Said consolidated district may be divided into four convenient sub-district? by the 
board of education herein provided for, to be denominated primarj^ sub-districts numbers one, 
two, three and four ; and the school-houses in said sub-districts shall be used for the educatiim 
of the children residing in said sub-districts respectively entitled to attend common schools, 
as far as practicable ; and when such children shall arrive at sufficient age and proficiency 
in learning, they may be transferred, upon the proper testimonials, into the more advanced 
departments created and authorized by this act ; the age, qualifications and testimonials to 
be prescribed by the by-laws, rules and regulations of the board of education hereinafter 
created. 

§ 4. The schools in said consolidated district shall be under the direction, management 
and control of nine trustees, who shall be taxable inhabitants of said district, to be chosen 
as hereinafter directed, and shall be denominated " the board of education of the Mount 
Morris iinion free school ■' Said trustees shall be a body corporate in relati(m to all the 
powers and duties conferred upon them by this act, and shall have a corporate seal, with 
such inscription and device thereon as the said board shall designate, until the election of 
such trustees under this act as hereinafter provided. Clark B. Adams, Lorenzo J. Ames, 
Walter H. Noble, Loren Coy, Hiram P. INIills, Zara W. Joslyn, Ambrose B. Millard, Charles 
L. Bingham, and Pomeroy Sheldon, shall be and act as such trustees of such consolidated 
district, and be such board of education, and shall discharge all duties and perform all acts 
necessary to be discharged and performed in pursuance hereof, for the purpose of carrying 
into eft'ect the provisions of this act. The persons above named may organize by the 
appointment of a president and clerk, and such other officers herein provided for, as may 
be necessary in the discharae of their duties. 

§ 5. There shall be a meeting of the inhabitants of said consolidated district, entitled to 
vote at school meetings, at the school-house in the pi'esent school district number one. in 
the town of Mount Morris, on the second Tuesday of October, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
six, at seven o'clock in the evening of that day, at which the trustees herein provided for 
shall be chosen and elected by a majority vote of such inhabitants present and voting at 
such meeting, taken by ballot, of whom one shall be a resident of each sub-district hereby 



Mount MoePwIS. 573 

provided for, and the balance shall be taken from the consolidated district at larsre : and 
they shall by the order of such meetinj^ be divided into three classes ; the first class to hold 
for one, the second for two, and the third for three years ; and thereupon the othce of any 
then existing board of education in said consolidated district shall cease, except as herein- 
after provided. The trustees so chosen and elected shall constitute a board of education 
for such consolidated district, under the designation and title hereinbefore mentioned. The 
tenn of ollice of all trustees elected under tlie provisions of this act. after the first election 
as aforesaid, except in case of trustees chosen to fill vacancies, shall be three years ; and 
thereatter three of such trustees shall annually be elected. 

g G. The meeting provided for in the last preceding section shall be called by publishing a 
notice thereof, statiuij the time and place of its assembling, in a newspaper published in 
the village of Mount Morris, for two successive weeks next before such meeting, and post- 
ing such notice, either printed or written, on the outside of the outer door of each school- 
house in said consolidated district, including academy building, if there be one. at least five 
days beibre such meetin:; ; which notice so published and posted shall be signed by the 
trustees herein appointed, or a majority of them, and thereafter and after such meeting 
there shall be an annual meeting of the inhabitants of said consolidated district, on the 
second Tuesday of October in each year, notice of which shall be given as herein provided 
for the meeting hereinbefore appointed, except that the notice shall be signed by the 
president and clerk of the board of education, instead of the trustees; and in case no 
newspaper be at such time published in the village of Mount Morris, then such notice shall 
be given by posting the same as herein provided. Any such annual meeting may adjourn 
from time to time, "and the proceedings of such adjourned meeting shall be in all respects 
as regular as if transacted at an original meetinsr. 

§ T.^ Special meetings of the inhabitants of said district may be called by publishing and 
posting a notice thereof, stating the time and place and object of such meeting, as herein 
provided for posting and publisliinir the notice of an annual meeting, which notice shall be 
signed by the president and clerk of the board of education ; and in addition to the posting 
herein above prescribed, such notice of such special meeting shall be posted in two public 
places in each of the sub-districts into which said consolidated district may be divided, at 
least five days before said meeting. 

§8. The board of education herein provided for shall hold its first meeting on the first 
Tuesday after its election, at an hour and place to be designated by a vote of the board ; 
and thereafter they shall hold annual meetings on the first Tuesday after each annual 
meeting of the district, and quarterly meetings on the first Wednesday after the com- 
mencement of each term of school "in said district, at an hour and place to be fixed by 
the board, and such other special meetings as the board may see fit to call, which specia"l 
meetings may be called bj' the direction" of the president of the board, or, in case of his 
absence or his inability, neglect or refusal to serve, by a vote of the board. At each quarterly 
meeting the board shall appoint a visiting committee of not less than three of its members, 
waose duty it shall be to visit all the schools, in said consolidated district, including the 
academical department, at least twice in each term. 

§ 9. At the first meeting of said board of education, and annually thereafter at each annual 
meeting, they shall elect one of their number president of the board, whose duty it shall be 
to preside at all meetings of the board when present, and when absent, a president pro 
tempore may be appointed. The board shall also appoint a clerk, who shall be an inhabi- 
tant of said district, and shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board, and receive 
a compensation to be fixed by the board. The said clerk shall attend the meetings of the 
board, and make and keep a record of the proceedings thereof in a book to be provided by 
the board of education for that purpose, and shall perform such other duties appertaining 
to his office as the board may require. In case the clerk shall be absent at any meeting of 
the board, the board may appoint any one of its members, except its president, clerk'pro 
tempori!. 

§ 10. The said board shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to appoint a treasurer 
and collector, each of whom shall be an inhabitant of said district and qualified to vote at 
school district meetings, and who shall severally hold their appointment for one year, and 
until others shall have been duly appointed in their places, and shall have qualified by 
giving the security herein provided for. unless sooner removed by the board for cause. Only 
one of such appointments' sliall be held by the same individual at the same time. Such 
treasurer and collector shall severally, and within ten day after notice in writing of their 
appointment, and before enterinsr upon the duties of their offices. execute and deliver to said 
board of education a bond payable to them in their corporate name, in such penalty and with 
such securities as the board may require and approve, conditioned for the faithfuf discharge 
of the duties of their respective otiices, and that they will well and truly account for and 
pay over, on the proper order, in accordance with the resolution of said board of education, 
all moneys which they may receive as such officers. The evidence of the approval of such 
board shall be .the indorsement thereon of such approval, signed by the president of the 
board, and in case such bond shall not be given within the time specified, such office shall 
thereby become vacant, and the board shairthereupon make other appointments to supply 
such vacancies. 

§ 11. The treasurer shdl be furnished by the board of education with necessary books in 
which to enter and keep his official accounts ; and he shall keep a true account of all the 
moneys received and disbursed by him. and of the parties from whom received, and to 
whom and for what purpose paid out. But no money shall be paid from the treasury, except 
on a draft signed by the president and countersigned by the clerk, and sealed witli the seal 
of the board of education, in pursuance of a resolution of said board, which draft shall be 
made payable to the order of the person or persons entitled to receive said moneys, and 



574 Mount Moeris. 

shall state on it? face the purpose or service for which the same is drawn. The treasurer 
shall keep in a book furnished and prepared for that purpose, an accurate account of all 
drafts so drawn on and paid by him, stating-the person to whom payable, and for what 
purpose and sum drawn, and out of what fund nayable. The drafts drawn on the treas- 
urer shall be numbered consecutively, and the treasurer in any questioir of priority of pay- 
ment shall pay all such drafts in the" order of their respective numbers, unless otherwise 
specially directed by the board of education. The books of the treasurer, and also the 
record of the proceedings of the board, shall at all times be subject to inspection and exami- 
nation by the inhabitants of said districts. 

The treasurer shall receive a compensation to be fixed by the board. He shall report in 
writing to the board of education, at least Ave days before each annual meeting, the aggre- 
gate sum of money received by him from all sources during the past year, in his official 
capacity, and the sums received on account of each particular fund, the amount disbursed 
by him. and to whom, and on what account, and for what purpose paid, and the amount 
remaining on hand if any, with a statement of all drafts paid by him during said year, the 
person to whom, and the fund out of which payable, respectively, which report shall be 
tiled by the clerk with the official papers of the board. And, with each annual report, the 
treasurer shall return to the board the drafts paid by him during the preceding school 
year. 

§ 12. The clerk shall keep in a book, to be provided him for that purpose, an accurate 
account of all drafts drawn by the president on the treasurer ; the person to whom payable, 
and the fund out of which the same is to be paid, and the purpose for Avhich it is to be 
drawn. 

§ 13. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize in said Mount Morris union free school district, and in the 
primary sub-districts thereof, primary departments or schools, and departments of higher 
grades ; they shall also establish and organize an academical department when and as soon 
as thej'^ shall deem such academical department necessary and advisable, and shall have 
power to alter and discontinue the same as they may deem advisable ; 

2. To hire or purchase school-houses or school rooms, and lots or sites for school-houses, 
or sites with buildings thereon, to be used as school-houses, and to fence and improve such 
lots and sites, and to sell the same with their appurtenances, as and when they may deem 
proper, providing such purchase and sale be authorized by a vote of the district ; 

3. To build, enlarge, alter, improve, furnish and repair school-houses, with their out- 
houses and appurtenances, as they may deem advisable, providing such building and 
enlargement of school-houses are authorized by a vote of the district : 

4. To have the custody and control of the said school-houses, out-houses, furniture and 
appurtenances, apparatus and district books and to see that the ordinances in relation to 
the care and safe keeping of the same be observed ; 

5. To contract with and employ all teachers in the public schools and the academical 
department (the number of teachers not to be less than one for every fifty pupils attending 
such primary schools), and for sufficient cause to remove any such teacher ; 

6. To pay teachers' wages after the application of the public money by law appropriated 
and provided for that purpose, and any tuition applicable thereto herein provided, from 
the money authorized by act to be raised for tliat purpose ; 

7. To pay all necessary contingent expenses of said schools, including a common corpo- 
rate seal and district books, out of contingent fund herein provided for;' 

8. To fill any vacancy which may occur in said board by reason of the death, removal or 
refusal to serve of any member or officer thereof, and any vacancy arising from any cause 
except the expii'ation"'of the term of oflice: and the person appointed to "fill such vacancy, 
if a trustee, shall hold his office until the next election of trustees in said district; and if 
any other officer, until the time for the regular appointment by the board, unless sooner 
removed by the board ; 

9. To remove any member of the board for official misconduct ; but a written copy of all 
charges of misconduct made against any such member shall be served upon him at least ten 
days before the time appointed for a hearing of the same, and he shall be allowed a full and 
fair opportunity to refute such charges before removal ; 

10. To take and hold for the use' of such schools, or of any department of the same, any 
real estate transferred to them or it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, or any gift, legacy 
or annuity of whatever kind given or bequeathed to the said board, and apply the same, or 
the interest or proceeds thereof, according to the instructions of the donor or testator ; 

11. To have in all respects the superintendence and management of the public schools 
and academical department of the said consolidated district organized in pursuance thereof, 
and, from time to time, to adopt, alter, modify and repeal such by-laws, rules and regulations 
as they may deem proper and necessaiy for their regulation; and for the organization, 
government and instruction of said schools and academical department; and for the recep- 
tion of pupils therein, and their transfer from one department to another; and generally for 
good order and government; and to receive into said public schools and the academical 
department thereof, pupils not residing in said district and to prescribe and regulate the 
tuition of such non-resident pupils, and collect the same ; to expel any scholar either from 
the public schools or the academical department for misconduct or cause injurious to the 
interest'; of the school ; to direct what text books shall be used in said schools and academ- 
ical department, and provide for uniformity in the same ; to provide fuel and other 
necessaries for said schools ; to appoint librarians and assistant librarians as they may from 
time to time deem proper, and regulate their duties and fix their compensation, and gene- 
rally to make and adopt such by-laws, rules and regulations as will enable them to carry 
into efl:ect and exercise the powers herein conferred on them. 



Mount Morris. 575 

§ 14. Whenever an academical department shall he organized under the provisionfi of thia 
act, in said Mount Morris union free school district, the said hoard of education shall have 
the power, and it shall he their duty, to fix and determine rates of tuition for pupils attend- 
ing the same in the different branches of learning they may pursue, which shall in no 
instance exceed four dollars per term for pupils residing in said district ; but for non-resi- 
dent pupils the rates of tuition may be as high lor the difterent branches as the said board 
of education may determine ; and said rates" for non-resident pupils may from time to time 
be changed by said board as they may deem expedient and proper ; and said board may in 
their discretion exempt any indigent pupil or pupils, either resident or non-resident, from 
the payment of any tuition in said academical department ; and indigent non-residents 
from the payment of tuition in the free or primary schools. 

§ 15. The academical department, which may be established as aforesaid, shall be entitled 
to its distributive share of the literature fund "in like manner and on like condition with the 
academies of this State ; and shall be subject to the visitation of the Regents of the Univer- 
sit}', in like manner with other academies of this State. 

§ 16. The necessary expenses of such academical department, to wit : teachers' wages, the 
expense of fuel, and other incidental and contingent expenses, necessary to the successful 
oparation of the same, shall be paid by the board of education, by an application thereto of 
tue literature fund drawn from the State, and the tuitions received Jrom pupils therein; and 
if these funds are insufficient to pay such expenses in full, the balance shall be levied upon 
the taxable property and inhabitants of said districts entitled to vote at district meetings, 
or by resolution of the board of education if such inhabitants refuse to vote the same, and. 
as hereinafter provided. 

§ IT. It shall be the duty of said board of education to present to the inhabitants of said 
district, at each annual school meeting, a detailed statement of the amount of money 
received into the treasury from all sources during the past year, and the particular amounts 
from each particular source ; how much thereof, to whom and for what purpose, has been 
paid out and disbursed, and the amount remaining in the treasury, if any. Also a detailed 
statement of items of anticipated expenses for the coming year for the support of the 
primary free schools, to pay which taxes may be levied, including teachers' wages, after 
applying thereto the "public money and any other money applicable to that purpose, and also 
including any sum necessar}^ to procure suitable room or rooms for school libraries, and the 
payment of 'librarians, clerk and treasurer, and the necessary expense of repairs of school- 
houses, out-houses, fences and appurtenances, and the particular object for which such 
moneys are needed, the indebtedness of said district, if any, for the necessary support of 
said primary free schools ; and any deficiency in the means applicable to the support of the 
academical department, including necessary repairs on the academy building? and out- 
houses, the number of teachei's in said schools, including the academical department during 
the past year, and the salary paid to each; the number of pupils attending such schools in 
the difterent departments thereof, including the academical departments; the text books 
used in said schools, the number of volumes and condition of the booics in the libraries of 
said district, and such other facts and information relative to the aifairs and conditicm 
of said schools and consolidated district as in their judgment may be of interest to the 
Inhabitants thereof. In addition to the items of anticipated expenses which can be 
definitely estimated, and which said board are hereby required to present at such meetinsr, 
the board may also present an item not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars for inci- 
dental and contingent expenses, which cannot he estimated in items, and which, when 
voted by the inhabitants of said district as herein provided, shall be collected and denomi- 
nated the " contingent fund." They may also I'ecommend the raising of a sum not exceeding 
one hundred dollars in any one year for the purchase of books for the school libraries, or 
apparatus and maps for the use of said schools, or the academical department thereof. 

§ 18. The said board of education may also, at any annual meeting of the inhabitants of 
said district, or at a special meeting duly called for that purpose, present to such meeting an 
e.-itimate of the necessary expenses of purchasing or hiring sites with buildings thereon, to 
be used as school-houses for the primary or academical department in said consolidated 
district, or the sub-districts thereof, and improving such buildings and fencing such 
sites. 

§ 19. The inhabitants of such consolidated district entitled to vote at district meetings, 
when lawfully assembled at any annual meeting or any special meeting called for that pur- 
pose, shall have power to, and they may, by a majority vote of those present and voting, 
vote to raise by tax upon the taxable inhabitants and property of said consolidated district, 
any sum or simis recommended by the board of education, as provided in the two preced 
ing sections, for any or all of the objects or purposes recommended in said sections, or any 
part of the suras so estimated and recommended, or a sum or sitms larger than estimated 
and recommended by said board, for any or all the objects and purposes enumerated in 
said sections, and to direct the said board of education to cause the said sum or sums so 
voted by them to be levied and raised by tax upon the taxable inhabitants and property of 
said consolidated district, either in one or several installments, as they, the said board, may 
determine. And the inhabitants of said district shall have no power to rescind the vote to 
raise such sum of moni'y, or to reduce the amount so voted, unless the same be done within 
ten days after the said sum shall have been first voted ; and said inhabitants may also when 
so assembled, by a majority vote of those present and voting, authorize anddirect said 
board of education to purchase or lease sites on which to erect school-houses or buildings 
to be used as school-houses, including academical buildings, and to fence and improve the 
sites, erect buildings for school purposes on such sites, and improve, alter, repair and fur- 
nish any buildings used by said consolidated school district for school purposes. 

§ '^O. if the said inhabitants, at any such meeting, shall neglect or refuse to vote to raise the 
sum or sums estimated necessary by said board for teachers' wages, after applying thereto 



576 Mount Moeeis. 

the public moneys and any other moneys received by them for that purpose, including 
tuition applicable thereto, or if they shall neglect or refuse to vote to raise the sum or sums 
estimated necessary for ordinary and contingent expenses, including necessary repairs on 
buildings and fences, the '-contingent fund" estimated by the board, and the deficiency 
reported in the academical department, the board of education may by resolution levy and 
collect the same by tax upon the taxable inhabitants and property of said district, in like 
manner as if the same had been voted by the said inhabitants, and direct the same to be 
collected either in one or several installments, as they may deem best. 

§ 31. If any question shall arise as to what are ordinarj- contingent expenses, which the 
inhabitants of said district are unable to settle, the same may be referred to the Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, by a statement in writing, signed bj' one or more of each of 
the opposing parties upon the question, and the decision of the Superintendent shall be 
conclusive. 

§ 22. Whenever the said inhabitants shall vote to raise any such sum or sums upon the 
taxable property of said district, or the said board of education shall so levy any such sum 
or sums ttpon stich taxable property, on the neglect or refusal of said inhabitants to vote to 
raise the same, for the purpose of collecting an^' and all such sums so voted and levied to be 
raised by tax upon such property, the said board of education shall, within thirty days after 
such sums are so voted and levied, apportion the same upon the taxable property and per- 
sons in such consolidated district, and within the same time make, or catise to be made, a 
tax list, in the manner now provided bylaw in case of school district taxes, and shall attach 
thereto their warrant for the collection of the same, either in one or several installments, as 
the case may be, and shall immediately upon the expiration of the said time deliver such 
tax list and warrant to the collector o"f said district, which warrant may be renewed from 
time to time by said board of education. 

§ 23. For the purpose of appropriating such tax the valuation of the taxable property of 
such district shall be ascertained, as far as possible and practicable, from the last assess- 
ment roll of the town of Moitnt Morris, after revision by the assessors ; and no person shall 
be entitled to any reduction in the valuation of such property as so ascertained, unleBs he 
shall give notice of his claim to such reduction to the president of said board of education 
before such tax list shall be made out. 

§ 24. When such reduction shall be duly claimed, or when the true valuation of such taxable 
property cannot be ascertained from the last assessment roll of said town, or such valuation 
in such assessment roll is believed by such board to be errcmeous, the said board of education 
shall ascertain the true value of the property to be taxed by the best evidence in their power, 
and may add to the same when in their judgment such additions will be jitst, giving notice to 
the persons interested, and proceeding in the same manner as town assessors are reqitired 
by law to proceed, in the valuation of taxable property, or proceeding to correct the assess- 
ment roll of a town. 

§ 2o. All moneys received by virtue of this act, or received by said consolidated district or 
the board of education thereof, for the use of the public schools or academical department 
therein, whether from the common schools. United States or literature funds, or State tax, 
or otberwise, shall be deposited with the treasurer herein provided for: and the treasurer 
shall keep said money so received by him, or which may come to his hands, separate and 
distinct from any other money; and shall pay no money from the treasury except on drafts 
duly drawn, and any violation by him of this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor and 
be punishable accordingly. The money annually apportioned to said district by the Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction and school commissioners shall be paid to the treasurer of 
said board of education, by the supervisor of the town of Mount Morris, on the order of the 
president of the said board, countersigned by the clerk of said board. 

§ 2fi. The said trustees shall be trustees of the school libraries in said school district, and 
all the provisions of law relative to school district libraries shall apply to said trustees 
in like manner as to the trustees of any school district. They shall also be invested with 
the same discretion as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by law for the purchase 
of libraries as is conferred by law on the inhabitants of school districts. It shall be their 
duty to provide rooms for libraries and the necessary furniture therefor. The librarian shall 
report annually to said board at least fifteen da\ s before each annual district meeting the 
condition of the libraries under his charge, and the number of volumes therein, and the said 
board shall make all purchases of books for said libraries, and direct the mode of their 
distribution. 

§ 27. The title to the school-houses and lots, fumiturfe, district books, apparatus and 
appurtenances, and all other school property in said districts and parts of districts hereby 
consolidated, shall be vested in the said board of education and their successors in office, 
in their corporate capacity, in trust for the use of said public schools and the academical 
department of said consolidated district ; and the same, while used for school purposes, 
shall not be subject to taxation, and shall not be levied upon or sold by virtue of any warrant 
or execution, except for teachers' wages; and the purchase price of articles bought by 
direction of said board of education, and except that the lien and all proceedings for enforc- 
ing the same of mechanics and others for labor and materials furnished in erecting, altering 
or repairing such buildings and their appurtenances, shall in no way be affected or impaired 
bv this act,' 

"§ 28. It shall be the duty of the board of education to have reference, in all their expendi- 
tures and contracts, to the amount of money which shall be appropriated or subject to their 
orders or drafts during the current year, and not to exceed that amount. And said board 
shall apply all moneys raised for or approoriated to the use of the primary or common 
schools in said consolidated district to the departments below the academical department. 
and all moneys from the literature funds or otherwise appropriated to the support of the 
academical department, to the latter department. 



Newburgh. 5T7 

§ 29. Nothino: in this act contained shall be construed so as to interfere with or prevent 
the collection of any tax or rate bill, in any district or part of a district hereby consolidated, 
not now collected under the law in force at the time such rate bill or tax was placed in the 
hands of the collector tor collection ; and all contracts now existing not fully performed, 
made by former trustees of any such district, shall be carried out and performed by such 
trustees, and for that purpose and for the purpose of meeting any liability incurred by them 
as trustees, they shall still be regarded as and shall be such trustees, and until such contract 
and liabilities are disposed of, their office shall not expire as provided in section five of this 
act. 

§ 30. The said board of education may sue and be sued on any contract made in its corpo- 
rate capacity, or any transaction connected with said schools, out of which accrues a cause 
of action for or against them, and such action may be brought in a justice's court or court 
of record, according as such courts respectively have jurisdiction of the subject-matter in 
ordinary cases. 

§ 31 Nothing in this act shall be construed to affect or impair the powers or duties of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction in relation to the scho«>l districts hereby consolidated, 
but the same shall apply and be in force as to the district and sub-districts hereby 
created. 



NEWBURQH. 

IChap. 88, Laws of 1865, p. 125.] 

Section 1. Every district or common school located in the village of Newburgh, including 
the Newburgh high school, and every school which may hereafter be located in said village 
under this act, shall be free to all children between the ages of five and twenty-one years, 
residing in that village. 

§ 'I. All that part of the town of Newburgh included within the bounds of the corporaiiou 
of the villao;e of Newburgh, shall hereafter constitute one common school district. John 
J. Monell. John Forsyth. Chas. Eastabrook, Geo. M. Clapp, Hugh McCutcheon, John Cor- 
win, Egbert Alsdorf and Thos. Kimball, are hereby appointed trustees of common schools 
in said village. The trustees herein appointed, and their successors in office, shall constitute 
a board, to oe styled the board of education of the village of Newburgh, which shall be a 
corporate body in relation to all the powers conferred and duties enjoined on them by this 
act. The term of office of the several members of said board named in this act shall be 
determined by lot, at the first meeting after their appointment, in this manner : The term 
of office of two of said trustees shall expire on the second Wednesday after the charter 
election in said village, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-six; the term 
of two others shall expire on the second Wednesday after the charter election in said village 
in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven ; the term of two others shall expire on the 
second Wednesday after the charter election in said village, in the year eighteen hundred 
and sixty-eight; and the terra of the two remaining trustees shall expire on the second 
Wednesday after the charter election in said village, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty- 
nine. The trustees named in this act shall take and subscribe the constitutional oath and 
file the same with the clerk of said village before entering on the duties of their office. 

§ 3. There shall be elected, at the annual charter election of said village, in each year after 
the passage of this act (excepting the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five), two trustees 
of common schools to supply the places of those whose terms of office are about to expire, 
in the following manner, viz.: Each elector shall place on his ballot for trustees of common 
schools only one name for trustee of common schools, which shall he indorsed, '"For trus- 
tees of common schools," and of the persons so voted for the two having the highest number 
of votes shairbe declared elected trustees of common schools. The term of office of all 
trustees of common schools, elected pursitant to this act, shall commence on the second 
Wednesday after such election, and shall continue for four years. 

§ 4 The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurte- 
nances, and all other school property in said village in this act mentioned, shall be vested 
in the board of education, and the same shall not be subject to taxation or assessment for 
any purpose ; and the said board of education, in its corporate capacity, may take, hold and 
dispose of any real or personal estate transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise for 
the use of the common schools or of the free library in said village, except that no real 
estate held by said board for school purposes shall be sold or disposed of without the con- 
sent of the trustees of the village first obtained, as hereinafter provided. 

§ 5. It shall be the duty of the clerk of said village, immediately after the election of any 
person as trustee of common schools, personally or in writing to notify him of his election ; 
and if any such person shall not, within ten days after receiving such notice of his elec- 
tion, take and subscribe the constitutional oath and file the same with the clerk of said 
village, the trustees of said village may consider it a refusal to serve, and the person so 
refusing shall forfeit and pay to the village treasurer, for the benefit of the tuition fund, a 
penalty of ten dollars. 

§ 6. The board of education shall have power, at any rei^ular meeting, to fill any vacancies 
that may occur in the number of trustees from any other cause than the expiration of their 
term of service. The person or perstms so chosen must, within ten days after being 
notified by the clerk of said board of their election, take and subscribe the constitutional 
oath and file the same with the clerk of said village. 

73 



578 Newbukgh. 

§ T. Eemoval from the village, or failure to attend three successive regular meetino-s of 
the hoard, may be deemed a resignation of the olfice of trustee of common schools under 
this act, and the vacancy may be filled as hereinbefore provided. Any trustee of common 
schools in said village, elected under this act, may be removed from office by the trustees 
of said village for official misconduct; but a written copy of the charges against such 
trustee shall be served upon him, and lie shall be allowed to refute such charges of miscon- 
duct before removal. 

§ 8. The annual meeting of the board of education shall be held on the second Wednesday 
next after the charter election, in each year, when they shall elect a president and vice- 
president, who shall be of their number, and a clerk, who may be of their number. The 
president shall perform such duties as are specified in this act, or as may be enjoined upon him 
by the by-laws of the board ; and in his absence the vice president shall perform his duties 
The clerk shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, a book of account with the 
treasurer of the village and with the teachers or other persons emploved by the board, and 
shall perform such other duties as may be specified by this act, or by the by-laws and 
instructions of the board. 

§ 9. A majority of the board shall form a quorum, and be competent to transact any 
business of said board. The members of the board shall not receive compensation for 
their services as trustees. The board shall have power to fix, from time to time, the com- 
pensation of the clerk, and of his necessary assistants. The records of the proceedings of 
the board, or a transcript thereof, certified by the president (or in his absence by the vice- 
president), shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of facts therein set forth, 
and such records, and all the books, vouchers, accounts, and papers of said board, shall at 
all times be subject to the inspection of the trustees of said village and of any committee 
thereof 

§ 10. The board of education shall have a regular meeting at least once in each quarter. 
At the annual meeting the president shall appoint such standing committees as may be pro- 
vided in the by-laws of the board. 

§ 11. The board of education shall have power, and it shall be its duty : 

1. To establish and organize in said village such and so many public schools and depart- 
ments of higher grades (including an academical department), and schools for colored 
children, as said board shall deem requisite and expedient, and to alter and discontinue the 
same at its discretion ; 

2. To hire, purchase, and prepare housesor rooms for the purpose of free public schools • 

3. To alter, improve and repair school-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem 
advisable ; 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages, and to defray the expenses of the free library ; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school houses, out-houses, books, furni- 
ture and appendages, and to see that the ordinances of the trustees of the village and the 
rules of the board of education in relation thereto are observed; 

6. To contract with and employ all necessary teachers, and at their pleasure to remove 
them: 

7. To provide evening schools for those whose ages or avocations are such as to prevent 
their attending the day schools established by this act : 

8. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the moneys from all sources appropriated 
and provided by law for this purpose ; 

9. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including the wages of 
janitors ; 

10. To expend all moneys raised by this act for building schocl-houses, purchasing sites, 
and other purposes for which the same may be raised, in such manner as they may deem 
proper; 

11. To have the superintendence and management of the common schools in said village, 
and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as they may deem expedient, rules 
and regulations for their organization, government, and instruction ; for the leception of 
pupils, and their transfer from one school to another, for their advancement from class to 
class, as their degree of scholarship may warrant, and generally for the promotion of their 
good order, prosperity, and public utility ; and if at any time an academical department 
shall be established by said board, it shall be entitled to its distributive share of the litera- 
ture fund, in like manner and on like conditions with the academies of this State, and shall 
be subject to the visitation of the Regents of the University, in like manner with the other 
academies of this State. 

§ 12. The trustees of said village shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to raise 
from time to time by tax, to be levied equally upon all the real and personal property in 
said village, which shall be liable for all the ordinary village taxes, such sum or sums of 
money as the board of education shall deem necessary for any or all of the following 
purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for school-hous^es ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, and their 
out-houses and appurtenances ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; 

4. To procure fuel and pay the contingent expenses of free schools, the expense of the 
free library, and the annual salary to the clerk and his assistants ; 

5. To pay the wages of teachers, due after the application of the public school moneys, 
and all other moneys received by said board or under their control, which may by law be 
appropriated and provided for that purpose. And the trustees of said village, or the board 



Newburgh. 579 

of education, are authorized and directed, when necessary, to raise by loan in anticipation 
of the taxes, the moneys to be raised, collected, and levied as aforesaid ; the taxes to be 
levied as aforesaid, and collected by virtue of this act, shall be collected at the same time 
and in the same manner as other village taxes. 

§ 13. The board of education shall determine and certify to the trustees of said villac^e, on 
or before the tirst day of October in t-achyear, the sums in their opinion necessary or proper 
to be raised under the twelfth section of this act, specifying the sums required for the year 
commencing on the tirst day of October, for each of the purposes therein mentioned ; and 
it shall be the duty of the board, in all its expenditures and contracts, to have reference to 
the amount of moneys which shall be subject to their order during the current year, and 
not to exceed that amoiint, except in cases of special emergency in relation to any of the 
aforenamed items in section twelve, v/htn it shall be the duty of the board, in a supple- 
mentary estimate, to determine and certify to the trustees of said village the sums thus 
needed, and said sums shail be levied and collected in the same manner as other village taxes. 

§ 14. It shall be the duty of the trustees of the village, within fifteen days after receiving 
tho certificate of the board of education, required by the thirteenth section of this act, of 
the sums necessary or proper to be raised under the twelfth section of this act, to certify to 
said board of education that the amount will be raised by them for the year commencing on 
said first day of October, for the purposes mentioned in said twelfth section. 

§ 15. It shall be the duty of the board of education on or before the first day of October 
in each year, to prepare and report to the trustees of the village a true and correct state- 
ment of' the receipts and disbursements of moneys under and in pursuance of the provisions 
of this act during the preceding year, in which account shall be stated under appropriate 
heads : 

1. The moneys raised by the trustees of the village under the twelfth section of this act; 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the village, under the distribution of 
the public moneys of the State ; 

S. The moneys received by the board under the fourth section of this act ; 

4. All other moneys received by the treasurer, subject to the order of the board, specify- 
ing the sources ; 

5. The manner in which said sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount paid under each head of expenditure. And the said board shall cause the same to 
be published (within two weeks after making such repurt) in two of the newspapers pub- 
lished in said village. 

§ IG The board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to keep and 
maintain in a suitable building one free library to be known as the ' ' Newburgh free library," 
for the use of the pupils in the schools under their charge, and of the residents of said vil- 
lage. They shall receive all moneys which are now or may hereafter be appropriated to 
the district by virtue of any law relating to school district libraries, and shall expend the 
same in the manner provided by such law, and all the provisions of law which now are, or 
hereafter may be, passed relative to district school libraries, shall apply to said board. They 
shall have power to expend in the purchase of books such moneys as may be received 
for the tuition of non-resident pupils, tc»gether with the moneys received for penalties 
incurred for the loss, injury or destruction of books, or of their detention or other cause, 
or any other moneys that may lawfully come to their hands applicable to said purpose. 
They shall have power to direct the sale or exchange of any books of which there are dupli- 
cate copies in the library, or that may be regarded as of improper character, and apply the 
proceeds to the purchase of other books ; and shall keep the books of the library in good 
repair, and shall make such arrangements as may be necessary for their preserVation or 
circulation. They shall have power to accept the donation of books or other property to 
such library, and to receive or hold, for the use of the public, the books of any library that 
may now or hereafter be granted for that purpose, and to make provision for their pres- 
ervation and repair. The clerk of the board shall be the general librarian, and shall have 
charge of th" library, with power to appoint assistant librarians, subject to the approval 
of the board, and the board shall fix the compensation which the clerk shall receive as libra- 
rian; and the compensaticm which said assistant librarians shall receive shall be a charge 
upon the compensation paid to the clerk, and may be fixed by him. 

§ 17. Whenever, in the opinion of the board, it may be advisable to sell any of the school- 
houses, lots or sites, they shall report tlie same to the trustees of the village, and with the 
consent of the trustees shall sell and dispose of such school-houses, lots or sites to the best 
possible advantage. 

§ 18. All moneys to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to and provided for said village, shall be paid tu the treasurer of the 
village of Newburgh, who, together with the sureties upon his otficial bond, shall be 
accountable therefor, in the same manner as for any other moneys in said village. Such 
moneys shall be deposited with such treasurer to the credit of said board of education, and 
shall be drawn only in pursuance of a resolution of said board, by a draft drawn by the 
president i,or vice-president, in his absence;, and countersigned by the clerk, payable to 
the order of the person or persons entitled to receive such moneys ; and said treasurer shall, 
keep the funds received by him under this act separate and distinct from any other funds ;. 
but nothing in this act contained shall be regarded as prohibiting the temporary loan, by the- 
board of education, to the trustees of the village, of any surplus moneys which may stand 
to the credit of the board of education on the books of the treasurer, the trustees of the- 
village replacing the same whenever it may be required by the said board. 

§ ly. The trustees of the said village shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to 
pass such ordinances and regulations as the said board of education may report as necessary 
and proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of the school-houses, lots, 



680 New Rochelle. 

Bites, appurtenances and appendages, library, and all property belonging to or connected 
with the i^chools in said village; and to impose proper penalties for the violation thereof, 
subject to the restrictions and limitations contained in the act to incorporate the said 
village; and all such penalties shall be collected in the same manner that the penalties for 
the violation of the village ordinances are by law collected, and when collected shall be paid 
to the treasurer of the village, and be subject to the order of the board of education in the 
same manner as other moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ 20. The said board of education shall have power to allow the children of persons not 
residents within the village to attend any of the free schools of said village, under the care 
and control of said board, upon such terms as said board shall by resolution prescribe. 

§ 21. The said board of education shall make an annual report to the school commissioner 
of the school commissioner's district in which said village is situated, containing the facts 
required to be reported by the trustees of school districts ; and said districts shall partici- 
pate in the apportionment of the public school moneys in the same manner and upon the 
Bame conditions as common school districts. 



NEW ROCHELLE. 
{Chap. 135, Laws of 1857,^?. 261, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. School district number one in the town of New Rochelle shall form a perma- 
nent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the district commissioner of 
common schools for the district in which it is located. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board of trustees, to be styled " the 
board of education of school district number one, in the town of New Rochelle," which 
shall be a body corporate in relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by 
this act ; said board to consist of nine members or trustees, five of whom shall constitute a 
quorum for the transaction of business. 

§ 3. That the annual meetings of the voters of the said district shall be held at such place 
as the board of education may appoint, on the first Monday of April, in each year, and the 
first meeting under this act shall be held on the first Monday in April next, at the town- 
house in the said town, at which meeting the chairman or moderator thereof shall nominate 
three persons to act as inspectors of election at that meeting, and there shall then be elected 
by ballot nine tru>tees, who shall constitute the first board of education under this act, and 
who shall hold their ofiices as follows, viz. : Three for one year, three for two years and three 
for three years, so that there shall be elected three trustees at each annual meeting there- 
after • and immediately after the first election, as aforesaid, the chairman and secretary of 
the said meeting shall divide by lot the trustees so elected into three classes ; those in the 
first class to hold their office for one year: those in the second class for two years and those 
in the third class for three years from the time of their election as aforesaid ; and thereupon 
the office of any existing trustees of said district shall cease, and notice of such meeting 
for the said first M(mday in April ]iext shall be given by the trustees of the said district, 
then in office, at least thirty days previous to such meeting,by posting a written or printed 
notice thereof in five public places in the said district. 

§ 4. At the annual meeting of said district in each year, from and after the said meeting 
of fir-^t Monday in April next there shall be elected three members of the district and 
entitled to vote therein, and shall hold their said oflice for three years ; there shall also be 
elected at said first meeting, and at each annual meeting thereafter, a district treastirer and 
a district collector, who shall respectively hold office for one year; which said election and 
all other elections under this act, shall be by ballot; and the qualifications of voters shall 
be the same as for voters at the election of school officers ; and notice of such annual 
meeting shall be given by posting up a written or printed notice thereof, signed by the 
president and secretary of said board of education, in at least five public places in the said 
district, at least thirty'daj'^s previous to such annual meeting, which said notice shall state 
the time and place of meeting; and any orticer elected under this act maybe re-elected; 
said board of education shall appoint three inspectors of election, at least thirty days pre- 
vious 10 any election itnder this act, after the first; and such inspectors shall receive the 
ballots and declare the result of the election. 

§ 5. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary, or whenever petitioned for in writing by twentj--five of the legal 
voters of said district ; and notice of such special meeting shall be given in the same manner 
as hereinbefore mentioned for notice of annual meetings, which notice for special meeting 
3hall state the time and place for holding the same and the purpose for which the same is 
called; and no business shall be transacted at such special meeting except that stated in 
the notice calling the same. 

§ (i. The said board of education shall, at their first meeting (which shall be held within 
ten (lays after their election as aforesaid), choose one of their number for president and one 
for secretary of said board; which said officers shall hold their said offices for one year, and 
euch officers shall be chosen annually thereafter. In the absence of the president or secre- 
tarj- at any stated or special meeting of the board, a president or secretary may be appointed 
for tlie time being. 

§ T. The district treasurer and collector, within ten days after receiving notice in writin;* 
Of their election, signed by the inspectors, whose duty it shall be to give such notice, shall 
execute and deliver to the said board of education a bond, in such penalty and with such 
Eureties as the said board may deem sufficient, conditioned for the faithful discharge of their 
respective ditties ; and in case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiving 



New Rochelle. 581 

such notice, such office shall thereby become vacated ; and the said board may make appoint- 
ment to till such vacancy ; and all moneys to be collected or received by virtue of this act, 
and all moneys by law appropriated to or provided for said district, shall be paid to the 
treasurer tliereof. who, together with the sureties on his official bond, shall be accountable 
therefor to tlie said board of education, who may, whenever deemed necessary, sue for the 
t-Aine in their corporate name; and said treasurer shall not pay out any such moneys except 
by a resolution of the said board and upon an order signed by the president and certified by 
the sccretarv. to be drawn in pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 8. Every resignation of officers appointed or elected under this act shall be made to the 
board of education, and such resignation shall have no force or effect, nor in any degree 
excuse such officer irom the discharge of his duties until the same be accepted and approved 
bv a resolution of the said board ; and any such officer may be removed from his office for 
aiiy official misconduct, by a resolution of the board, two-thirds of the whole number con- 
sti'tutiuiT said board concurring; but a written copy of the charges against such officer shall 
be served upon him, and opportunity shall be giveii to him to be heard in his defense, before 
any such resolution for his removal shall be adopted. Vacancies in the board, occurring by 
resignation or any other cause, may be filled by the said board until the next annual election, 
when such vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as those by expiration of terra of 
office ; and if from any cause the election of any officer does not take place on the day 
appointed, such office shall not thereby become vacant, but the old oflicers shall continue 
to discharge their respective functions until others are elected or appointed in their place. 
All officers mentioned in this act shall be residents of the district and entitled to vote 
therein, and shall be deemed public officers within the intent and meaning of section thirty- 
eight of title six of chapter one. part four of the Revised Statutes, and as such liable to the 
penalties therein prescribed. 

§ 9. Every officer in this act mentioned, having in his posession. custody, care, charge or 
control, any property belonging to said district, or any money raised by the provisions of 
this act, or provided by law for the purposes of education in said district, shall, at the 
expiration of his teriu of office, or whenever such officer shall resign, be removed from his 
office, cease to act. or his office be otherwise vacated, transfer all such property and pay 
over all such money to the board of education. 

§ 10. The said board of education may make all necessarj' bj'-laws for their own govern- 
ment. The said board shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once in each 
month, and may adjourn for any shorter term : special meetings maj^ be called by the pres- 
ident, or in his absence or incapability to act, by the secretaiy, or any other member of the 
board, as often as may be necessary, by giving personal notice thereof, in writing, to each 
member, at least twenty-four hours before the hour of meeting, and if any member of the 
board shall refuse or neglect to attend any three successive stated meetings of the board, 
and if no satisfactory cause for his non-attendance be shown, the board may declare his 
office vacant, and such vacancy may be filled in the manner mentioned in the eighth section 
of tliis act. No member of the said board shall receive any pay or compensation for his 
services, and it shall not be lawful for any member of the said board to become a contractor 
for building or making any improvement or repairs authorized by this act, or to be in any 
manner directly or indirectly interested, either as principal, partner or surety, in anj' such 
contract, and all contracts made in violation of this provision shall be absolutely void, and 
the person so violating shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars, and all forfeitures or penalties 
under this act, and all money payable to. or belonging to the said district, may be prosecuted 
lor, by, and in the name of the board of education, and on recovery shall be paid over to the 
treasurer of the district, for the use of the common schools therein. 

§ 11 The title to the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurte- 
nances in this act mentioned, and all other school property in the said district, shall be 
vested in the said board of education, and the same while used for or appropriated to school 
purposes shall be exempt from all taxes or assessments, and shall not be liable to be levied 
upon and sold by any warrant or execution. And the said board of edtication. in its corpo- 
rate capacity, may take, hold, and dispose of any real or personal estate transferred to it by 
gift, grant, bequest, or devise, for the use of the common schools in said district, or any or 
either of them, and may mortgage or incumber the same for school purposes, whenever 
authorized so to do by a majority attending any annual or special meeting duly called. 
They shall have and possess within the said district all the rights, powers and authority of 
district or county commissioners of common schools. They'shall have the entire control 
and management of all the common schools in said district, and of all the property belong- 
ing to the' same, and they shall require one of their number to visit the said schools at 
least once in each week, to render such assistance to the teachers and advice to the 
pupils as mny be necessarj', and to see that all the regulations appertaining to the same are 
rigidly adhered to. 

§ 12. The board of education shall have the controland charge of the district school library 
in said district ; they may employ a librarian, make such additions to the library, and such 
regulations concerning the same, as they shall deem necessary and proper; provided such 
regulations shall not conflict with the general rules and regulations established by the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

§ 13. The said board of education shall have power, and are hereby directed, to levy and 
collect by tax, in each year, upon all the taxable property and inhabitants in said district 
(as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town in which said district is situate), 
such sum as shall be authorized by a majority of the voters at any special or annual meetiu» 
of the district, for the purposes specified in sections fourteen and sixteen, and the said board 
shall add to their warrant Ibr collection of taxes, such amount as they may deem proper for 
fees for collection, not exceeding five per cent on the amount to be collected. Said board 



682 Newtowx. 

iShall have the power to make all warrants for the collection of the taxes authorized aa 
aforesaid, returnable at sixty or ninety days, in their discretion, and to renew the same 
whenever it shall become necessary. And in case it shall appear that the assessment 
rolfdoes not include all the taxable property of such district, the property omitted shall 
be assessed by the said board in the mode required by law, and added thereto. 

§ 14. Whenever, in the opinion of the said board, it becomes necessary or expedient to 
build an additional or new school-house or houses in the district, or to enlarge those already 
built, they shall submit the plans and estimated cost of such building, and of furnishing the 
same, to the electors of the said district, at the annual meeting or at a special meeting caHed 
for that purpose ; and if a majority of such electors present shall vote in favor of the same 
the said board may proceed to carry the said improvements into fall effect. 

§ 15. Whenever, in the opinion of the said board of education, it may be advisable to sell 
or exchange any of the school-houses, lots or sites, they shall report the same to the electors 
of the said district, at an annual meeting or at a special meeting called for that purpose, 
and if a majority of the electors present at such meeting shall be in favor of the same, the 
said board may sell or dispose of such school-houses, lots or sites, either at public auction 
or private sale, as they may deem most advantageous, and give good and valid conveyances 
for the same, in the 'usual fonn of convej^ance by corporations'? and, on receipt of the 
purchase-money, shall pay over the same to the treasurer of the district. 

§ 16. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, out of the 
fiinds collected and paid as provided or mentioned in sections thirteen and twenty-one, and 
from any funds belonging to the said district, in the hands of the treasurer : 

1. To purchase or lease and Improve sites for school-houses when authorized as aforesaid ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses and the 
proper out-houses and appurtenances, so as to afford ample and proper accommodations to 
educate all the children in said district ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, maps, famitnre 
and appendages ; 

4. To procure fuel and defray the contingent expenses of the said schools and of the 
board of education ; 

5. To hire teachers, and to pay the wages of such as shall be employed by them ; 

6. To defray the expenses of insuring all the school property belonging to the said district ; 

7. To cause to be made and to adopt a common seal for the said corporation, with such 
device or inscription as they may think proper. 

§ 17. The public schools in the district shall be free to all the children residing in the 
district ; and the said board of education may permit persons not resident within the said 
district to attend such schools on such terms as they shall prescribe ; and the said board 
may, in their corporate name, and for the benefit of the said district, sue for and recover of 
the father or mother, master or mistress, or any person under whose charge such non- 
resident child or children may be, all such sums as shall be so prescribed, with costs of suit. 

§ 18. The supervisor of the town of New Rochelle, or such other ofiicer as may be author- 
ized to receive the school moneys from the county treasurer for said town, shall pay over to 
the treasurer of the said district all the public moneys in his hands apportioned to the said 
number one. 

§ 19. The said board of education shall prepare and submit, at each annual meeting of the 
district, an estimate of the amount necessary to be raised for defraying the expenses of 
the district for the ensuing year, specifying the purposes for which the same is to be 
expended. 

§ 20. A school for colored children may be organized by the said board of education, and 
be supported in the same manner as other schools shall be supported under and by virtue 
of this act. 

§ 21. The said board of education shall, at the annual district meeting, submit a fall 
report, in writing, of their doings as such board, and shall state therein the number and 
condition of the schools in said district, itnder their charge, the number of teachers 
employed, the number of scholars attending the said schools, the studies pursued, and 
amount of moneys received from the State and from other sources, as well as the amount 
raised in the district for school purposes, the expenditures of the same, and all other par- 
ticulars in detail concerning said schools, with such suggestions as they may think proper 
to make in relation thereto ; which repo" t may, if the Doard think proper, be printed in 
pamphlet form and circulated among the voters of the said district, or published in some 
newspaper printed in the county. 

§ 22. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as 
they relate to district number one, in the town of New Rochelle ; but said district, and the 
officers thereof, shall continue to be subject to the decisions, rules and regulations made 
and established by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



NEWTOWN. 
IChap. 807, Laws of 1867, p. 2012, vd. 2.] 

Section 1. School district number three, in the town of Newtown, in the county of 
Queens, shall form a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by the 
school commissioner of the school commissioner district in which said district is situated. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the control and direction of a board to be styled "the 
board of education of district number three, Newtown," which board shaU consist of five 



Newtown. 583 

members, three of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business ; and it 
is hereby provided that the members of the present board who have been elected prior to 
tiie pa<sa"-e of this act, may remain in office during their unexpired terms, and they shall 
have and possess all the powers conferred by this act. One of said board shall retire each 
year in order of their election. , „ „, , ^,r x, • ■ 

§ 3 At the annual election which shall be held on the first Tuesday of March in each year, 
between the hours of five and eight o'clock, p. m., at the school-house or otiier convenient 
place in said district, there shall be elected one member of the board of education tor five 
vears and also one inspector of common schools lor one year. None but citizens entitled 
to vote for State officers and liable to taxation in said district lor school purposes shall vote 
at said school election. Such election shall be held by three inspectors who shall have been 
elected at the preceding school election. But in all cases in which the said inspectors refuse 
or fail to act, inspectors shall be appointed in their places by the board of education. The 
voting shall be by ballot, and the ballots shall be indorsed "board of education, district 
number three." Said election and all other elections provided for by this act, shall be con- 
ducted in the same manner as the annual election for village or State officers. 

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION — ITS DUTIES AND ITS POWERS. 

§ 4. The said board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their government; 
they shall have the control and management of all the common schools within the said dis- 
trict and all the property belonging to the same, and be subject to the supervision of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction as provided by the general school laws for trustees, 
and they shall provide for keeping a school or schools in said district, at least for twenty- 
eight weeks in each year, and as much loncrer as practicable. 

1 5. The said board shall appoint a collector who shall perform the duties and have the 
powers of a district collector, or they may employ the town or village collector for that 
purpose, and such collector shall collect and pay over the school moneys assessed upon the 
said district to the treasurer of the board of education, in the same manner and under the 
eame conditions as are imposed by the laws of the town or village of which he is collector. 

§ 6. The said board of education shall provide for and cause to be held, at least two general 
examinations of the pupils in each department of the schools, by a competent person or 
persons of recognized abilixy, with a view to mark the proficiency attained by the scholars. 
The first examination shall be held in the mouth of June, open to the public ; the second at 
such time as may seem most practicable in the judgment of the board, and previous to the 
semi-annual promotions. The said board shall also provide for an examination of the 
teachers employed, and for all others who may apply for appointments to teach in the schools 
of the district, for the purpose of determining the grade and quaUfications of such teachers. 
These examinations shall be made in accordance with such regulations as the board may 
adopt, with the concurrence of the school inspectors, and the results of all examinations 
shall be made known in writing by the authorized examiner, and shall accompany the 
report to be published annually by the said board of education. 

§ 7. The said board shall appoint one or more of its members a committee to visit the 
schools at least once a week during the time they are in session, for the purpose of ascer- 
taining if anv and what supplies are needed, to see that the regulations are maintained and 
discipline properly enforced. 

§ 8. Whenever additional school accommodations are required, the said board of education 
are hereby authorized and empowered to raise a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, 
by tax on said district, to be levied and collected in the same manner as taxes are authorized 
by the general school law to be levied and collected in school districts of this State. 

"§ 9. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered for the general 
purposes of this act, to levy and collect by tax in each year upon the taxable property of 
said district, such sum as may be necessary, not exceeding in amount the sum of one-half 
of one per centum on the value of such taxable property, as the same shall be assessed by 
the assessors of the town of Newtown ; and the said board of education shall add to their 
warrant for the collection of such taxes, such amount as they may deem proper for fees for 
collection, not exceeding five per centum on the amount collected. 

§ 10. The supervisor of the town of Newtown shall pay over to the treasurer of the said 
board of education all the moneys to which said district number three shall be entitled for 
school purposes. 

§ 11. The said board of education shall have the same control and charge of the district 
library, and be subject to the same regulations in regard to it, as are trustees of school 
districts ; they may appoint a librarian and make additions to the library, and, with the 
approval of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, such regulations for the management 
thereof as they may deem necessary. 

§ 12. Whenever the said board of education shall deem it necessary to buy land and to erect 
one or more school-houses in said district, they shall submit the plans and estimated cost 
of such land and buildings to the electors of such district, at a special meeting called for 
that purpose, of which meeting ten days' notice shall be given, by advertisement, or by 

Eosting of notices in five public places in said district, and no business shall be transacted 
ut that stated in the notice calling said special meeting. And if a majority of such electors 
shall vote in favor of the proposed purchase of land and of the erection of the proposed 
new school-house or houses, the said board may proceed to make such purchase and to erect 
said school buildings, and if the sums authorized to be raised by sections eight and nine of 
this act shall be insufficient to pay the cost of such lands and buildings, then the said board 
are hereby empowered to raise and collect such additional sums, not exceeding five hundred 
dollars annually, until the debt incurred is liquidated ; such additional sums shall be levied 



684 New Utrecht. 

and collected 'n the same manner as provided in sections eight and nine of this act. The 
said board shall advertise for proposals, and the contracts shall be awarded to the lowest 
responsible bidders. 

§ 13. The said board of education shall hold regular monthly meetings in the school- 
house or other convenient public place, on the last Friday of ev«ry month, between the 
hours of six and ten o'clock p. m , which shall be open to the public for the purpose of 
hearing reports or complaints, and for the transaction of general business by the board. 
Special meetings may also be called by the president of the board of education or any three 
members thereof. The clerk shall notify the school officers, and shall state in the call the 
object of the meeting, if otherwise than for the completion of unfinished business. 

§ 14. The board of education shall cause to be prepared, and submit in writing annually, a 
full report of their proceedings ; and shall state therein the number of teachers employed, 
their names, residences and the salaries paid to each; the number of schools, and of pupils 
attending tlie same: the amount of school moneys received and from what sources and 
expenditure of the same ; and generally on all matters of interest relating to the schools in 
eaid district. The report shall be ijlaced on record and preserved for future use, and shall 
be printed (with the inspector's report) for the information of the tax payers, in pamphlet 
form, or be published in some newspaper published in the cotmty. 

DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE SCHOOL INSPECTOR. 

§ 15. The school inspector for said district number three shall take ofiice on the first 
day of April following his election ; he shall attend the regular and special meetings of the 
board of education, and may recommend or oppose any appropriations for school purposes, 
and confer with the board in the appointment of teachers and others, biit shall not vote. 
He shall visit the schools in his district at least four times in each year, for the purpose of 
ascertaining the condition of the school buildings, and the different departments' of the 
schools, and to report on the same : 

1. In relation to their sanitarj' condition ; 

2. The number in the classes, and the studies pursued: 

3. The proficiency of the pupils ; 

4. The attendance of teachers and scholars ; 

5. The time of assembling and dismissing, and the number and length of the recesses 
allowed. 

It shall be the duty of the inspector to oversee all repairs made, and to note the quality 
and quantity of stipplies and materials furnished by the order of the board. He shall audit 
all bills or claims for salaries, repairs, materials, books and supplies ; which, when so 
•audited and passed by a vote of a majority of the board of education, shall be paid by the 
treasurer of said board of education. The inspector shall report annually, before his term 
expires, the amount of scnool moneys received from the State, as well as the amount raised 
in the district for school purposes, and also for what purposes the same has been expended, 
the accommodation aflbrded, and the state of the school property, and also on all matters 
affecting the general mantigement of the schools in his district, and shall in pursuance of 
his duties recommend such changes, alterations and improvements as may seem to be 
required, and in his judgment sufficiently important to insure the better discipline, the 
proper economy, and to extend the usefulness of the schools. 

§ 16. Every person elected to the board of education, or as inspectors for said district 
number three, under this act, shall be entitled to receive, and the inspectors of election 
shall give a certificate, stating the time for which such candidate has been elected, and 
Avhether for a full term or to fill a vacancy, and every officer elected or appointed, neglecting 
or refusing to file his certificate, or refusing or neglecting to attend three successive meet- 
ings of the board of education of said district, without satisfactory cause being shown, the 
seat of such school officer shall be declared vacant, and the board 'shall proceed to fill such 
vacancy until the ensuing election. 

§ 17. No member of the board of education or inspector, elected or appointed under the 
provisions of this act, shall be or become directly or indirectly interested by way of com- 
mission or otherwise, in any contract or undertaking for the erection of new school-house, 
for purchasing of land or for the furnishing of any books or other supplies or materials, or 
for the performing of any labor or work for any of' the school sites or buildings under their 
charge, nor shall the board hereafter employ or appoint any person to whom a salary is to 
be paid, who is within four degrees of relationship by blood or marriage to any member of 
said board of education, unless by a unanimous vote of said board. 

§ 18. All acts or parts of acts pertaining to said school district which are inconsistent 
with this act are hereby repealed. 

NEW UTRECHT. 

iCfiap. 9'2o, Laws of 1867, ;;. 2310, w/. 2.] 

Section 1. All license fees provided for by the act to regulate the sale of intoxicating 
liquors within the metropolitan police district of the State of New York, passed April six- 
teenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and all fines therein provided for which shall here- 
after be received by the board of excise of the said metropolitan police district, from the 
town of New Utrecht, in the county of Kings, shall, after deducting the necessary expenses 
of collection and the amounts otherwise provided by law, be paid over to the supervisor of 
the town, and shall be applied by him to the payment of the wages of the teachers of the 
diO'erent districts in proportion to the amount of scholars in each district m the said town. 



City of New York. 386 



CITY OF NEW YORK. 

[Laws of 1851, chop. 3S6, as amended by chap. 301 of 1853, chap. 101 0/I8M, cAoi?. 267 </ 1854, 
fty fAa/?. 69, Z,a?f5 of 1865, awd c/mi?. 351, Laws of 1864. 

[Section 1 is repealed by section 11, of chapter 351, Laws of 1864, and the first ten sections 
of the latter act are substituted therefor. See jjost.] 

OF THE BOARD OP EDUCATION— ITS POWERS AND DUTIES. 

§ 2. The commissioners of common schools shall constitute a board of education for tie 
citv and county of New York. They shall meet on the second Wednesday of January, in 
each vear. for the purpose of organization, and thereafter for the transaction of business as 
often" as they may determine; they shall elect one of their number president, and shall 
appoint a clerk, and as many a*;sistant clerks and other officers for the transacti<m of the 
business of the board as may be necessary, who shall severally hold their offices during 
the pleasure of the board, and whose respective duties, powers and compensation shall be 
re'^ulated and determined by the board. 

The board of education shall have power: 

1. To take and hold property, both real and personal, devised or transferred to it for the 
purposes of public education in the city of New York: 

2. To appoint a city superintendent of schools, and one or more assistant superintend- 
ents, and also a superintendent of school buildings, whose respective duties, powers, 
salaries and terms of office, except as herein otherCvise provided, shall be regulated and 
determined by the board of education, and to employ, under the superintendent of school 
buildinjrs, necessary workmen, and provide necessary materials for repairing, altering and 
enlarging school or"other buildings: but this provision shall not be construed ro compel 
the tl-ustees of any ward to use or employ such workmen or materials for any purpose 
whatever; 

3. To remove from office any school officer who shall have been directly or indirectly 
interested in the furnishing of any supplies or materials, or in the doing of any work or 
labor, or in the sale or leasing of any real estate, or in any proposal, agreement, or contract for 
any of the*e purposes, in any case in which the piice or consideration is to be paid, in whole 
or'in part, or directly or indirectly, out of any school moneys, or who shall have received 
from any source whatever, any commission, or compensation in connection Avith any of the 
matters "aforesaid ; and any school officer who shall violate the preceding provisions of this 
section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be 
punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment in the city prison 
not exceeding one year, and shall also be ineligible to any school office. The board shall 
also have power to remove from office any scliool officer who shall have been guilty of 
immoral or disgraceful conduct in any matter connected with his official duties, or which 
lends to discredit his oflice. or the school sy>tem. If one or more school officers or tax 
payers of the city of New York shall present a written charge to the board of education, 
accusing any school officer of a violation of or a liability to~"any of the provisions *)f this 
section, it shall be the duty of the said board to cause the same to be fully investigated. 
All testimony taken upon such investigation shall be under oath; and the court of common 
pleas shall have power, upon the application of the board of education, to compel any 
witness who may be summoned to appear and testify before the said board, or any commit- 
tee thereof. [As amended by section 13, Laus of 1S64. chajy. 351.] 

4. To establish new schools, as hereinafter provided ; 

5. To draw from the moneys which shall be raised for the purpose of public education 
such sums as may l>e required for the purpose of defraying the necessary incidental expen- 
ses of the board,"and such further sums as may be required for the payment of the salaries 
of such clerks and other officers as may be appointed by virtue of tlie authority vested in 
the board by this act. and of such other expenses as may be necessarily incurred by the 
board in pursuance of the provisions of this act; 

6. To visit and examine the schools subject to the provisions of this act ; 

7. To make rules of order and by-laws for the government of the board, its members and 
committees, and general regulations to secure proper economy and accountability in the 
expenditure of the school m -neys ; 

8. To continue the existing free academy and organize a similar institution for females ; 
and, if any similar institutioii is organized by the board of education, all the provisions of 
this act relative to the free academy shall apply to each and every one of the said institu- 
tions, now existing or hereafter established, as fully, completely and distinctly as they could 
or would if it was the only institution of the kind ; to distinguish each existing and uture 
institution by an appropriate title ; and to purchase, erect, or lease sites and buildings for 
each and all of the said institutions ; provided that no additional institution shall be author- 
ized or organized by the board of education, unless a majority of the whole number of 
members of the said board shall vote in favor thereof: 

9. To use and control the premises known as the hall of the board of education, at the 
corner of Grand and Elm streets, to direct the purposes for which the same may be occupied, 
and to make all the repairs, alterations and additions in and to the same which the board 
may deem advisable, and to provide such additional sites and buildings as may be necessary 
for the purposes of this act, the title of which shall, in all cases, be vested in the mayor, 
aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York ; 



4 



586 City of New York. 

10. To dispose of such personal property, used in the school or other buildings under the 
charge of the board, as the trustees or committees having the immediate charge thereof 
shall certify is no longer required for use therein ; and all moneys realized by the sale of 
any such property shall be paid into the city treasury, for the same purposes as the moneys 
raised under the sixteenth section of this act ; 

11. And for the purposes of this act, the said board shall possess the powers and privi- 
leges of a corporation. 

§ 3. It shall be the duty of the board of education . 

1. On or before the fifteenth daj' of November, in each year, to report to the board of 
supervisors of said city and county an estimate of the amount, over and above the sum 
specified in the fifteenth section of this act. which will be required during the year for the 
purpose of meeting the current annual expenses of public instruction in said city for pur- 
chasing, leasing and procuring sites ; for erecting buildings, and for furnishing, fitting up, 
altering, enlarging and repairing the buildings and premises under their charge ; for the 
support of schools which shall have been organized since the last annual apportionment of 
the school moneys made by the board, and of such further sum or sums as may be necessary 
for any of the purposes authorized by this act : but the aggregate amount so reported shall 
not exceed the sum of ten* dollars for each pupil who shall have actually attended and 
been taught the preceding year in the schools entitled to participate in the apportionment. 
And the board of supervisors of the county of New York are hereby authorized and 
directed to raise and collect by taxation, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
seven, such sum as maybe reported to them by the said board of education on or before the 
first day of June in said year, provided the sum reported does not exceed in the aggregate 
the sum of two dollars for each pupil, who shall have actually attended and been taught 
during the year one thousand eight hundred and sixly-six, in the schools entitled to partici- 
pate in the apportionment aforesaid, and said sum to be in addition to the amount 
heretofore reported to them by said board of education, for the year one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-seven, under the provisions of the first subdivision of section three of 
the act which is hereby amended. Provided, however, that the said increased amount shall 
be wholly expended in purchasing sites, erectino and furnishing school-houses, and, at 
least, one-half thereof for the accommodation of children in the priniary department. There 
shall be appropriated the sum of fifty thousand dollars for each of the" years eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty seven and eighteen 'hundred and sixty-eight from the moneys to be raised 
under the provisions of this act, for the building and erection of a school buildmg for colored 
children. The said building to be erected by the board of education as other school 
buildings are erected : 

2. To apportion all the school moneys, which shall have been raised for the purpose of 
meeting the current annual expenses of public instruction, to the schools entitled to 
participate therein by the provisions of this act ; 

3. To file with the chamberlain of said city, on or before the first Monday of AprO in each 
year, a copy of their apportionment, stating the amount apportioned to the schools under 
the charge "^of the board of education, and to the trustees, managers and directors of the 
several schools enumerated in this act : 

4. To continue to furnish through the free academy the benefit of education gratuitously, to 
persons who have been pupils in the common schools of the said city and county, for a 
period of time to be regulated by the board of education, not less than one year ; 

5. To supervise, manage and govern said free academy, and make all needful rules and 
rearulations therefor; fix the number and compensation of teachers and others to be 
employed therein ; prescribe the preliminary examination, and the terms and conditions on 
which pupils shall be received and instructed therein and discharged therefrom ; direct the 
course of studies therein, and provide in all things for the good government and manage- 
ment of the said free academy ; and purchase the books, apparatus, stationery and other 
things necessary and expedient to enable the said free academy to be properly and success- 
fully conducted, and to keep the said building or buildings properly repaired and furnished. 
And the board, upon the recommendation of the faculty of the free academy, may grant 
the usual degrees and diplomas in the arts to such persons as shaU have completed a full 
course of study in the said free academy ; 

6. To appoint annually a standing committee of not less than five persons of their num- 
ber, who shall, subject to the control, supervision and approbation of the said board, 
constitute au executive committee for the care, government and management of the said 
free academy, under the rules and regulations prescribed as aforesaid, whose duty it shall 
be to make' detailed reports to the said board of education, and, among other things, to 
recommend the rules and regulations which they deem necessary- and proper for the said 
academy. The board of education may, at any regular meeting thereof, by a majority 
of all the members of the said board, remove any or all the members of the said com- 
mittee, and appoint another person or persons in place of the member or members of the 
said committee so removed ; 

7. To make and transmit annually, on or before the first day of February in each year, to 
the common council of said city, and also to the secretary of the board of Regents of rhe 
University of the State of New York, a report, signed by the president and clerk of the 
board of education, and dated on the thirty-first day of December next preceding, which 
report shall state the names and ages of all the pupils instructed in such free academy 
during the preceding year, and the time that each was so instructed, specifying which of 
them have completed a full course of study therein, and which have received degrees, medals 

* Changed from four to five by chapter i24, Laws of 186:5, and from five to eight by chapter 69, LawB of 1865, 
and from eight to ten by chapter 287, Laws of 1867. 



City of New Yokk. 587 

and other special testimonials ; a particular statement of the studies pursued by each pupil 
eince the last preceding report, toi^ether with the books such student shall have studied, iu 
whole or iu part, and, if in part, what portion ; an account or estimate of tlie library, philo- 
sophical and chemical apparatus, and mathematical or other scientific instruments belonging 
to such academy ; the names of the instructors employed in said academy, and the com- 
pensation paid to each; what amount of moneys the board of education received during 
the year for tlie purposes of such academy, and tn)m what sources, specifying how much 
from each, and the particular manner and the specific purposes for which such moneys have 
been expended ; and such other information in relation to education in the said academy, 
and the measures of the board in the management thereof, as the said common council or 
the Regents of the University of the State of New York may from time to time require ; 

8. To provide evening schools, for those whose ages or avocations are such as to prevent 
tiieir attending the day schools established by law7 in such of the ward school-houses or 
other buildings used foV school purposes, and "in such other places in said city as they may 
from time to time deem expedient, and, also, a normal school or schools for teachers, which 
shall be attended by such of the teachers in common schools as the board of education by 
general regulations shall direct, under penalty of forfeiture of their^ituations as teachers by 
omitting to attend, which forfeiture shall be declared by the board of education; and to 
appoint'^toachers and furnish all needful supplies for the evenmg and normal schooiS ; 

9. To furnish all necessary supplies, or make regulations for furnishing such supplies, for 
the several schools under their care ; but when such supplies are furnished by the board of 
education they shall be obtained by contract, proposals for which shall be advertised for 
the period of at least two w-eeks ; 

10. To make and transmit, between the fifteenth day of January and the first day of Feb- 
ruary, in each year, to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and to the common 
council of the city of New York, a report, in writing, bearing date on the thirty-first day 
of December next preceding, staring the whole numberof schools within their jurisdiction, 
specially designating the schools for colored children : the schools or societies from which 
reports shall have been made to the board of education within the time limited for that 
purpose ; the length of time such schools shall have been kept open ; the amount of public 
money apportioned or appropriated to said school or society ; the number taught iii each 
school ; the whole amount of money drawn from the city chamberlain for the purposes of 
education during the year ending at the date of their report, distinguishing the amount 
received from the greneral fund of the State, and from all other and what sources ; the manner 
in which such moneys shall have been expended: and such other information as the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction may from time to time require in relation to common 
school education in the city and county of New York; and the report which the board of 
education is hereby required to make shall be held and taken to be a full compliance with 
every law requiring a report from the said board, or any oflicer of the city and county of 
New York, except the city superintendent, relative to the schools in the said city, or any 
matters connected therewith. 

§ 4. If the board of education shall neglect to make such annual report within the time 
limited, the share of school moneys apportioned to the city and county of New York may, 
in the discretion of the State Superintendent of Public instruction, be withheld until a 
suitable report shall have been rendered. 

§ 5. The clerk of the board of education shall have charge of the rooms, books, papers and 
documents of the board, and shall, in addition to his duties as secretary of the board, per- 
form such other clerical duties as may be required by its members or committees. 

§ «i. All schools which have been organized under 'the act entitled "An act to extend to 
the city and county of New York the provisions of the general act in relation to common 
schools,''' passed April 11. 1842, and the acts amending the same, or organized or adopted 
under this act. shall be common schools, called •' ward schools,"' or " ward primaries ;" and 
each class shall be numbered consecutively, according to the time of their orsranization or 
adoption, and all such schools shall be under the supervision and government of the com- 
missioners, inspectors and trustees of the ward in which they are located. 

(Seventh section repealed by chapter three hundred and fifty-one, section eighteen, Laws 
of eighteen hundred and sixty-four.) 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS. 

§ 8. It shall be the duty of the commissioners of common schools in the several wards : 

1. To attend all the meetings of the board of education ; and if anv commissioner shall 
refuse or neglect to attend any three successive stated meetings of tlie board, after having 
been personally notified to attend, and if no satisfactory cause of his non-attendance be 
shown, the board may declare his office vacant ; 

2. To transmit to the board of education all reports made to them by the trustees and 
Inspectors of their respective wards ; 

3. To visit and examine all the schools entitled to participate in the apportionment. 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF INSPECTORS. 

§9. It shall be the duty of the inspectors of common schools, or a majority of them, in 
their respective districts, to examine in respect to everv expense certified as correct by a 
majority of the trustees of any ward in the district, and to audit everv such expense whixjh 
may be just and reasonable ; and no expense shall be paid unless audited in this manner. 
They shall also examine, at least once iu every quarter, all the schools in the district, in 
respect to the punctual and regular attendance of the pupils and teachers ; the number, 



588 City of Neav York. 

fidelity and competency of the teachers ; the studies, progress, order and discipline of the 
pupils ; the cleanliness, safety, warming, ventilation and comfort of the school premises ; 
and whether or not the provisions of the school laws in respect to the teaching of sectarian 
doctrines, or the use of sectarian books, have been violated ; and call the attention of the 
trustees, without delay, to every matter requiring immediate action. They shall also, on or 
before the thirty-first day of December in each year, make a written report to the board 
of education aud to the board of trustees in respect to the condition, efficiency and 
wants of the district in respect to schools and school premises. [As amended by chapter 351, 
Laws of \%Q4..-[ 

POWERS AND DUTIES OP TRUSTEES. 

§ 10. It shall be the duty of the trustees for each ward, and they shall have the power: 

1. To have the safe keeping of all the premises and other property used for or belonging 
to the ward schools and the ward primaries in their respective wards : 

2. Under such general rules and regulations, and subject to such limitations as the board 
of education may prescribe, to conduct and manage the said schools ; to furnish all needful 
supplies therefor, and to make all needful repairs, alterations and additions in and to the 
school premises. [As amended by § 19 of chapter Sll, Laws of 1804.] 

3. To procure, as may be necessary, blank books, in one of which a statement of the 
amounts of all moneys i-eceived and paid by the trustees or otherwise, for or on account of 
each of the schools conducted by them, and of all movable property belonging to each 
school, shall be entered at large and signed by such trustees ; and in one book minutes of 
their meetings shall be kept; and in other books the principal teacher of each school and 
department shall enter the names, ages and residences of the scholars attending the school, 
the name of a parent or guardian of each scholar, and the days on which the scholars shall 
have respectively attended, and the aggregate attendance of each scholar during the year; 
also the days on which each school shall have been visited by the city and assistant super- 
intendents of schools, and the school officers of the ward, and the members of the board of 
education or any of them, which entries shall be verified by the oath or affirmation of the 
principal teacher in such school or department. The said books shall be preserved by the 
trustees as the property of the school, and shall be delivered to their successors : 

4. To make, at least five days before the first day of Januarj- in eveiy year, or such other 
day as may be designated by the board of edttcation. in the case of a school kept open after 
the twenty-fifth day of December, and transmit to the board of edtication a n^port in writ- 
ing, dated the thirty-first day of December, which shall be signed and certified by a majority 
of 'the trustees, and which report shall state the whole number of schools within their juris- 
diction, especially designating the schools for colored children : the length of time each 
school shall have been fcpt open ; the whole ntimber of scholars over fotir and under twenty- 
one years of age who shall have been taitght, free of expense to such scholars, in their 
schools during the year ending with the date of the report, which number shall be ascer- 
tained by adding to the numbeV of children on resfister, at the commencement of each year, 
the number admitted during that year, which shall be considered the total for that year; the 
average number that has actually attended such schools during the year, to be ascertained 
by the teacher's keeping an exact account of the number of scholars present every school 
time or half day. which, being added together and divided by four hundred and sixty, or, if 
less than a year, by the number of school sessions, shall be considered the average of attend- 
ing scholars, which average shall be sworn or affirmed to by the principal teacher uf the 
school ; a detailed statement of the amount of moneys received for or paid on account of 
their respective schools during the year from or by the chamberlain of the city, and of the 
purposes lor and the manner in which the same shall have been expended ; and a particular 
account of the state of the schools, and of the property and affairs of each school under 
their care ; and the titles of all books used, with such other information as the board of 
education shall require: and for the purposes of this act each department shall, whenever 
practicable, be considered as a separate school; 

5. To hold as a corporation all personal property vested in or transferred to them for 
school purposes in their respective wards ; 

6. To render, at the expiration of their respective terms of office, to their successors a 
just and true account in writing of all moneys received by them for school purposes, and 
of the manner in which the same shall have been expended, and to pay any balance which 
may remain in their hands to their successors ; 

7. To meet statedly at times, to be by them appointed, and to declare vacant, by the votes 
of a majority of the trustees of the ward, the seat of any person, elected or appointed as a 
trustee, who shall refuse or neglect, without satisfactory cause shown by him to the said 
trustees-, to attend any three successive stated meetings of the trustees, after having been 
previously notified to attend: and to notify the clerk of the board of education, at least 
twenty davs previous to any general election, of any vacancy that will exist in the school 
offices of said ward at the expiration of their present year, with the cause or reason of such 
vacancy or vacancies. 

OF THE CITY SUPERINTENDENT. 

§ 11. The city and assistant superintendents of schools shall take and subscribe, before the 
clerk of the board of education, the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution of this 
State ; shall each hold office for the term of two years and until his successor is appointed, 
subject to removal by the board on complaint, for cause stated; shall respectively receive 
such compensation as the board of education may designate, which shall not be changed 
during the term of office of any incumbent; and shall be subject to such rules and regula- 



City of Xew Yokk. 580 

tions ns llio board of cdiicnlion may establish. It shall be specially the duty of the city 
eii|)eriiiU'ii(leiil : 

1. To visit every school iiiidcr the chari,'e of the board of education as often as once in 
each year; to iu(|iiire into all matters relating to the jrovernment. course of instruction, 
books, studies, discipline and conduct of such schools, and the condition of tiie school-houses 
anil of the schools ;;enerally, and to advise and to counsel with the trustees in relation to 
their duties, the proper studies, discipline and conduct of the schools, the course of instruc- 
tion to be pursued, and tiic books of elementary instruction to be used therein; and to 
examine, ascertain and report to the board of education, whether the provisions of the act 
in relation to relii;ioiis sectarian teachiiii,' and books have been violated in any of the schools 
of the dilVeri-nl wards of tin? city; and to make a monthly report to the board of education, 
slatiuLj which of ihe schools have been visited i)y him, and addinijsuch comments in respect 
to the matters above specified as he may consider necessary and advisable ; and to transmit 
to tite respective i)oards of ward trustees copies of so much of such reports as relate to 
Bchools under their manaircnient ; 

2. Under such ijeneral rules and rej^ulations as the board of education may establish, to 
examine into the qualilicaiions of jjersons proposed as teachers in any of the schools under 
liie charu'e of the board. Such examination shall be conducted by tiie city superintendent 
of schools, or such one of his assistants as he may desitrnate. in the presence of at least 
two inspectors of common schools, who shall be designated for the purpose by the by-laws 
of the boHrd of education. Licenses shall be e^ranted to those persons found upon such 
examination to be entitled thereto, which shall be iu the form prescribed bj^ the said by- 
laws, shall be siirned by the city superintendent, and by at least two inspectors desi.:,'nated. 
for the purpose. Vvho shall certify tliat they were jji-esent at the examination, and concur iu 
<,'rantin<,' the license. The license of any teacher maybe re-oked for any cause aft'ectin^^ 
the morality or competency of the teacher, by the written certificate of the city superin- 
tendent, and the written concurrence of two of the inspectors for the district in which the 
teacher is employed; but no such action shall be taken until at least ten days previous 
notice has been allowed ; nor shall it take effect until such certificate of revocation has 
been filed in the office of the clerk of the board of education, and a copy served tipou the 
teacher. It shall be the duty of the city superintendent to re-examine any ttachor npou 
the written request of any two inspectors of the district, or three trustees of the Avard iu 
■which the teacher is employed. Any teacher whose license has been revoked as aforesaid 
may appeal to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, within ten days after service 
of a copy of the certiticate of revocation, by the service of a written notice of ajjpeal upon 
the city supei'iutendent, and in case such appeal is taken the teacher shall not be disquali- 
fied until the revocation is confirmed by the State Superintendent. The city superintendent 
iu his annual report to the board of education, shall include a list of the licenses <>:ranted 
and revoked by liim. [As cunended by § Ki, chapter :i51, Laws of 18(i4.] 

3. Generally, by all the means in his power, under the rei^ul'ations of the board of educa- 
tion in respect thereto, to promote sound education, elevate the character and qualitications 
of teachers, improve the means of instruction, and advance the interests of tiie schools 
committed to his charge. 

§ VI. The city superintendent shall be subject to such general rules and regulations as tho 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction may prescribe ; and appeals from his acts and 
decisions may be made to the Superintendent in the same manner and with like effect as iu 
cases now provided by law, and he shall make annually to the State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, at 'such times as shall be appointed by hiiu, a report, in writing, con- 
taining the whole uumber of schools in the city and county, distinguishing the scliools from 
which the necessary reports have been made to the board 'of education by the commission- 
ers, inspectors and trustees of common schools, and containing a certified copy of the 
report of the board of education to the clerk of the city and coiinty. with such ad'ditional 
information as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction may require. 

§ 13. It shall be the duty of the board of education, by general rules and regulations, to 
provide a proper classification of studies, scholars and salaries, in such majiner that, 
as near as practicable, the system of instruction pursued in the commcm schools and the 
salaries paid to teachers shall be uniform throughout tlie city. 

OP THE SUPPORT OP SCHOOLS. 

§ 11. Whenever the clerk of the city and county shall receive notice from the State Super 
intendent of Public Instruction of the amount of moneys apportioned to the county of 
New York for the support and encouragement of common schools therein, he shall imme- 
diately lay the same before the board of supervisors of said county; and the chamberlain 
of the said city shall apply for and receive the school moneys apportioned to the said county 
as soon as the same becoiue payable, and place the same in the city treasury, for the same 
purposes as the moneys raised under the sixteenth section of this act. 

§ 15. The said boai'd of supervisors shall annually raise and collect, by tax upon the, 
inhabitants of the said city and county, a sum of money, equal to the sum specified in such 
notice, at the time and in the same manner as the contingent charges of the said city and 
county are levied and collected, also a sum of money equallto one-twentieth of one per cent 
of the value of the real and personal property in the said city liable to be assessed thereon, 
and pay the same into the city treasury, to be applied to the purposes of common schools 
in the said city ; and the board of education shall apportion the money so raised to each of 
the schools hereafter provided for by this act. excei)t the free academy and the evening 
schools, according to the number of children over four and under twenty-one years of ago 
who were actual residents of the city and county of New York at the tinie of their attend- 



590 City of Xew York. 

ance on sncti schools, Avithont charge, the preceding year; and the average shall he 
ascertained by adding too^ether the number of such children present at each morning and 
afternoon session of not less than three hours, and dividing tlie sum by four hundred and 
sixty; and if any school shall have been organized since the last annual apportionment, the 
average shall be'ascertained by dividing by a number corresponding to the actual number 
of morning and evening sessions, of not less than three hours each, held since the organi- 
zation of such school : and the sum apportioned to any schools, other than the ward schools, 
shall be paid to the trustees, managers or directors of such schools, respectively, by drafts 
on the city chamberlain, to be signed by the president and clerk of said board* and made 
payable to the order of the treasurers of said trustees, managers or directors. 

§ l(i. Said board of supervisors shall also raise and collect, at the same time and in the same 
manner, such additional sum or sums as the board of education, in pursuance of the provisions 
of theiirst subdivision of the third section of this act, shall have reported to be necessary for 
the purposes therein mentioned. Such moneys shall be paid into the city treasury', and 
shall, together with the amounts apportioned to the schools under the charge of the board 
of education, be paid by the chamberlain of the said city upon the drafts drawn on him by 
the board of education, signed by the president and countersigned by the clerk of the board, 
and by the commissioners, or one of them, of the wai-d for which the money is to be 
paid, except such sums as shall be drawn for purposes other than the expenses of ward 
schools, which shall be paid bj' said chamberlain upon drafts drawn on him by said board, 
signed by the president and clerk, and countersigned by the chairman of the finance com- 
mittee of said board ; and all drafts shall be made payable to the person or persons entitled 
to receive the same, except that the payment of wages and salaries may be made by pay- 
rolls, upon which each person shall separately receipt for the amount paid to such person ; 
and in every case of payment by a pay-roll, the draft for the aggregate amount of wages or 
salaries included therein shall be ma'de payable to the superinteudent, principal, teacher 
or other officer designated for the purpose by the by-laws of the board of education. 

§ 17. If any of the^aid newly organized ward schools, by reason of -peculiar circumstances, 
shall be equitably entitled to a larger sum than they will receive under an apportionment 
made as aforesaid, then the board of education shall be authorized, and they are hereby 
required, to make to such schools such further allowance out of the school moneys as they, 
the board of education, shall deem just and proper. 

§ 18. Xo school shall be entitled to or receive any portion of the school moneys in which 
the religious doctrines or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect shall be 
taught, inculcated or practiced, or in which any book or books, containing compositions 
favorable or prejudicial to the particular doctrines or tenets of any particular Christian or 
other religious sect, or which shall teach the doctrines or tenets of any other religious 
sect, or which shall refuse to permit the visits and examinations provide'd for in this act. 
But nothing herein contained shall authorize the board of education to exclude The Holy 
Scriptures, without note or comment, or any selections therefrom, from any of the schools 
provided for by this act : but it shall not be competent for the said board of education to 
decide what version, if any, of the Holy Scriptures, without note or comment, shall be used 
in any of the schools : provided that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to 
violate the rights of conscience as secured by the Constitution of this State and of the 
United States. 

§ 19. If the school moneys apportioned to the common schools, agreeably to the previous 
section of this act. shall exceed the necessary and legal expenses of cither of such schools, 
the board of education shall authorize the payment only of such sum or sums as shall be 
sufficient to provide for such expenses, and any deficiency in the sums apportioned to meet 
the necessary and legal expenses of public education in the said schools shall be supplied 
by the common council of the said city ; and they arc hereby authorized and directed to raise 
bj^ loan, in anticipation of the annual tax. such sum or sums as shall be necessary to meet 
such deficiency. And the board of education shall in all ca>es certify to the common council 
the cause of such deficiency, and that the same was unavoidable ; and, unless such certificate 
shall be made, the said common council may refuse to raise the sum required to meet such 
deficiency. 

§ 20. The board of education shall require from the executive committees conducting 
schools by appointment of the board, and from the trustees, managers or directors of the 
corporate' schools entitled to participate in the apportionment of school moneys, a report in 
all respects similar to that required from the trustees of each ward by the tenth section of 
this act. And, in making the apportionment among the several schools, no share shall be 
allotted to any school or society from which no sufficient annual report shall have been 
received for the year ending on the last day of December immediately preceding the appor- 
tionment. 

§ 21. Whenever an apportionment of the public money shall not be made to any school, 
in consequence of any accidental (miission to make any report required by law or to comply 
with any other regulation or provision of law. the board of education may. in its discretion, 
direct an apporticmment to be made to such school, according to the equitable circumstances 
of the case, to be paid out of the public money on hand, or, if the same shall have been 
distributed, out of the public money to be received in a succeeding year. 

OF THE SCHOOLS ENTITLED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE APPORTIONMENT. 

§22. The New York orphan asylum school, the Roman Catholic orphan asylum school, 
the schools of the two half-ori)han asylinns, the school of the mechanics' society, the school - 
of the society for the rcsformatiou of juvenile delinquents in the city of New York, the Ham- 
ilton free school, the school for the Leake and Watts' orphan house, the school connected 



City of New York. 591 

with the almshouse of the said city, the school of the association for the benefit of colored 
orphans, the schools of the American female j^ardian society, the schools of the society for 
the promotion of education among colored children [the schools of the Five Points house 
of industry and the ladies' home missionary society, nee chapter 450 of 1855], the schools 
ori,'anized under the act entitled "An act to extend to the city and county of New York the 
provisions of the general act in relation to common schools," passed April 11, 1842, or an act 
to amend the same, passed April 18, 1843, or an act entitled "An act more effectually to 
provide for common school education in the city and county of New York," passed May 7, 
1844, or any of the acts amending the same, and including such normal schools for the edu- 
cation of teachers as the board of education may organize, and the normal school of the 
public school society for the education of teachers, and such schools as may be organized 
under the provisions of this act, shall be subject to the general supervision of the board of 
education, and shall be entitled to participate in the apportionment of the school moneys, 
as provided for by this act, but they shall be under the immediate direction of their respect- 
ive trustees, managers and directors, as herein provided. 

OF NEW SCHOOLS. 

§ 23. The board of education may, with the consent of a majority of the trustees of the 
ward, or without such consent, by a vote of two-thirds of the board of education, discon- 
tinue any grammar, primary, evening, or colored school, and the said board may also 
authorize the establishment of a new school, upon the written application of a majority of 
the trustees for the ward. It shall be the duty of the board of education to decide finally 
upon every such application within thirty-five days after the same is presented to it ; aad if 
the said board shall omit to do so, or shall deny the application, and a majority of the 
inspectors for the district shall certify that there is probable cause for granting the appli- 
cation, the trustees may appeal to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, whose 
decision in the matter shall be binding upon all the parties, and, if adverse to the application, 
the same shall not be renewed during the term of one year next thereafter. \_As amended by 
§ 17, chapter 351, Laws of 18(54.] 

§ 24. Upon a decision favorable to the establishment of a school or schools in any of the 
wards of said city, it shall be lawful for the school oflicers of said ward to proceed to organize 
one or more schools, such as may be authorized by the board of education, and procure a 
school-house, by purchasing or hiring the same, or by procuring a site and erecting a build- 
ing thereon, according to plans and specifications and contracts which shall have been duly 
filed with and approved by the board of education ; the erection of which said building, and 
the fitting up thereof, and the fitting up of any hired building, shall be done by contract, 
proposals for which shall be advertised for two weeks previous to deciding upon estimates 
thereon, unless such fitting up shall not exceed the sum of two hundred' dollars ; and the 
expense of establishing and organizing any school, as above mentioned, shall be levied and 
raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ 25. The title to all school property, real and personal, purchased with any moneys derived 
from the distribution or apportionment of the school moneys, or raised by taxation in the 
city of New York, shall be vested in the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of said city, but 
shall be under the care and control of the board of education for the purposes of public 
education, and all suits in relation to the same shall be brought in the name of said board ; 
and no contract or contracts shall be made by the school officers of any ward, for the pur- 
chase of any site, without the consent of the board of education, or for the erection or 
fitting up or repairing of any building, when such repairs shall exceed in amount the sum 
of two hundred dollars, as authorized in this act, until a statement in writing of the amount 
required for that purpose shall have been presented to the board of education by said school 
oflicers, and. together with a copy of the working drawings, plans and specifications of the 
work to be done, pursuant to the provisions of this act, shall have been duly filed and 
approved of, as herein required, and an appropriation shall have been made by the board 
of education therefor. 

§ 26. The trustees, managers and directors of any of the corporate schools entitled to 
participate in the apportionment of the school moneys may at any time convey their school- 
houses and sites to the corporation of the city of New York, and transfer any of their schools 
to the board of education, on the terms and in the manner to be agreed upon and prescribed 
by the board of education, so as either to merge the said schools in the ward schools or 
adopt them as ward schools ; and the same shall then be ward schools, subject to all the 
rules, duties and liabilities, and enjoy the same rights, as if they had been originally estab- 
lished as ward schools. 

OF THE DISCONTINUANCE OF SCHOOLS. 

§ 27. Whenever, owing to any nuisance or other circumstances in the immediate vicinity 
of any school, or to the small attendance of scholars therein, or other sufticient reason, it 
shall appear to the board of education necessary and proper to discontinue such school in 
any of the wards of this city, the said board shall ^ive notice to the trustees of said school 
of its intention to consider the propriety of such discontinuance : and in thirty days after 
such notice may proceed to investigate the matter, and if a majority of the school oflicers 
of the ward shall consent to the same, and if the said board shall determine by a vote of a 
majority of all the members thereof that it is proper to close the same, it shall be the duty 
of said board to withhold all moneys which have been apportioned or appropriated for the 
support of said school, and the said" school shall not thereafter participate in any subsequent 
apportionment of the school moneys. So soon as the same shall take effect, the comptroller 
of the city shall be notified thereof by the said board, and the said school-house and site 
may thereupon be used or disposed of as a part of the general property of the city. 



592 City of New York. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

§ 28. The common council of the city of Xew York are hereby authorized and directed 
to raise by loan, in anticipation of the taxes, when necessary, all moneys required for erect- 
ing, purchasing or leasing school-houses and procuring sites therefor, and the fitting up and 
furnishing thereof, and for alterations in or additions to the present school buildings, or 
required for any other of the purposes authorized by this act. 

§ 29. All expenses incurred for the support of common schools in the respective wards 
shall be certified by the trustees of common schools in such ward, or a majority of them, 
and delivered to the inspectors of said ward: and it shall be the duty of said inspectors to 
examine and audit the same, and. upon said inspectors being satisfied of their correctness, 
to cc-rtify the same to the board of education. All bills audited and paid shall be filed with 
the board of education. 

§ 30. No compensation shall be allowed to the commissioners.inspectors or trustees of com- 
mon schools foi any services performed by them. but the commissioners and inspectors shall 
receive their actual' and reasonable expense-; while attending to the duties of their office, to 
be audited and allowed by the board of education. 

§ :il. Every school officer who shall refuse or neglect to render an account, or to pay over 
any balance in his hands at the expiration of his term of office, shall for each offense, forfeit 
the sum of fifty dollars, which sum, together with said unpaid balance, shall be sued for and 
collected by the board of supervisors, who shall prosecute without delay for the recovery 
of such forfeiture, together with the unpaid balance ; and in case of the death of such school 
officer, suit may be brought against his representatives, and all moneys recovered, after 
deducting expenses, shall be placed at the disposal of the board of education. 

§ .32. Every person in the employ of th^- board of education, and every school officer, and 
every officer oi teacher of a school or society, who shall willfully sign a false report to the 
board of education, shall, for each offence, forfeit the stim of twenty-five dollars, and shall be 
deemed guilty of misdemeanor ; and every such person or officer who shall willfully misapply 
any of the public funds committed to his care shall be deemed guilty of embezzlemeut. 

§ 33. The following shall be substantially the form of oath or affirmation to be made- by 
the teacher: 

"A. B., of the city of New York, teacher of No. dejjartment, 

being duly sworn or affirmed, declares and says that, to the best of (his or her, knowl- 
edge and belief, the average number of children, actual residents of the city and county of 
New York at the time of attending said school between the age of four and twenty-one 
years, who attended said school or department, each school-time or half-day, ft-om the 
day of to the first day of January, , Avas , said average having been obtained 

by'adding together the number of scholars present each schooi-time or half-day, and dividing 
the total by four hundred and sixty, agreeably to the fifteenth section of this act." 

§ 34. If any suit which shall hereafter be commenced against the commissioners or trus- 
tees of common schools for any act performed by virtue of or under color of their offices, or 
for any refusal or omission to perform any duty enjoined by law, and which might have been 
the subject of an appeal to the superintendent, no costs shall be allowed to the plaintiff in 
cases where the court shall certify it appeared on the trial of the cause that the defendants 
acted iu good faith But this proVision shall not extend to suits for penalties, nor to suits 
or proceedings to enforce the decisions of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

§ :35. All children between the age of four and twent3--one. residing in the cil-y and county, 
shall be entitled to attend any of the common schools therein : and the parents, guardians 
or other persons ha^^ng the custody or care of such children shall not be liable to' any tax, 
assessment or imposition for the tuition of any children other than is hereinbefore pro- 
vided. 

§ 36. The free academy in the city of New York shall be entitled to participate in the dis- 
tribution of the income of the literature and other funds, in the same manner and upon 
the same conditions as the other academies of the State and the Regents of the University 
of the State of New York shall pay annually to the board of education of the city and 
county of New York the distributive share of the said funds to which the said free academy 
§hall by law be entitled, and which shall be applied and expended for library books for the 
gaid free academy. 

§ 37. The clerk of the board of education is hereby authorized to admmister oaths and take 
affidavits in all matters appertaining to the schools in the city and county of New York, and 
for that purpose shall possess all the powers of a commissioner of deeds, but shall not be 
entitled to any of the fees or emoluments thereof. 

§ ;iS. No school officer shall be interested in any contract, pajmients under which are to be 
made in whole or in part out of moneys derived from the school fund or raised by taxation 
for the support of common schools. No teacher employed in any of the schools entitled to 
participate in the apportionment of the school moneys shall hereafter be eligible to the 
office of commissioner, inspector or trustee of common schools. 

§ 39. The superintendent of school buildings shall take and subscribe before the clerk of 
the board of education thi^ oath prescribed by the Constitution of this State, and give such 
securitv for the faithful performance of the duties of his office as the board of education 
mav direct ; and the department under his charge shall be subject to such rules and regula- 
tions as the said board may establish, one of w hich shall prohibit the performance by bira 
of any work on other account similar to that performed under the regulations so estab-- 

§ 40.* The act entitled " An act to extend to the city and county of New York the provis- 
ions of the general act in relation to common schools," passed April 11, 1S42, and au act 



City of New York. 5951 

amending the same passed April 18th, 1843, and an act entitled " An act more effectnally to 
provide lor common school education in the city and county of Mew York," passed May 7th, 
1844, and the several acts amending the same, passed respectively on May lllh, 1847, March 
2~th, 1848, April 11th, 1849, and the act authorizing the board of education of the city of New 
York to establish evening schools for the education of apprentices and others, passed 
March ioth, 1848, and an act authorizing the board of education of the city and county of 
New York to establish a free academy in said city, passed May 7th, 1847. and all other act8 
and parts of acts inconsistent with or repugnant to the provisions of this act, are hereby 
repealed. 

[Laivs of 1853, Chap. 217.] 

[The only sections of this act which relate to public instruction are the following :] 
§ 1(5. All the ordinary appropriations made for the support and the government of the 
almshouse department shall, before the same are finally made, be submitted by the gov- 
ernors of the almshouse to a board of commissioners, consisting of the mayor, recorder, 
comptroller, the president of the board of aldermen. and the president of the board of coun- 
cilmen ; if the said commissioners approve of the appropriation, they shall immediately 
report the same to the board of supervisors ; if they shall disapprove of the same, they 
shall return them with their objections, to the governors of the almshouse for reconsider- 
ation : and in case the said governors '-.hall upon a reconsideration adhere by a vote of two- 
thirds of all the governors then in office to the original appropriations, they shall return 
them to the commissioners, whose duty it shall be to report to the board of supervisors. 

§ 17. The board of education shall also submit in like manner all appropriations required 
by them to the commissioners named in the last preceding section, and said appropriations 
shall be subject to all the provisions of said section, so far as the same may be applicable. 

[Laws of 1853, chap. 301.] 

Section 1. The public school society of the city of New York shall, on or before the 
first day of September, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, convey and transfer, according to 
this act, by deed to be approved by the counsel to the corporation of said city, all their 
corporate property to the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, sub- 
ject to all liens and incumbrances thereon and the debts of said society ; and thereupon the 
said property shall belong to the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty, in the same manner 
as the school property now used and occupied by the ward schools belongs to the said mayor, 
aldermen and commonalty : and the schools of the public school society shall be ward 
schools, subject to the same control, and enjoy the same rights and privileges, as if origi- 
nally organized as ward schools ; but such portions of the property aforesaid as have been 
granted to the public school society, subject to the trust that the same shall be devoted to 
the purposes of common schools, shall be held subject to such trust, and the premises now 
known as trustees' hall, situated at the corner of Grand and Elm streets, shall be used and 
occupied by the board of education, as long as they may think advisable, for the meetings 
and business thereof, and for such educational purposes as the said board may direct ; and 
the residue of the property aforesaid shall be conveyed for the purpose^ of common schools, 
in the same manner as the property purchased by the authority of the board of education 
for the purpose aforesaid. 

§ 2. The nublic school society shall, at the time of such conveyance, make a detailed 
statement of all their property, real and personal, and of all their debts of every description 
existing at the time of such conveyance, which shall be certified as a full, just and true 
statement of all such property and debts by their president, treasurer and secretary, and 
shall deliver one copy thereof, so certified, to the comptroller of the city of New York, 
and the other copy, so certified, to the clerk of the city and county of New York, for the use of 
the board of supervisors of the city and county of New York ; and the said board of super- 
visors shall thereupon proceed to audit and determine the amount of all the debts of the 
said society, and shall cause the same to be certified and filed with the said comptroller. 

§ 3. Upon the amount of the debts of the said society being so certified and filed, it shall 
be lawful for the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and it shall be 
their duty, to raise by loan, a sum not exceeding the amount of the debt so certified and 
filed, by the creation of a public fund or stock, to be called '' the public education stock of 
the city of New York, of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three,'' which shall 
bear an interest of five per cent per annum, and which shall be redeemable at a period of 
time not more than twenty years from the passage of this act. The said maj^or, aldermen 
and commonalty shall determine of what number of shares the said stock shall consist; 
and the said stock shall be disposed of by public competition, under the direction of the 
commissioners of the sinking fund of the city of New York. The moneys raised by virtue 
of this act shall be applied for the purpose of paying and discharging all the said debts ; any 
defici'-incy, by reason of interest accruing on the said debts, after the same are so certified 
and filed, shall be paid by the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty out of the city 
treasury: and any excess, by reason of the said stock being disposed of at a premium, shall 
be held" as a part of the sinking fund hereinafter provided. 

§ 4. The board of supervisors shall, yearly and every year until the said stock shall be 
wholly redeemed and paid off, order and cause to be raised by tax, on the estate, real and 
personal, of the freeholders and inhabitants of and situated within the said city and county, 
and to be collected according to law, a sum of money sufficient to pay the interest on the 
eaid stock as the same falls due, and to pay and discharge the principal by the time the 

15 



594 City of New Yoek. 

same shall be payable. All of which moneys, so to be raised, shall be iii^der the manage- 
ment and coi'trol of the commissioners of the pinking fund of the city of New York ; and 
all such moneys, so to be raised, are hereby inviolably pledged to pay the interest and redeem 
the principal of the said stock. 

§ 5. The public school society may, immediately after so conveying all their corporate prop- 
erty, appoint fifteen, from the then trustees of said society, to be commissioners of common 
schools for the city of New York and members of the board of education, designating the 
ward for which each person is appointed — and not more than one for any one ward — who 
shall hold their offlces till the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five ; 
and the said public school society may also at the same time appoint, from among their own 
trustees, three trustees of common schools for each ward of said city in which one or more 
of the schools of said society are now established, designating the ward for which each 
person is appointed ; and the said trustees so appointed shall be so designated, in the certifi- 
cate of appointment, that one shall serve until January first, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, 
one till January first, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, and one until January first, eighteen 
hundred and fifty-seven. The said appointments ?hall be made by a certificate signed by 
the officers of said society, and filed with the clerk of the board of education ; and the said 
commissioners and trustees so appointed shall have the same rights and powers, and be 
subject TO the same liabilities and duties, as other commissioners and trustees of common 
schools in said city, except that they need not reside in the wards for which they are 
appointed. Any vacancy occurring in the office of any such commissioner or trustee shall 
be filled in the same manner as vacancies m school offices are now filled. 

§ 6. As soon as the said public school society shall have conveyed all their corporate 
property, and made and filed the statements, and made and filed the appointments of com- 
missioners and trustees provided for in the previous sections of this act. the corporate 
powers and the existence of the said public school soci(^ty shall cease, and their schools be 
merged in the system of public instruction provided by the act entitled "An act to amend, 
consolidate and reduce to one act the various acts relative to the common schools of the 
city of New York," passed July third, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, so as to be and 
remain, pursuant to ihe provisions of this act, an integral portion thereof, and then a.nd 
thereby the said society shall be dissolved ; and then, and from thenceforth, the common 
schools of the city of New York shall be numbered consecutively by the board of education. 

[Sections seven to fifteen of this act are solely amendatory of the act of 1851, and the 
amendments they prescribe are embodied in that act.] 

§ 16. This act shall take effect immediately, except that sections three, four, thirteen and 
fifteen shall not take effect until the said public school society have conveyed their property, 
and made and furnished a list thereof, and of their debts, and made and filed the certificate 
of appointment provided for by this act, but shall take effect immediately thereafter. 

[Laws of 1854, chap. 207'.] 

§ 2. All the trusts and estates held by or vested in the public school society of the city of 
New York, as organized and existing previous to its several acts, in compliance with the 
provisions of the act entitled " An act relative to common schools in the city of New York," 
passed the fourth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, which have not 
been conveyed by the society, and all the rights, powers and duties of the said society 
which yet remain therein, shall continue and be vested in the board of education of the city of 
New York, which board is and shall be held to be the lawful successors of the said society in 
the execution of every trust ; and the corporate existence of the said society is hereby merged 
in the said board; and the persons appointed by the said society as commissioners and 
trustees of common schools, under and by virtue of the said act, shall, during the terms for 
which they were respectively appointed, have and possess all the rights and powers, and be 
sub.iect to all the liabilities and duties, of the offices to which they were so appointed, as 
fully and completely as they would or could if the said society had fully complied with all 
the provisions of the said act. 

§3. The commissioners referred to in the seventeenth section of the act entitled "An 
act further to amend the charter of the city of New York," passed the tAvelfth day of April, 
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, shall approve of and report to the board of 
supervisors all appropriations submitted to the said commissioners by the board of educa- 
tion, within twenty days after such submission is made, by the delivery of a statement of 
the appropriations required by the board of education to the comptroller, who shall 
immediately convene the said commissioners to consider the same ; or else the said com- 
missioners shall, within the said twenty days, return and file the same, with their objections, 
in the office of the clerk of the board of education; and the provisions of the said act shall 
cease to operate upon or affect, from and after the expiration of the said twenty days, any 
appropriation in respect to which the said commissioners shall have omitted to take such 
action ; or any appropriation to which the board of education, upon a reconsideration pur- 
suant to said act. shall have adhered by the requisite vote of two-thirds, which the said 
commissioners shall omit to report within ten days after the return thereof to them, to the 
board of supervisors. And the provisions of the said act shall apply to such only of the 
appropriations required by the board of education as are required by law to be acted upon 
by the board of supervisors. 

[Chap. 351, Laivs of 1864, p. 822.] 

[The first ten sections of this act are substituted for the first section of cnapter 386, Lawa 
of 1851^ which is repealed by section eleven.] 



City of New York. 595 

Section 1. The city of New York is hereby divided into seven school districts, as follows: 

First district, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth nnd eighth wards ; second district, 
seventh, tenth, thirteenth and fourteenth wards ; tliird district, ninth a)id sixteenth wards; 
fourth district, eleventh and seventeenth wards; fifth district, fifteenth and eighteenth 
wards ; sixth district, twentieth and twenty-first wards ; seventh district, twelfth, nineteenth 
and twenty-second wards. 

§ 2. At every charter clc tion in the said city, there shall be elected in each school district 
one commissioner of common schools, wiio'shall take office on the first day of January- 
next after his election, and hold ofi^ice for the term of three years : and there shall also be 
elected in each ward one trustee of common schools, who shall take office on the first day 
of January next after his election, and liold office for the term of five years ; and uo school 
officer shall hereafter be elected or appointed in the said city except as provided by this 
att. and no person shall at the same time hold more than one school office. 

§ 3. On the second Wednesday of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six. the 
mayor of the city shall nominate to the board of education one person for each school 
district, as a commissioner of common schools, and the said board shall appoint or reject 
each of the persons so nominated. If any of them shall be rejected, the mayor shall make 
a new nomination, and shall continue to nominate until seven shall be appointed by the 
board. The persons so appointed shall hold oflice until the first day of Jamiarj'^ one thou- 
sand eight hundred and sixty-seven. 

§ 4. On the third Wednesday iu November in every j'ear. the mayor of the city shall nominate 
to the board of education one person for each school district, as an inspector of common 
schools in the district, for the term of three years, from and after the first day of January 
tiien next. The board of education shall, on the first Wednesday in December, vote by 
yeas and nays upon the appointment of each of the persons nominated ; and every person 
who shall receive the affirmative votes of a majority of the whole board, shall be appointed. 
If any of the persons so nominated shall fail to receive the votes of a majority of the whole 
board, the ma}-or shall make a new nomination, and shall continue to nominate, until an 
appointment shall be made for each district, in the manner and for the term prescribed iu 
this section. 

§ 5. If, on the second Wednesday in January next, there shall be in any school district 
more than two inspectors of common schools in office by popular election, the board of 
education shall select two of them, and such of the said inspectors as are not selected shall 
immediately cease to hold office. After such reduction iu the number of inspectors has 
been made, the board of education shall select by lot one of tlie two inspectors in each 
district, in office by popular election, and the inspector selected ^hall be an inspector for 
tlie district, and shall hold office until the expiratum of the term for which he was elected, 
and the inspector not selected shall cease to hold office unless ihe board of education shall 
appoint him an inspector for the district, in which case he shall hold office until the thirty- 
first day of December, one thousand eiuht hundred and sixty-six. 

§ 6. Vacancies in school offices shall be filled as follows : 'if there shall be less than three 
commissioners or three ini?pectors in any district, every vacancy shall be filled in the case 
of a commissioner until the same can be filled at a charter election, and in the case of an 
inspector for the unexpired portion of the term in which the vacancy exists, in the manner 
provided by this act for the appointment of inspectors ; and if there shall be less than five 
trustees iu any ward, every vacancy shall be filled by the mayor and a majority of the 
inspectors of the district in which the ward is included, until tlie same can be filled at a 
charter election. Every vacancy in the office of a commissioner or trustee, occurring more 
than ten days previous to any charter election, shall be filled at the next charter election for 
the unexpired portion of the term in which the vacancy exists. 

§ 7. The elections held by virtue of this act shall be subject to the same laws and regula- 
tions iu all respects, so far as the same may be applicable, as those which govern the charter 
elections in said city ; but the ballots for school officers shall be indorsed '• school officers 
number ," and deposited in a separate box. Every person voted for to fill a vacancy in 
a school office shall be designated in the ballot by the words, " to fill a vacancy," written or 
printed immediately over nis name, or if there be more than one vacancy to be filled, the 
persons to be voted for shall respectively be designated by the words '"to fill vacancy of 
years." 

§ 8. Every school officer shall at the time of his election or appointment be a resident of: 
the district or ward for which he is elected or appointed, and every trustee removing from 
the ward for which he is elected, or appointed, and every school officer removing from the- 
city, shall thereby vacate his office. 

§ 9. The board of education shall be judges of the election and qualification of it* 
members. 

§ 10. Every person elected or appointed to a school office in said city shall, before enter- 
ing on the duties of his office, and within fifteen days after the commencement of the terra 
for which he is elected, or from the time of being notified of his appointment to fill a 
vacancy, take and subscribe before the clerk of the board of education, the oath of office 
prescribed by the Constitution of this State; and the school office to which any person, who 
ehall omit to take the said oath, within the time and in the manner above prescribed, may 
have been elected or appointed, shall be vacant, at and from the expiration of the said fifteen 
days. 

§ 11. The first section of an act entitled " an act to amend, consolidate, and reduce to one 
act the various acts relative to the common schools in the city of New York," passed July 
3, 1851, and so much of all other acts heretofore passed as is arnendalory of the said section, 
are hereby repealed ; but this section shall not aflfect the continuance in office of the present 
echool officers, nor their powers or duties. 



696 Ogdensburgh. 

§ 12. The schools in the several wards shall he classified as grammar, primary and evening 
Bchools, and teachers for the said schools shall he appointed as follows: Principals and vice- 
principals by the board of education, upon the written nomination of a majority of the 
trustees of the ward, stating that the nomination was agreed to at a 'meeting of the board 
of trustees, at which a majority of the whole number in office were present. Other teach- 
ers, and also janitors, shall be appointed by a majority of the trustees for the ward, or a 
majority of the inspectors for the district. The board of trustees for the ward, by the vote 
of a majority of the whole number of trustees in office, may also remove teachers 'employed 
therein, other than principals and vice-principals, and may also remove janitors, provided 
the removal is approved in writing by a majority of the inspectors for the district; and 
provided further, that any teacher so removed shall have a right to appeal to the board of 
education, under such rules as it may prel^cribe. and the said board shall have power, after 
hearing the answer of the trustees, to reinstate the teacher. * 

§ 20.^The commissioners, inspectors and trustees elected or appointed in pursuance of the 
provisions of this act, shall respectively possess and exercise the powers and duties which 
the commissioners, inspectors and trustees of common schools now lawfully possess and 
exercise, except as herein otherwise provided. 

[ Chap. 264, Laws of 1866, p. 560.] 

THE FREE ACADEMY ERECTED INTO A COLLEGE. 

Section 1. The free academy in the city of New York, heretofore established under the 
authority of law by the board "of education of the city and county of New York, and now 
under the supervision, management and government of the said board of education, shall 
henceforth be a separate and distinct organization and body corporate, and he known as 
" the college of the city of New York," and as such shall have the powers and privileges of 
a college, pursuant to the Revised Statutes of this State, and be subject to the provisions 
of the said statutes relative to colleges, and to the visitation of the Regents of the Uni- 
versity, in like manner with the other colleges of the State, 

§ 2. The members of the said board of education shall be ex-officio the trustees of the said 
college, and shall have and possess the powers and be subject to the duties required of the 
trustees of colleges by the Revised Statutes. 

§ 3. All acts of the legislature now in force in regard to the said free academy, and to its 
control, management, support and aifairs, and which are not inconsistent with the foregoing 
provisions of this act, shall continue in force, and are hereby declared to be applicable to 
the college hereby incorporated as aforesaid. 

[ Chap. 637, Laws of 1866, p. 1374, vol. 2.] 

PROVISION FOR SUPPORT OF COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 

Section 1. The trustees of the college of the city of New York shall annually, on or 
before the fifteenth day of November, report to the board of supervisors of the county of 
New York, such sum, not exceeding one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars in any 
one year, as they may require for the payment of the salaries of the professors and officers 
of the said college, for obtaining and furnishing scie^nific apparatus, books for the library 
and students, and all other supplies therefor, for repairing and altering the college buildings 
and for the support, maintenance and general expenses of said college : and the said board 
of supervisors of the county of New York are hereby authorized and directed in each and 
every year, to raise and collect by tax on the estate, real and personal, liable to taxation in 
such county, such sum of money, not exceeding the amount aforesaid, as may be reported 
to them by said trustees; the amount so to be raised and collected to be in addition to the 
sums required for the purposes of common schools in the city of New York, under the act 
entitled '• An act to amend, consolidate and reduce to one act the various acts of the city of 
New York relative to common schools," passed July third, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, 
and the various acts amendatory thereof. And the said board of supervisors are required 
and directed to raise and collect, in the manner aforesaid, for the trustees of said college, in 
the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six. the sum of one hundred and twenty-five 
thousiind dollars for the uses and purposes aforesaid. 

§ 2. It shall be the duty of the trustees hereinbefore named, to select a suitable site upon 
the lands of the corporation of the city of New York, north of Fortieth street in said city, 
for the future use of the college of the city of New York, and notify the commissioner of 
the sinking fund of such selection, and such site shall not be sold, leased or otherwise 
incumbered unless such disposition thereof is expressly authorized by some law hereafter 
passed. 



OGDENSBURGH. 

[Chap. 382, Laws of 1857, p. 96, wl. 1.] 

Section 1. All that territory comprised within the corporation limits of the village of 
Ogdensburgh, lying in the town of Oswesratchie. and those parts of school districts numbers 
one and twenty-one, of the town of Oswegatchie. lying without the said corporation limits, 
are hereby consolidated and organized into one school district, subject to the control. of a 
board of education as hereinafter provided. 



Ogdensburgh. 697 

§ 2. The district hereby organized uhall participate in the distribution of the school 
moneys and library money, in the same manner as other school districts. Whenever the 
board of education shall be organized under this act, the amount to which the district shall 
be entitled from the moneys distributed by the State, shall be paid over to the treasurer of 
the village of Ogdensburgh, subject to the orders of the said board of education. The 
amount to which said district shall be entitled for the year eighteen hundred and tilty-eeven 
thall be determined by the t^chool commissioners of the county of St. Lawrence, and the 
supervisor of the town of Oswegatchie shall pay the amount so determined to the rrea?- 
urer of s^aid village, upon the order of said t^chool commissioners. 

§ 3. The supervisor and town clerk, together with three of the justices of the peace of 
the town of Oswegatchie, shall, on or before the first day of May, eighteen hundred and 
fifty-seven, meet and divide the moneys derived from the sale of the school lot in said town, 
between the school district hereby organized, and the remainder of said towns in propor- 
tion to the number of persons between four and twenty-one years of age, residing in the 
paid village district and tlie said remainder; they shall also at the same time estiriiate and 
determine the value of the interet^t of the town of Oswegatchie, exclusive of the interest 
of the village of Ogdensburgh in the academy building and grounds ; they shall deduct the 
value of the interest of said town in such academy buildings and grounds from the share of 
the moneys derived from the sale of the school lot which would fall to the said district by 
this act organized ; and shall make and subscribe a record of such division, estimate and 
deduction, and the result thereof; one copy of which shall be filed with the town cleik, and 
another with the village clerk. Such acts, when completed, shall divest said town, except the 
village ot Ogdensburgh, of all interest in Ogdensburgh academy buildings and grounds. 
That portion of the said moneys arising from the sale of the schooflot remaining to this dis- 
trict shall be subject to the control of the board of education, within the provisions of 
this act. 

S 4. On the second Wednesday of May, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, the electors of 
said village, in the same manner as the charter elections are held, shall meet and choose 
nine of their number as school commissioners, who, when organized as hereinafter provided, 
ehall constitute the said board of education. Within eight daj^s after notice of their election, 
they shall take the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution and file the same with the 
village clerk: within ten days after their election, the persons so chosen and qualified shall 
meet and by lor arrange themselves into three equal classes, and class number one shall 
continue in office for one year, class number two for two years, and class number three for 
three years ; provided, however, that no term of office shall expire until a successor is 
chosen and qualified ; and on the same day in each year thereafter three persons shall be 
chosen as school commissioners for the term of three years. Any person so elected or 
appointed to such office for neglect or refusal to serve without cause sliall forfeit twenty 
dollars, to be sued for, collected and applied as other penalties provided for in this act. 

§ 5. One of said commissioners shall be selected by a majority of their number as presi- 
dent of the said board of education, which office shall continue for one year; the president 
shall preside, when present, at all meetings of the board. 

§ 6. The village clerk shall be ex-officio clerk of the board of education ; he shall attend 
its meetings, make, engross and keep in a book provided for that purpose a record of all 
the doings, votes and reports of said board. 

§ 7. The board of education may elect any person not a member of their own body super- 
intendent of schools, who, in addition to such other duties as may be devolved upon hira 
by said board, shall visit and supervise the schools in said village, examine into and deter- 
mine the qualifications of all teachers and grant certificates to such as are qualified as aro 
now granted by school commissioners, but which shall be valid for only one year, and may 
be revoked for cause by himself or by resolution of said board; he shall make out all annual 
and other reports touching the condition of the schools and all matters connected therewith. 
The terra of office of such village superintendent shall be three years ; his salary shall be 
fixed by the board of education, and be a charge upon said village of Ogdensburgh. 

§ 8. In case of a vacancy in the said board of education, by refusal to serve or otherwise, 
the said board may supply the same by appointment until the next annual election, when 
a commissioner shall be chosen for the remainder of the unexpired term. 

§ 9. The treasurer of the village of Ogdensburgh shall be ex-offlcio treasurer of the board 
of education ; he shall receive all school moneys, and keep the same under the respective 
heads of *' teachersVfand," ''general fund," " special fund," and *•' academy fund," to which 
such moneys shall belong, to the credit of the board of education of the village of Ogdens- 
burgh ; he shall pay out the same only on the warrant of said board, in favor of the person 
entitled to receive it, signed by the president and clerk ; he shall report on the first day of 
each month, to said board, the receipts of all moneys since his previous report, from what 
source and to which fund, the sums paid out, from 'which fund and to whose order, and the 
balance of each fund remaining on hand, with any general information specially required 
in writing by said board ; he shall give bonds for the faithful performance of his duties in 
this office in a sum not less than double the amount of moneys to come to his hands; the 
form, amount and sufficiency of the securities to be fixed and approved by said board of 
education, and he shall renew the same as often and whenever said board by resolution 
shall require. 

§ 10. The board of education shall be a body corporate in relation to their powers and 
duties under this act ; five shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except 
that when the question involves the appointment of school superintendent, or the 
removal of such superintendent or any teacher, the raising of money or the expenditure 
of over one hundred dollars, the assent of a majority of the whole board shall be requisite, 
and all questions shall be taken by ayes and nays, and the votes made a matter on record ; 



698 Ogdensburgh. 

any member of said 'board of education, or any officer, superintendent or teacher appointed 
by it, may be removed for cause, after five dayV notice, by resjolution of said board. 

§ 11. Tlie members of said board of education shall not receive any compensation for 
their services as such, but shall be repaid all actual disbursements incurred by them as such 
officers, nor shall they be interested as principal, partner or surety, in any contract con- 
nected \vith the schools or institute under the charge or said board, nor in the making, 
erecting, furnishing or supplying any thing whatever for the use of or connected therewith. 
Neither the superintendent nor any teacher iu the schools organized under this act, nor any 
member of the board of village trustees, clerk, treasurer or collector, of said village, shall 
be eligible to the office of school commissioner. 

§ 12. The trustees of the village of Ogdensburgh shall provide for the said board of edu- 
cation a suitable room in which to hold their meetings, together with the proper and 
necessary furniture, stationery, fuel, lights, and books lor record ; said board shall meet as 
often as once iu each month lor the transaction of business, and special meetings may be 
called by the president or any three members of the board. 

§ 13. The said board of education, when organized as herein provided, shall be and they 
are hereby invested with full and perlect title to all sites, lands, buildings and all and every 
other property belonging or pertaining to the school districts within the bounds of the 
district hereby organized, and of the Oydeusburgh academy, to be kept and used for school 
purposes, except as hereinafter provided, and said board of education is hereby authorized 
and empowered to take and hold any and all real and persoral estate or other things by 
grant, gift, devise, bequest, for the use of the schools or institute under its charge, and 
to use the same or sell and apply the proceeds as shall in its judgment best carry out the 
instructions of the donors, or subserve the interests of the schools. 

§ 14. Within ten days after notice of an organization of the board of education, the 
trustees of the several districts hereby consolidated shall make, execute and deliver to 
the said board, a deed in fee simple of 'all lauds, sites, buildings or fixtures owned or pos- 
sessed by said districts, and shall also deliver to said board all school furniture and any and 
all school property, belonging to or connected with said school districts, and also all school 
moneys in hand or uncollected, and all tax and rate bills uncollected, and at the same time 
report to said board an annual statement of all indebtedness of their respective districts, 
insurance, teachers employed, their names, compensation and period of contract. 

§ 15. The said board of education shall, within thirty days after receiving the reports 
required by section fourteen, from the trustees of said school districts, ascertain the amount 
of the indebtedness of each district, after the application of all its available means, and 
certify the same to the board of village trustees; they shall also, within the same time, 
determine what improvements and alterations are necessary in the school-houses, and the 
cost of the same beyond any funds applicable to 'such purpose, and certify the same to said 
trustees ; and the said board of village trustees shall assess such several sums on all the 
taxable property in each of the respective districts where the money is to be used, and 
collect the same along with the first village tax collected therealter, and place the same 
to the credit of the board of education with the village treasurer. 

§ 16. All the taxable property within the bounds of" the district hereby organized shall be 
liable to taxation under this act ; and taxes shall be apportioned upon the property within 
the corporation according to the valuation in the last village assessment roll, and upon 
property lying without the village corporation, according to the valuation to be fixed by the 
village assessors, which they shall each year ascertain and assess as they do other property, 
and attach at the end of the village roll. 

§ 17 On or before the fifteenth day of June next, and on or before the first day of May in 
each year thereafter, the board of education shall determine and certify to the trustees of 
the village of Ogdensburgh the amount of money over and above all other funds in hand 
applicable to that purpose, required for teachers' wages for the year commencing on the 
first day of April ; and said board shall at the same time determine and certify to the said 
village trustees what sum of money, exclusive of any applicable to such purposes, is neces- 
eai-y and requisite to defray for the year the expenses for fuel, books for indigent scholars, 
Bchool furniture and apparatus, insurance, leasing additional school rooms, repairs of 
houses, out-houses, fences and other expenses ordinarily incident to the maintenance 
of such schools : and the said trustees shall cau-e to be assessed the several sums of money 
go certified, on the taxable property and corporations within the district hereby organized, 
and collect the same along with the first village tax thereafter collected ; which sums shall 
be placed with the village' treasurer to the credit of the board of education, the first sum to 
the '-teachers' fund," and the other sum to the "general fund," provided, however, in no 
case shall the assessment for these two purposes, in any one year, exceed twenty-five cents 
on the one hundred dollars, on the property valuation of the said assessment rolls liable for 
Baid tax : and warrants to collect a greater sum shall be void. Whenever the aforementioned 
assessments are valid, if for any reason the collector is unable to collect the full amount 
of his warrant, the trastees shall supply auy deficiency to these two funds, provided for by 
this section, out of any moneys which may come into the village treasury, and shall deposit 
the same as above provided. [As amended by chapter .58, Laws of 1866, jp. 96, xol. 1.] 

§ 18. The common schools hereafter to be maintained and kept in the district hereby 
organized, shall be free to all inhabitants of the districi over four years of age The super- 
intendent and village clerk are hereby authorized to administer oaths and take affidavits in 
all matters pertaining to the schools and institute provided for by this act, which shall have 
the same validity as if performed by a justice of the peace, but shall not be entitled to any 
fee or remuneration therefor. 

§ 19. The trustees of the Ogdensburgh academy shall, at the time specified in section 
fourteen, make, execute and deliver to the board of education, a deed in lee simiple of the 



Ogdensbuegh. 599 

Ogdensburfjh academy and grounds, and also deliver over to said board all property of what- 
ever kind or nature pertaining to said academy, with a report of all indebtedness, the 
names and compensation of its teachers and the time for which employed. 

§ "20. The board of education shall, at the same time they make their certificates, as pro- 
vided by section fifteen, determine what alterations or repairs to fit the academy building 
for the purposes of an institute, and furnish it, over and above all means at their dispossu 
for such purpose ; and if they shall elect to fit up and furnish it, thej- shall certify the sum 
eo required, to the board of trustees, who shall assess the same upon the taxable property 
within the district hereby organized, and cause the same to be collected along with the next 
village tax, and paid over, as other sums, to the academy fund. 

§ 21. As soon as practicable, after the necessary buildings are prepared, the board of 
education shall organize an institution to be designated fhe '* Ogdensburgh educational 
institute," which said institute shall be entitled to participate in the distribution of the 
incom.e of the literature and other funds, as do the other academies of the iState ; and 
the Regents of the University shall pay annually to the board of education of said institute 
a distributive share of such funds; said institute shall be subject to the restriction and 
control of said Regents, in like manner as other incorporated academies. The said insti- 
tute is hereby invested with all the rights of the Ogdensburgh academy, to any revenues 
derived from ferry licenses or other sources. 

§ 22. Whenever the board of education shall deem the erection of additional school-houses 
necessary for the common schools, or new and additional edifices for the educational insti- 
tute, they shall determine the kind of house or edifice, the sum required to erect the same, 
purchase the site and furnish the appurtenances, specifying the cost of each separately, and 
certify the same to the board of trustees; the board of trustees shall cause the application 
and specifications to be advertised for four weeks, in two of the newspapers published in 
Baid village, immediately preceding the next annual election for school commissioners ; at 
such election the village trustee shall provide a box for ballots, labeled •' schools," and also 
ballots which shall be headed "schools," on which shall be written or printed, '" for the 
school tax," and others so headed on which shall be written or printed, "against the school 
tax; " if more than one proposition is submitted at the same time, separate boxes shall be 
prepared, each so labeled as to designate its proper object, thus : " schools," " appropriation 
for institute," "schools," "appropriation for school-houses"; and the ballots shall be so 
headed, and shall be in other respects as herein previously provided : and the inhabitants 
of said district, hereby organized, entitled, under the present charter of the village of 
Ogdensburgh, to vote for village special t ix, shall decide by ballot for or against such appro- 
priation ; if a majority of such voters declare for any such appropriation, the trustees shall 
assess the same upon all the taxable property in said district, hereby organized, and direct 
its collection with the next village tax ; and whi'U collected to be paid over to the credit of 
the "special lund " ; provided, however, the board of village trustees may have the discre- 
tionary powers now devolved on school districts, to apportion said tax for two or more years, 
up to four: and when so apportioned the board of education shall be authorized to borrow 
money on the credit of said tax. 

§ 23. All moneys raised, received or in anywise belonging to the institute, or to the schools 
or district hereby organized, shall be under the control of the board of education; but no 
moneys raised for a specific or particular purpose shall be applied to or used for any other 
purpose. Said board of education is hereby prohibited from contracting debts for any pur- 
pose whatever; and the lands, sites, buildin<js and personal property" belonging to said 
institute or schools, or used or kept for school purposes, shall be forever exempt from taxa- 
tion, and from levy and sale on execution. 

§ 24. The libraries of the several school districts hereby consolidated shall be subject to 
the control and direction of the said board of education ; they shall provide for their safe 
keeping ; may keep separate or consolidate them into one or more school libraries, dispose 
of any duplicates or unsuitable volumes, and apply the proceeds, together with the library 
money arising from the common school fund, to the purchase of new books. 

§ 25. The board of education may prescribe the form requisite to admission in the educa- 
tional institute, the studies to be pursued there, and the text books to be used ; may fix the 
rate of charge for tuition, which to the children of actual residents shall not be less than two 
dollars and fifty cents per term of not exceeding fifteen weeks, for all English branches, and 
four dollars for the other branches, except music ; they may demand tuition bills in advance, 
and may exempt indigent persons in whole or a part, and may also divide the institute into 
male and female departments. The said institute, when so organized, shall be subject to 
the same right of visitation and control from the Board of Regents as are other academies 
of the State 

§ 26. The board of education shall have full power, and it shall be their duty: 

1. To organize as many common schools in the village as shall be necessary for the 
accommodation of those who attend, and change, consolidate and discontinue the 
same : 

2. To lease school rooms and furnish the same, to sell or exchange the present academy 
buildings and grounds, upon a vote of a majority of all the members of said board ; and, 
when authorized, as herein provided, to purchase sites and erect school-houses and 
Institutes ; 

3. 'I'o provide books and stationery for indigent scholars, and all necessary instruments 
and apparatus for the institute and schools ; 

4. To prescribe the course therein in the schools, the text books to be used therein, and 
to do such other acts as will best promote the efficiency and utility of the same ; 

5. To make rules and regulations for the protection of the buildings, furniture and grounds 
pertaining to the said institute and schools : 



600 Onondaga. 

6. To employ teachers and pay the same ; to make rules and regulations for the reception 
of pupils, or their exclusion from schools, or their transfer from one school to another— not 
inconsistent with the jjeneral law — securing the freedom of schools to all pupils residing in 
the district, and to amend or repeal the same or to make others ; 

7. To sue for and collect, in their corporate name, all penalties prescribed or authorized 
by this act. and for all destruction of or injury to any school property ; , 

8. To effect insurance on any or all school property ; 

9. To make the reports required by law to the school commissioners and Board of 
Eei^ents : 

10. To employ a suitable and competent person to take the census of persons within said 
district, over four and under twenty-one years of age, and pay him therefor; 

11. To cause to be prepared and presented to the board of trustees, between the first and 
fifteenth days of April in each year, a full report of all the acts of said board, wherein shall 
be set forth the number, kind and grade of schools kept ; the number of scholars, time each 
has attended, and studies pursued ; the number of teachers employed, and compensation to 
each ; the money received, from what sources derived, the amount disbursed, and how 
expended, and what sums remaining on hand in each fund ; and any other matters con- 
nected with the cost and operation 'of the schools and institute which they may deem 
proper ; and the board of trustees shall cause the same to be published two weeks previous 
to the annual election, in one of the newspapers published in said village. 

§ 27. The board of trustees shall cause this act to be published, together with such rule?, 
regulations, and bjMaws as shall be adopted by the beard of education ; and any copy of the 
same or either, duly certified by the clerk of said board under his hand and seal, shall be 
received as evidence in all courts of justice, with the same force and eifect as the originals 
if produced and duly proved. 

§ 28. The acts and decisions of the board of education, and of the superintendent of 
schools by them appointed, shall be subject to appeal in the same manner as appeals are 
taken from the acts of school trustees and school commissioi^^ers and from the trustees of 
the Ogdensburgh academy. 

§ 29. On the organization of the board of education, the office of " trustee of the Ogdens- 
burgh academy" and " trustee of school district " in the districts hereby consolidated and 
all other officers in said district shall terminate, except so far as to authorize them to per- 
form the duties imposed by sections fourteen and nineteen of this act. 

§ 30. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act ai-e hereby declared inoperative 
to the territory comprised within the district hereby organized. 

§ 31. The legislature may at any time, alter, amend, or repeal this act. 

[Chapter 166, Laws of 1865. authorized the raising of twenty cents on the dollar of valua- 
tion for the year beginning May 1, 1865.] 

ONONDAGA. 

[Chap. 839, Laws of 1866, p. 1897, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. All that territory embraced in school districts numbers seven and twenty-eight, 
in the town of Ononda<ra, county of Onondaga, is hereby consolidated and shall hereafter 
constitute one school district, and shall not be subject to altera ti(m except by the legisla- 
ture, or as hereinafter provided, to be known henceforth by the name of " Onondaga free 
school district." 

§ 2. George B. Clark, M. Roland Markham, James Longstreet, Ealph Chaffee, Thomas T. 
Clark, Richard R. Slocum, Nathaniel Bostwick, Cornell Crysler and Truman K. Fuller, are 
hereby appointed trustees of said district, to be divided by lot, at their first meeting, into 
three classes, to be numbered one, two and three, and to hold their offices as follows : Class 
number one until the first annual meeting, which shall be held on the second Tuesday in 
October, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven ; class number two until the next annual meeting 
thereafter ;' and at each annual meeting there shall be elected three trustees to supply the 
places of those whose terras of office shall expire ; and each of those elected at the annual 
meetings shall hold his office for three years, unless elected to fill a vacancy. If at any annual 
meeting there should be a failure to elect, those whose terms of office would expire shall 
hold their offices until others are elected in their stead. Notice of the annual or special 
meetings shall be given by posting the same in five public places in the said district, and 
publishing the same in a newspaper, if one shall be at the time printed in said district. 

§ 3. The trustees of said district and their successors in office shall constitute a '" board 
of education" for said school district, and for the purposes of this act, in addition to the 
duties of trustees, are hereby constituted a corporation by the name of "the board of edu- 
cation of the Onondaga free" school district:" and the said board of education shall have 
power to establish and organize a classical school in said district, to b« known by the name 
of the " Onondaga seminary :" and such classical school shall be entitled to share in the 
distribution of the literature fund upon the same terms as incorporated academies of this 
State ; and the Re<rents of the University shall recognize said seminary as such as soon as 
the required sum of money shall be expended in buildings and apparatus, and competent 
teachers are employed therein. 

§ 4. The board of education shall appoint one of their number president of the said board, 
who shall preside at the meetings of the said board when present, and when absent they 
shall appoint a president to perform the duties of president pro tempore; they shall also 
appoint one of their number secretary, who shall record all the acts, doings and resolutions 
ot said board, and in his absence a secretary pro tempore to discharge such duties ; they shall 



Onondaga. 601 

also appoint a collector, librarian and treasurer, who shall hold their respective offices, 
unless sooner removed, for one year from tlieir appointment, and until others are appointed 
in their places, unless sooner removed by said board. Such collector, librarian and treasurer 
ehall each, within ten days after notice in writing of their respective appointments, and 
before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, execute and deliver to said 
board of education, a bond in such penalty and with such sureties as said board may require, 
conditioned for the laithful discharge of their respective duties : and, unless such bond shall 
be executed and delivered within ten days after such notice, such office shall become vacant, 
and said board may fill such vacancy. 
§ 5. The said board of education shall have power: 

1. To pass such by-laws as they may deem proper for the regulation and exercise of their 
lawful business and powers, subject, however, to the approval of the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction ; 

2. To fill any vacancy Avhich may happen by reason of death, removal or refusal to serve of 
any member or officer of said board, or of the district ; and the person so appointed to fill 
Buch vacancy shall hold his office until the next election of trustees, as by this act pro- 
vided : 

3. To remove any member of their board, or any officer of their appointment, for official 
misconduct ; but a written copy of all charges for such misconduct shall be served upon 
him at least ten days before the time appointed for a hearing, and he shall be allowed a full 
and fair opportunity to refute such charges before removal; 

4. To take charge and possession of the school-houses, sites and lots, fttrniture, books, 
apparatus and all the school property within their district formerly owned by said consoli- 
dated districts, or either of them? or which may be acquired by said board under subsequent 
provisions of this act ; and the title of the same shall be vested in said board of education, 
and the same shall not be subject to taxation for any purpose whatever; 

5. To take and hold for the use of said schools, or any department of the same, any real 
estate transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, or any gift, legacy or annuity of 
whatever kind, given or bequeathed to the said board, and apply the same, or the interest 
or proceeds thereof, according to the instructions of the donor or testator; 

6. To receive into the said schools any pupils residing out of said district, and to regulate 
and establish the tuition fees of such non-resident pupils in the several departments of said 
schools and also those of scholars residing in the said district and attending the seminary, to 
regulate the transfer from the primary to the academical department, and from class to class 
of all scholars, as their degree of scholarship may warrant ; to direct what text books shall 
be used therein ; to provide fuel, furniture, apparatus and other necessaries for the use of said 
schools, and sue for and collect all debts and demands due to said district, in the corporate 
name of said board of education ; and all contracts made by the members of the said board 
in their official capacity shall be binding on them and their successors in office ; 

7. To contract with aiid employ all teachers in the several departments of the school, and 
for cause to remove them ; to pay the wages of such teachers out of the moneys appropriated 
for that purpose ; 

8. To possess all the power, privileges and immunities, and to be subject to all the duties 
in respect of the common schools, which the trustees of the common schools now possess 
and are now subject to, not inconsistent with this act, and to enjoy all the immunities and 
privileges now enjoyed by the academies of this State ; 

9. The board of education are hereby authorized to convey the titles of the old sites and 
school-houses, vested in them by subdivision five of this section, to the purchasers thereof, 
and also authorized and empowered to obtain by purchase, or by gift, grant or adoption, 
the grounds, buildings, apparatus, cabinet and all other school furniture and fixtures there- 
unto belonging, now known as the " Onondaga academy," and located within their district, 
provided tliat said academy, ground, buildings, library, apparatus and other school property 
connected therewith, can upon negotiation with the board of trustees of said academy be 
procured for a sum not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars, or the present indebtednesa 
of said academy ; and in case said academy, grounds, buildings, library, apparatus, and 
other property can be procured on the terms aforesaid, said board of education shall succeed 
to all the rights, titles, privileges, immunities and benefits, of every name and nature what- 
ever, which' now^ vest in or belong to said board of trustees as such, the same as if said 
academy had been adopted as the academical department of the free school of said district, 
under the general free school law of the State ; and said board of education &hall succeed 
to the charge and administration of all funds or endowments of said academy, which now 
exist, and are in the possession or subject to the supervision of the said board of trustees 
of said academy in their corporate or official capacity, and shall apply the Income or other 
part thereof exclusively to the support of said academy or the academical department of 
the free school of said district, strictly in accordance with the will or devise of the donors 
of said funds or endowment, the same as it is now applied by said board of trustees : and 
in reference to said funds or endowments of said academy, the said board of education 
shall succeed to and be clothed with all the powers and duties in relation thereto, and in 
the application thereof, which are now possessed by and devolved upon said board of trus- 
tees, by the terms or conditions of such bequests or endowments, as expressed in the gift 
or bestowal of the same ; and said board of trustees, by a majority vote of their number, 
are hereby empowered and enabled to transfer said academy, grounds, buildings, library, 
apparatus, and other property or endowments, together with all their rights "and titles 
thereto, to said board of education, and to vacate their offices in the same manner as if said 
academy liad been adopted by the said board of educatitm, under the provision of section 
twenty-four, title nine, chapter five hundred and fifty-five of the Session Laws of eighteen 
hundred and sixty-four. 

76 



602 Oraxgetown. 

§ 6. It shall be the dxity of i?aid board to have reference, in all their expenditures and 
contracts, to the amount of moueyi* which shall be appropriated or subject to their order or 
draft during the current year, and not exceed that amount: and the said board s^hall apply 
all the public moneys appropriated to the district, to the departments below the academical, 
and all moneys from the literature fund or otherwise appropriated for the academical depai't- 
ment to the academy or seminary. 

§ 7. The board of education shall cause to be levied and collected upon the taxable prop- 
erty of s:iid district, in the manner provided bj' law for the assessment and collection of 
school district taxes, a sum, which, together with the amount received from the apportion- 
ments made by the Superintendent of Public Instmctionand the scliool commissioners, shall 
be sufhcient to pay all teachers' and instructors' i^alaiies and wages. who are employed in said 
school. The fuel and other necessary contingent expenses of the school shall be raised by 
tax on the taxable property of said district, as is now provided for : and all warrants forthe 
collection of taxes in the said districts shall be issued under the hand and seal of the pres- 
ident and secretary or a majority of said board. The moneys received from the literature 
fund shall be applied to the support of the academical department : and the tuition fees of 
non-resident scholars in the primary departments may be applied in such manner as the 
board of education shall direct, either to the stipport oY the primary or academical depart- 
ments of said school. 

§ 8. All moneys raised in the said district for the purposes of the schools, and all the 
public school m'()ne3's received by such district from any'sourcej shall be paid to the treas- 
urer of the district, which shall be applied to the support of said school, according to the 
provisions of this act. 

§ 9. The taxable inhabitants of said district, at any annual, special or adjourned meeting 
legally held, may vote to raise a sum of money which they may deem expedient, not exceed- 
ing six thousand dollars, for the purpose of procuring suitable grounds and buildings for 
said schools in said district, and furnishing the same with necessary furniture, maps, globes, 
and other suitable apparatu<, and direct the trustees to cause the same to be levied and 
collected by tax upon the i-eal and personal estate in said district, which shall be liable to 
taxation for the ordinary taxes of town and county charges, and by such installments as-the 
legal voters may direct, and make out a tax for the same and interest thereon, as often as 
such installments shall become due. 

§ 10. The inhabitants of said district shall have no power to rescind the vote to raise such 
sum of money at any subsequent meeting, unless the same be done within ten days there- 
after ; nor shall they have power to reduce the same after the expiration of ten days from 
the time that such sum was first voted to be raised : but they may remit such stim'as may 
remain unappropriated after pajang for suitable grounds and buildings, and furnishing and 
improving the same. 

§ 11. The said board of education are hereby authorized to obtain by loan, the whole or 
any part of the monej' legally voted bj' the said district, and secure the payment of the same 
with interest, by their official bond. 

§ 12. In making out a tax list for the collection of taxes in said district, the valuation of 
taxable property shall be ascertained, so far as possible, from the last corrected assessment 
roll of the town of Onondaga. 

§ 13. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to sell at public 
auction to the highest bidder, the school-houses and sites belonging to said districts, by 
giving public notice, to be posted in five public places in said district, ten days previous 
to such sale ; and the proceeds of such sale shall be used toward procuring suitable 
groundij and buildings for the schools of said district or to such other purposes for the 
benefit of said schools»as the district may direct ; provided that the in-oceeds of the sale of 
the school-house and lot in the old district number twenty-eight, shall go so far in liquida- 
tion of any tax for school purposes, to be levied on the property of said old district, in case 
it should be found that the old district number seven has no title to its site and school- 
house longer than the same are used for school purposes. 

§ 14. The school commissioner of the school commissioner district in which the said district 
is located may, with the consent of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, alter said 
district b}^ setting otf any portion or part thereof to any adjoining district or by forming such 
portion or part into a new district, providing that two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants, 
■included in such portion or part, shall have petititmed to be set off". 

§ 15. This act shall take eftect immediately for the purpose of enabling said board of edu- 
cation to take from said board of trustees the conveyance, transfer and assignment provided 
for in this act. but for no other purposes whatever; but when such conveyance, transfer 
and assignment shall be made, then this act shall immediately go into full eftect. 

ORANGETOWN. 
\_Chap. 303, Laws of 1859, p. 684, a,^ amended by chap. 227, Laws of 1866, vol. \,p. 515.] 

Sectiox 1. The union free school district number four, in the town of Orangetown, county 
of Rockland, shall form a district, and shall not be subject to alteration, except in the 
manner prescribed bv law. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled the " board of 
education," which board shall consist of five members, and be a body corporate, a majority 
of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 

§ 3 The proceedings of the meetings held in January, eighteen hundred and fifty-eisht, 
and in December, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight, in the election of the board of education, 
are hereby confirmed, and the persons then elected shall continue to hold office for the time 
for wiiich they were respectively elected. 



Orangetown. 603 

§ 4. There shall be elected at each annual meeting in said district, to be held on the second 
Tuesday of Octol)er in each year, two persons except every third year, when only one shall 
be elected), who siiall be residents and inhabitants liable to p;iy taxes for school purposes in 
said district, to act as members of said board of e.Uication, and who shall hold Their offices 
for the teriu of three years. The said election, and all other elections provided for by this 
act. shall be held by three inspectors, vviio shall be appointed by the board of education, 
at least thirty days precediuLT such election, which election shall be by ballot, and conducted 
in the same manner as general elections. [As amended by § 1, chapter 227, Laws of ISGO, vol. 
'., p. 515.] 

§ 5. Said board shall have power to fill vacancies occurring in their own body, but the 
person so appointed sliall hold his office until the next annual meeting of said district, when 
the vacancy shall be filled by election. 

§ 6. The "said board ma\^ make all necessary by-laws for their own government ; they shall 
have the entire control and management of all the common schools within said district, and 
all the property belonging to the same. They shall, at their first meeting, and at their first 
meeting after tlie annual election in each year, appoint one of their number president of 
said board, who shall preside at the meetings of said board, when present; when absent, 
a pre«?ident pro tempore shall act in his stead ; they shall also appoint at said meeting one 
of their nu;nber secretary, who shall record all the acts and resolutions of the board, also 
act as clerk of school district: In his absence a secretary pro tempore shall be appointed 
to discharge said duties; they shall appoint two of its members, to be styled the com- 
mittee of edacaiion, whose duty it shall be to visit the schools in the district once in each 
month, to examine and license 'teachers, and such other duties as are specified in the by- 
laws of the board ; they shall also appoint a treasurer, collector and librarian of said district, 
who shall hold their offices respectively, one year from their appointment, and until others 
are appointed in their places, unless sooner removed by said board. Such treasurer and 
collector shall each, within ten days after notice in writing has been received of his appoint- 
ment, and before entering on the dutii^s of his office, execute and deliver to said board of 
education, a bond in a penalty of twice the amount of the estimated amount of the money 
corainj into his hands, and with such sureties as said board may require, conditioned for 
the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. In case such bond shall not be given within 
ten days after receiving such notice, such office shall thereby become vacated, and such 
board of education shall thereupon make an appointment to fill such vacancy. Such treas- 
urer's bond shall be approved by the county clerk, and a copy thereof deposited in said 
county clerk's office. 

§ 7. The said board of education shall meet for the transaction of business, on the first 
Monday in each month, or on such other day of the week as they shall fix upon for the year, 
and may adjourn for a shorter time. Special meetings maybe called by the president, or, in 
his absence or inability to act, by the secretary, or any other member of the board, as often 
as is necessary, by giving personal notice to each meaibe!' of the board, or causing a written 
or printed notice to' be left at his residence, at least twenty-four hours before the hour of 
said meeting; and if any of said board refuses or neglects to attend any three successive 
stated meetings of the board, and if no sufiicient cause of his non-attendance be shown, 
the board maj^ declare his office vacant. 

§ 8. No member of the board of education, except the secretary, shall receive any pay or 
compensation for his services, nor shall it be lawful for any member of said board to become 
a contractor for building or making any improvement or repairs authorized by this act, or 
be in any m inner, directly or inJirectly, interested either as principal, partner or surety, in 
any such contract. All contracts made in violation of this provision shall be absolutely 
void, and the parson so violating shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars, which shall be 
collected by the board for the use of the district. 

§ 9. The sail board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary ; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written or printed 
notice thereof in at least six public places in the said district, and by publishing the same 
in the newspapers published in said district, at least two weeks previous to the time fixed 
for such meeting; which notice shall state the time and place of such meeting, and the pur- 
pose for which the same was called; and no business shall be transacted at any such 
special meeting except that stated in the notice calling the same. One week's notice of 
the annual meeting shall be given in said newspapers. 

§ 10. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, and all other school 
property in said district, shall be vested in said board of education, and the said board, in 
its corporate capacity, may take, hold and dispose of any real or personal estate transferred 
to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, for the use of common schools in said district. 

§ 11. The public schools in said district shall be free to all children residing therein, but 
the board of education may permit children of persons not resident within said district to 
attend said schools on such term< as they may prescribe, and said board shall have power 
to sue for and recover such prescribed sum. Said board shall require one of their number 
to visit each school in said district, at least once in each week, to render such assistance to 
the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be necessary. 

§ 12. Every resignation of officers appointed or elected under this act shall be made to 
the board of education, and such resignation shall not excuse said officer from the discharge 
of his duties until accepted by said board. 

§ 13. Said board of education shall cause an enumeration of the children between the 
ages of four and twenty-one years in said district, and make, once in each year, such a 
report to the school commissioner, at the time and in the manner required by law of 
trustees of school districts ; and any parent, or guardian, or housekeeper, refusing to give 
his or her own name to the person appointed by'the said board to take such enumeration, 



604 Okangetown. 

and the number of the children between said ages living in his or her family, shall be liable 
to a penalty of ten dollars, said penalty to be sued for and recovered by said board and 
appropriated to school purposes. 

§ 14. The town supervisor shall, upon the written order of the president and secretary of 
eaid board, pay to the treasurer of said board, out of money in his hands belonsing to said 
district, such sums as said order may specify, and all moneys to be received shall be paid to 
the treasurer of said board, who, together with sureties on his othcial bond, shall be account- 
able to said board of education ; said treasurer shall not pay out any moneys except by 
resolution of said board, and upon an order drawn by the president' and certified by the 
secretary, to be so drawn in pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 15. Said board of education shall have the entire control of the district library, and may 
make such regulations in regard to the purchase and distribution of books and management 
of said library as they shall deem proper. 

§ K). Said board of education shall have the power, and are hereby directed, to levy and 
collect by tax, once in each year, upon all the taxable property and inhabitants in said district, 
as the same shall have been last assessed by the town assessors of the town in which said 
district is situated, such sums as said board shall estimate to be necessary for the following 
purposes, viz. : 

1. To pay any deficiency in teachers' wages, after paying all the ptiblic money appro- 
priated for such purpose ; 

2. To hire sites, school-houses and rooms for the use of said school district when 
necessary ; 

3. To alter, repair and improve the school-houses belonging to said district, and their 
appurtenances ; 

4. To insure the school-houses and property belonging to said district ; 

5. To pay all debts and any necessary contingent expenses of said school district and of the 
board of education ; 

6. Any such sums as shall be authorized by a majority of the legal voters, at any special 
meeting of said district, for the purposes specified in section seventeen of this act, and the 
board shall add to their warrant for collection of taxes such amount as they shall deem 
proper for fees for collecting, not exceeding five per cent on the amount to be collected ; 
eaid board shall have power to make all warrants for the collection of taxes to be raised by 
them, returnable in sixty or ninety days, at their discretion, and to renew the same when- 
ever it shall become necessary ; such warrant to be signed by the president and secretary, 
pursuant to resolution of said board. In case it shall appear that the town assessment roll 
does not include all the taxable property of said district, the property omitted shall be 
assessed by the said board in the same mode required by law, and added thereto ; and the 
collector of said school district shall, in the collection of any tax authorized by this act, 
proceed in the same manner and have all the powers which collectors of town and county 
taxes now possess. 

§ 17. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, it becomes necessary to procure a site and 
build a school-house, to enlarge those already built, or to raise money for any necessary 
purpose, not enumerated in this act, they shall submit the plans and the estimated cost of 
such building, site and necessary appendages, to the inhabitants liable to pay taxes for 
school purposes of said district, at a special meeting called for that purpose ; and if a 
majority of those present shall vote in favor of the same, the said board may proceed to 
carry the same into efl"ect ; but no site purchased and house built after the passage of this 
act shall exceed in cost jointly, the sum of ten thousand dollars, nor shall any addition to 
school-houses in said district exceed that amount; neither shall more than one school- 
house, or addition to any school-house in said district, be built in any one year, nor shall 
any addition be made to any school-house in said district the same year in which a new 
school-house is built ; nor shall a greater sum than four hundred dollars be raised in any 
one year, for purposes not enumerated in this act, by special meetings. [As amended by 
section 2, chapter 221, Laws of 1806. vol. 1, p. 515.] 

§ 18. Said board of education shall have the power to establish as many primary schools 
in said district as they may def^m proper, and to have in all respects the superintendence, 
supervision and management of the public schools in said district ; to adopt, alter, modify 
and repeal, as they may deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, gov- 
ernment and instruction, for the reception <5f pupils, and their transfer from one school to 
another, and generally for their good order, prosperity and public utility. 

§ 19. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, it may be advisable to sell or exchange any 
school-house, lots or sites now or hereafter belonging to the district, they shall state such 
object in the notice of an annual or special meeting, and with the consent of a majority of 
the inhabitants, liable to pay taxes for school purposes, present at such meeting, may sell 
or dispose of such school-houses, sites or lots, to the best advantage. 

§ 2i). Said board of education shall, at each annual meetinc:, submit a report, in writing, 
of their doings as such board, and shall state therein the number and condition of the 
schools in said district under their charge, and the number of scholars attending the same ; 
the studies pursued ; the amount of money received from the State and from any other 
source : the expenditure of the same ; and all the particulars, in detail, relating to schoois in 
said district : which report may, if the board think best, be printed. 

§ 21. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so lar aa 
relates to school district number four, in the town of Orangetown, Rockland couu.^. 



Oswego. 605 

OSWEGO. 

[Chap. 463, Laws of 1860, p. 794.] 
An act to revise the charter of the city of Oswego. 

TITLE Vn.— OP THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

Section 1. The commis!?ioners of common schools shall constitute the board of education 
of said city. The commissioners of common schools now in office shall hold office until the 
expiration of their respective terms. 

§ 2. There shall be elected annually in said city, at a special election to be held on the first 
Tuesday of May, in the same manner and under the same regulations as other ward officers 
are elected, one commissioner of common schools for each ward, to supply the places of 
those wliose terms are about to expire ; and they shall hold their offices lor two years 
succeeding the next Tuesday of May alter their election, and until their successors have 
been appointed or elected and quaiined. They shall take the oath of office prescribed by 
the Constitution of this State, and tile the same with the city clerk. 

§ 3. The common council of said city may make appointments of commissioners of com- 
mon schools to till the vacancies which may occur from any other cause than the expiration 
of the term of office of those elected. The commissioners so appointed shall hold iheir office 
until the Tuesday next succeeding- the next annual election ; and at each annual election 
there shall be chosen a commissioner to supply the place of any person so appointed, and 
the person thus elected shall serve out the unexpired term. 

§4. Any commissioner of common schools in said city maybe removed from office for 
otticial misconduct by the common counc 1 of said city, by a vote of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers tbereoi'; but a written copy of the charges preferred against said commissioners shall 
be served upon him, and he siiall be allowed an opportunity of refuting any such charges 
of misconduct before removal. 

§ 5. Tne board of education shall be a corporate body in relation to all the powers and 
duties conferred upon them by virtue of this act, to be styled the " board of education of 
the city of Oswego." A majority of the board sliall constitute a quorum. At each annual 
meeting of the board, on the second Wednesday of May, chey shah elect one of their num- 
ber president of the board, and whenever he shall be aosent, a president pro tempore may 
be appointed. The members of tiie board shall receive no compensation, nor shall they be 
interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract for building or for making any improve- 
ment or repairs provided for by this act. Tliey sliall also have the cart; of the gospel and 
school lands, and the securities taken th'-reior belonging to said city, and shall have full 
power to sell the same and apply the proceeds in such manner as they shall deem most for 
the interests of the school districts in said city now entitled thereto. 

§ 6. The annual meeting of said board shall be held on the second Wednesday of May in 
each year. Tne board shall also .meet for the transaction of business as often as once in each 
month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by the presi- 
dent, or, in his absence or inability to act, by any member of the board, as often as necessary, 
by giving personal notice to each member of tne board, or by causing a written or printed 
notice to be left at his last place of residence, at least twenty-four hours before tlie hour 
for such special meeting. 

§ 7. The said board shall appoint a secretary and librarian, who shall hold his office during 
the pleasure of the board, and whose compensation shall be tixed by the board; the said 
secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, and perform such other duties 
as the board may prescribe. The said record or transcript thereof certitied by the secre- 
tary, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the facts therein set forth ; 
and such record, in all the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of said board, shall at all 
times be subject to the inspection of the common council or any committee thereof 

§ 8. The books of the common school library of the city, now deposited and kept in the 
building of the Oswego city library, in said city, may remain therein, at the pleasure of 
said boar.l. and subject to their control. The board may designate the librarian of the said 
Oswego city lihrary to have the custody and care of the said common school library, and 
may limit and prescribe his powers and duties in respect thereto, and provide for his 
compensation. 

§ 9. The common council of said city shall have power and it shall be their duty to raise 
from time to time by tax, such sums as may be determined and certitied by the said board 
of education to be necessary and proper for any or all of the following purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for school-houses ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, and their 
out-houses and appurtenances ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; but the power herein granted shall not be deemed to authorize the furnishing 
with class or text books any scholar whose parents or guardian shall be able to furnish the 
Bame; 

4. To procure fuel and defray the contingent expenses of the common schools, and the 
expenses of the school library of said city, and the necessary contingent expenses of said 
board, including the salary of the secretary of the board ; 

5. To pay teachers' wages, after the application of public moneys which may by law be 
appropriated and provided f )r that purpose ; provided, nevertheless, that the tax to be levied 
as aforesaid, and cohected by virtue of this act, shall be collected in the same manner as 
other city taxes ; 



606 OSTVEGO. 

6. The amount raised for teachers' wao^es and contingent expenses shall not be less than 
twice nor more than six times the amount appropriated to said city from the common school 
fund of the State during the previous year; nor shall the amount necessary to be raised in 
any one year for buying sites, erecting and repairing school-houses and the appurtenances, 
exceed four thousand dollars, except as herein otherwise provided for. And the common 
council are authorized and directed, when necessary, to borrow in anticipation the amount 
of taxes so to be raised, collected and levied as aforesaid. 

§ 10. All moneys to he raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to or provided for said city, shall be paid over to the treasurer of said 
city, who, together with the sureties upon his official bond, shall be accountable therefor in 
the same manner as for other moneys of said city. 

§ 11. All moneys required to be raised by virtue of this title, or received by said city for 
the u?e of the common schools therein, shall be deposited for the safe keeping thereof with 
the treasurer of said city, to the credit of said board of education, until drawn from said 
treasurer as hereinafter provided for. 

The treasurer shall pay out the moneys, authorized hj this act to be received by him, upon 
drafts drawn by the president and countersigned by the secretary of sAid board of education, 
which draft shall not be drawn except in pursuance of a resolution or resolutions of said 
board, and shall be made payable to the person or persons entitled to receive said money. 

§ VZ. The sail board shall have power to and it shall b their duty : 

1. To organize and establish such and so many schools in said city, including the common 
schools now existing therein, as they shall deem requisite and expedient, and to alter and 
discontinue the same : 

2. To purchase and hire school-houses and rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence and improve them as they may deem proper ; 

3. Upon such lots and upon such sites, owned by said city, to build, enlarge, alter, improve 
and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem advisable; 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, bdoks for indigent pupils, 
furniiure and appendages, and to provide fuel for the schools, and defray the contingent 
expenses of the school library ; 

5. To have custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, books, furniture 
and appurtenances, and to see that the ordinances of the common council in relation thereto 
be observed : 

6. To contract with, license and employ all teachers in said schools, and at their pleasure 
to remove them. The office of superintendent of schools in said city is hereby abol- 
ished ; 

7. To pay the v/ages of such teachers out of the moneys appropriated and provided by 
law for the support of common schools in said city, so far as the same shall be sufficient, 
and the residue thereof from the money authorized to be raised for that purpose by section 
nine of this act, by tax upon said city ; 

8. To defray the necessary and contingent expenses of the board, including the annual 
salary of the secretary of the board, provided the account of the expenses shall first bo 
audited and allowed by the common council ; 

9. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision and management of the common 
schools of said city, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as they may 
deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, government and instruction, or 
the reception of pupils and their transfer from one school to another, and generally for 
their good order, prosperity and utility ; 

10. Whenever, in the opinion of the board of education, it may be advisable to sell any 
of the school-houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging 
to the city, to report the same to the common council; 

11. To prepare and report to the common council such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary and proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots and sites and appurtenances, and all the property belonging to the city con- 
nected with or appertaining to the schools, and to suggest proper penalties for the violation 
of such ordinances and regulations : and annually, on or before the first day of June in each 
year, to determine and certify to the said common council the sums in their opinion neces- 
sary or proper to be raised under the ninth section of this act for the year commencing on 
the first day of July thereafter, specifying the amount required for each of the purposes 
therein mentioned, and the reason therelol-; 

12 To unite with the school commissioner having jurisdiction in an adjoining town, and 
form, regulate and alter any district out of any portion of the said city and adjoining town, 
whenever they shall deem "it necessary and proper to do so ; and so far as such joint district 
or districts are concerned, suc!i board shall, durins: the existence of such districts, have the 
same powers and dutit'S which the said commissioners of schools now have ; 

1.3. Between the first day of July and the first day of August, in each year, to make and 
transmit to the county clerk, or such other officer as may be designated by law, a report in 
writing, bearing date the first of July, in the year of its transmission, and stating; 

I. The number of school-houses in said city, and an account and description of all common 
schools kept in said city during the preceding year, and the time they have severally been 
taught ; 

II. The number of children taught in said schools respectively, and the number of children 
over the age of four years and under the age of twenty-one years residing in said city on 
the first dav of January, in each year: 

III The whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of said city during the 
preceding year, distinguishing the amount received from the city treasurer, from the city 
tax, and from any other sources ; 



Oswego. 607 

rv. The manner in which such moneys have been expended, and whether anj- and what 
part remains unexpended, and for what cau!<(^ ; 

V. The amount of moneys received for tuition fees from foreign pupils during the year, 
and the amount paid for teachers' wages in addition to the public moneys, with such other 
information relating to the common schools of said city as may from time to time be 
required hv the State Superintendent of Common Schools. 

§ lo. Each school commissioner shall visit all of the schools in said city at least twice in 
each vear of his official term: and the said board of education shall provide that each of 
said schools shall be visited by a committee of three or more of their number at least once 
in each term, 

§ 14. The said board of education shall have power to allow the children of persons not 
resident m said city to attend the schools of said city under the control and care of said 
board, upon such terms as said board shall by resolution prescribe, fixing the tuition which 
shall be paid therefor. 

§ 1.5. It shall be the duty of said board, in all their expenditures and contracts, to have 
reference to the amount of moneys which shall be subject to their order during the then 
current year, for the particular expenditures in question, and not to exceed that amount. 

§ Ifi. The said board of commissioners shall be trustees of the school libraries in said 
city ; and all the provisions of law which now are or hereafter may be passed relative to school 
district libraries shall apply to said commissioners, in the same manner as if they were 
trustees of a school district comprehending said city ; they shall also be vested with the 
same discretion, as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by the laws of this State 
for the purchase of libraries, which is therein conferred on the inhabitants of school 
districts. It shall be their duty to provide room or rooms and the necessary furniture 
therefor. The librarians shall report to the board the condition of the library or the libraries 
under their charge; and the said board, or secretary thereof, under the direction and by 
the resolution of said board, may make all purchases of books for said library or libraries, 
and may direct the mode of their distribution, and may cause to be repaired damaged books 
belonging thereto, and may sell any book in said library or libraries that may be deenied 
useless, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of other books for said library or libraries, 

§ IT. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurte- 
nances, and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall be vested in the city of 
Oswego, and the same while used or appropriated for school purposes shall not be levied or 
sold by virtue of any warrant or execution, nor be subject to taxation for any purpose 
whatever: and the said city m its corporate capacity shall be able to take. hold, and dispose 
of any personal or real estate transferred to it by grant, gift, bequest or devise for the use 
of the common schools of said city, whether the same be transferred in terms to said city 
by its proper style or by any other designation, or to anj' person or persons or body for the 
use of said schools. 

§ IS. The common council of said city shall, upon the recommendation of said board of 
education, sell any of the school-houses, sites, lots, or any of the school property now or 
hereafter belonging to said city, upon such terms as the common council shall deem reason- 
able : the proceeds of all such sales shall be paid to the treasurer of said city, and shall be 
by said board expended in the purchase, repairs or improvements of school-houses, lots, 
sites or school furniture, apparatus or appurtenances. 

§ 19. It shall be the duty of said board, at least fifteen days before the annual election for 
commissioners in each year, to prepare and report to the common council true and correct 
statements of the receipts and disbursements of moneys under and in pursuance of the 
provisions of this act during the preceding year, in which account shall be stated, under 
appropriate heads: 

1. The moneys raised by the common council under the ninth section of this act ; 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the city from the county treasurer ; 

3. The mone3's received by the treasurer of the city under the ninth section of this act : 

4. All other moneys received by the treasurer of said city, subject to the order of the 
board, specifying the sou'ces from which they shall have been derived; 

5. The manner in which such sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount under each head of expenditure; and 'the common council shall, ten days before 
such election, cause the same to be published in all of the newspapers of said city". 

§ 20. The common council shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to pass such ordi- 
nances and regnlations as the said board of education may report as necessary for the 
protection, preservation, safe keeping and care of the school-houses, lots, sites, appurte- 
nances and appendages, libraries, and all necessary property belongiu"- to or connected with 
the schools of said city, and to impose proper penalties for the violation thereof, subject 
to the restrictions and limitations contained in the act to incorporate the said city; and all 
such penalties shall be collected in the same manner that the penalties for the violations of 
the city ordinances are by law col'ected; and when collected shall be paid to the treasurer 
of the city, to the credit of the said board of education, and shall be subject to their order 
in the same manner as other moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ -21. It shall be the duty of the clerk of said city, immediately after the election of any 
person as commissioner of common schools, personally or in writing to notify him of his 
election : and if any such person shall not, within ten days after receiving such notice of 
his election, take and subscribe the constitutional oath, and file the same with the clerk 
of said city, the common council may ccmsider it as a refusal to serve, and proceed to supply 
the vacancy occasioned by such refusal ; and the person so refusing shall forfeit and pay 
to the city treasurer, for the benefit of the schools of said city, a penalty of ten dollars, 

§ 2-2. It shall be tiie duty of said board of education to ascertain and report to the common 
council of said city the amount of any and all indebtedness of each of tne common school 



608 OwEGO. 

districts within said city, and to whom due ; and the common council shall have power, and 
it shall be their duty, in each year that any such indebtedness shall become due, to cause 
the sums so becoming due from any of said districts to b« assessed upon and collected from 
the taxable property within said city, for the payment of such indebtedness, in the same 
manner that other taxes are assessed and collected for the use of said board of education, 
and in addition to the sums authorized and required to be raised under the ninth section of 
this title. 

§ 2^3. The connection of territory within and without said city, in joint districts, is 
hereby annulled , and the property of said districts, so far as the same is situated within 
said city, shall be disposed of in the manner now provided by law in the case where a 
district is annulled, except that the portion of the proceeds of such property as would by 
law be apportioned among the taxable inhabitants of said districts residing within the city 
of Oswego shall be paid to the treasurer of said city, to the credit of the said board of 
education, and shall be expended by said board in the purchase, repairs or improvement of 
school-houses, lots, sites, or school furniture, apparatus or appurtenances. 

[ Chap. 128, Laws of 1864, p. 229.] - 

I 2. The board of education of the city of Oswego shall have power to appropriate 
suitable rooms in the school buildings of said city for the training school for primary 
teachers contemplated by chapter 418 of the Laws of 1863, without expense to the school 
fund of said city. 



[Chap. 416, Laws of 1867, i?. 1004, vol. 1.] 



Section 1. The terms of office of all persons holding the office of school commissioner 
of the city of Oswego shall expire on the second Tuesday of May, one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-seven. 

§ 2. There shall be elected in said city on the first Tuesday of May. one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-seven, in the same manner and under the same regulations as other ward 
officers, two commissioners of common schools for each ward, one of whom shall hold his 
office for one, and the other for two years, from the Tuesday next succeeding his election, 
and until his successor shall be elected or appointed and qualified. On such election the 
term shall be designated on the ballot for which it is intended the person voted for shall 
hold his office ; and aniiually thereafter an election shall be held, at which shall be elected 
in like manner, one commissioner for each ward who shall hold his office lor two years from 
the Tuesday next after his election and until his successor shall have been elected or 
appointed and qualified. They shall take the oath of oiiice prescribed by the Constitution 
of this State and file the same with the city clerk. 

§ 3. The registry of voters for the last preceding charter election shall be used at all 
elections for commissioners of schools, and no new registry shall be required. 

§ 4. In case of vacancy in the office of commissioners of schools by reason of expiration 
of term, and failure to elect, the common council shall order a special election to fill such 
vacancy, to be held in like manner as other elections for commissioners of schools in 
Baid city. 

§ 5. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. 



OWEGO. 

\_CJiap. 309, Laws of 1864, p. 739, as amended by Chap. 141, Laws of 1865, p. 250.] 

Section 1. All school districts and parts of school districts lying within the corporate limits 
of the village of Owego. in the county of Tioga, in this State, are hereby consolidated and 
incorporated into one school district, which shall bo called the union school district of the 
village of Owego. 

§ 2. The schools organized under this act, to be designated the "union schools of the 
village of Owego," shall be free to all pupils between the age of five and twenty-one years 
residing in said union school district, and no rate bill shall hereafter be imposed therein. 
But non-residents of said union school district, if otherwise competent, may be admitted 
into any school within said union school district organized under this act, with the written 
consent of the board of school commissioners, or a majority of them, upon such terms and 
conditions as to tuition or otherwise, as such board may from time to time prescribe. 

§ 3. Said union school district shall be divided into five sub-districts, each ward of said 
villa^'e Lo constitute one sub-district, to correspond in number and boundaries therewith. 

§ 4 Tne said union school district shall be under the control and direction of six com- 
missioners, who sliall be called the *' board of school commissioners.'" Each sub-district 
shall oe entitled to one couimifsioner, who shall be a resident thereof, and one shall be 
elected from the village at large, who shall be the president of the board. 

§ 5. Ctiaries H. Everest ol sub district number one ■ John L. Matson, of sub-district num- 
ber two; Andrew Coburn, of sub-district number three: William Smyth, of snb-district 
number lour ; H. D. Pinney, of sub district number five, and T. I. Chatfield, at large, are 
hereuy appointed commissioner^i, until their successors are elected as hereinafter provided. 

§ (i. At tue next election of corporation officers of Owego, there shall be elected a school 
commissiouer from each district, and one at large; in the same manner and at ihe same 
time, as other corporation officeis are elected, in place of those appointed in section five, 



OWEGO. 609 

and tlicrcartor at each annual charter election, two conimi?sioners shall be elected to fill the 
places of tlic two whose terms of office will expire as hereinafter provided. 

§ T. The board of commissioners shall be divided into three classes, and it shall be their 
(iiily witliiu ten days after the lirst election under this act, to meet and determine by lot 
wliicli two commissioners shall serve for one year, which two shall serve for two years, and 
wliicli two shall serve for three years. 

^ h. Tlie board slnill have power to fill all vacancies that may occur in their number, from 
any other cause than tlie expiration of their term of office, and the person so appointed 
phall hold liis ollice until the next annual election of corporation officers. 

§ y. The board shall appoint a secretary and librarian, who shall hold their office at the 
pleasure of the board, and whose comi)ensati()n shall be determined by them also. 

§ 10. it shall be the duty of the board, previous to the fifteenth day of January, in each year, 
to estimate all the neces-ary expenses, over and above the public moneys accruing to the 
eaid union school district for the followina; purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for houses, or sites with buildings thereon; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, improve and repair, school-houses, out-houses, fences 
or appurtenances. 

3. To purchase, excliange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, maps, charts, 
furniture and all necessar^^'appendages, including books for indigent pupils only; 

4. To purchase fuel and pay teachers' wages ; also, to defray the necessary expenses of 
keeping the school-houses in order, including insurance, expenses of library and salary 
of librarian ; to pay all expenses incurred by law, or necessary to carry into effect this act, 
and to refund loans legally contracted, and pay interest thereon. 

§ 11. It thall be the duty of the board of commissioners, after having made their estimates 
as above enumerated for the current year, to transmit the same to the trustees of the 
village of Owego, whose duty it shall be to incorporate the amount with the estimated cor- 
poration expenses of the village, and certify the same to the assessors of the corporation. 

§ 12. The additional amount so certified to the assessors, shall be levied and collected at 
the same time, and in the same manner, and by the same officers, as the other village 
expenses are. 

§ 1.3. The board of commissioners shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To organize, establish and maintain such and so many schools in said union school 
district as they may deem necessary, or to alter or discontinue any of the same ; 

To establish such rules and regulations concerning the order and discipline of said school, 
or schools, in the several departments thereof, as they may deem necessary to secure the 
best educational results ; to grade and classify the schools of the said union school district, 
and to regulate the admission and tneir transfer from one class or department to another as 
their scholarship shall warrant ; to presci'ibe the text books to be used in said schools, and 
to compel a uniformity in the use of the same, and to furnish the same to any pupil out of 
any moneys provided for that purpose ; 

2. To purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and improve 
the same ; also, to make loans when necessary, and pay all expenses legally incurred ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages, including books for indigent pupils, and provide fuel; pay teachers' wages, 
insurance on buildings and property, salary of secretary and librarian, and defray contin- 
gent expenses of the schools and board of commissioners ; 

4. To contract with, examine, license, and employ teachers in said schools, and at the 
pleasure of the board remove them. 

§ 14. It shall be the duty ot the board to make an annual report to the school commis- 
sioner of Tioga county, at the time, in the same manner, and to the same extent, as other 
schools are required by law to make. 

And said union school district, for the purposes of the apportionment and distribution of 
school moneys from any source, shall be recognized and regarded as a school district under 
the general school law of the state, and it is herein further provided that nothing in this act 
shall be construed to limit, restrain, or annul the powers of the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. In all matters of dispute which shall be referred to him by appeal, and which 
shall a-ise under this act, or under and by virtue of any other act, which is now or shall 
hereafter be applicable to the school, school officers, teachers, patrons of schools, or school 
property of said union school district, his decision or orders shall be final and binding. 

§ 15. It shall be the duty of the supervisors of the town of Owe.^o, on receipt of the'public 
school moneys, to pay over the same to the treasurer of the village of Owego, whose duty 
it shall be to credit the same, with all other monej's that may come into his hands for school 

Eui-poses, to the board of commissioners, and pay out the same only on the orders of the 
oard, signed by the president and countersigned by the secretary thereof, which orders 
shall only be drawn in pursuance of a resolution of the commissioners. 

§ 1(). All moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
appropriated to or provided for said union school district, shall be paid to the treasurer of 
the village of Owego, who, together with his sureties, shall be accountable therefor in the 
same manner as for other funds of said villat>e ; and the board of trustees, in fixing the 
amount of the treasurer's sureties, shall include the moneys received by virtue of this 
act. 

§ 17. The amount raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses for any one year 
shall not be less than two nor more than four times the amount appropriated to said union 
Bchool district, or the several districts and parts of districts composing the same, from all 
the common school funds of the State during the year previous ; nor shall the amount to be 
raised in any one year, for the purchase of sites, erecting and repairing school-houses, and 
their appurtenances, exceed one thousand dollars, except as hereinafter provided. 

11 



610 OWEGO. 

§ 18. It shall be the duty of the board, whenever iu their judgment it shall be necessary 
to raise more than the amount specified in the preceding section, to order an election for 
that purpose, and advertise the same for two weeks previous to said election iu all the 
newspapers published in the said union school district, specifying the time when and the 
place where it will be held, and the object for which the money is to be raised ; such 
election to be conducted by the board of commissioners, in the same manner and governed 
by the same rules and regulations as the usual charter election. 

§ 19. The board are hereby authorized to make all needful rules, by-laws and regulations 
for their own proceedings, and for the order and government of the schools and protection 
of the property under their control. 

§ 20. The title, safe keeping and custody of all school-houses, sites and their appurtenances, 
books, furniture, and all other school property belonging to the said union school district, 
or to the former school districts and parts of districts included in and composing the same, 
shall be vested in the said board of school commissioners as a corporation, who shall have 
power to hold, dispose of, or transfer the same as the interest of the said union school 
district may seem to require. And said property while held for school purposes shall not be 
levied upon or sold, by virtue of any warrant, execution or other process, nor be subject to 
taxation for any purpose. 

§ 21. The various school offices in the several districts composing this union school 
district shall terminate whenever this act shall take effect, except so far as maybe necessary 
to close up all unsettled business in their several districts. 

§ 23. It shall be the duty of the board of school commissioners to procure suitable blank 
books for the use of the teachers to be employed in the schools under the charge of said 
board ; and it shall be the duty of each teacher, so employed, to enter in one of said blank 
books the names of the pupils attending his or her school or department thereof, their ages, 
the names of the persons who send them, and the number of days each pupil attends ; and 
also the facts and dates of each inspection of the school by the said board, or any member 
thereof, or other official visitor, any other facts, and in such form as the said board or the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction may require. And each teacher shall, by his or' her 
oath or affirmation, verify his or her entries in such book ; and the entries so made and 
verified shall be regarded as prima facie correct, and shall constitute the record of facts 
herein required to be noted and kept ; also the school lists from which the daily, or average 
daily, attendance shall be determined. And such oaths or affirmation may be taken before 
the president of the said board of school commissioners. And the president of said board 
of school commissioners shall have the power and it. shall be his duty, when required, and 
without charge, to take any affidavit or administer and certify any oath or affirmation within 
said union school district, in all cases pertaining to any school, school matter, or proceeding 
under the charge or jurisdiction of said board when any affidavit, oath, or affirmation may by 
law be authorized or required. 

I 24. Each membei of the said board of school commissioners shall visit all the schools in 
said union school district under the charge of said board, at least once in each year of his 
official term, and the said board of school commissioners shall provide that each of said 
schools shall be visited by a committee of their number at least once in each term, who 
shall report in writing to said board the condition of each school, and make such sugges- 
tions as they may deem useful or proper. 

§ 25. The record of the said board of school commissioners, or a transcript thereof, 
certified by the secretary under oath, shall be received in all courts and places -ds prima facie 
evidence of the facts therein set forth. 

§ 26. Said board of school commissioners shall, at the end of each school year, submit a 
report in writing of their doings as such board for the preceding year, and shall state therein 
the number and condition of the schools in >^aid union school district under their charge, 
and the number of scholars attending the same, the studies pursued, the amount of moneys 
received from the State, and from any other source, the expenditure of the same and for 
what purpose or objects, and all the particulars in detail relating to the schools in said union 
school district under their charge, and making any suggestions which they may think useful, 
which report may, if the board think proper, be published in one or more of the newspapers 
published in said union school district, the expenses of said publication to be defrayed from 
any moneys in the hands of said board set apart for such purpose. 

§ 27. The board of school commissioners, in its corporate capacity, may take, hold and 
dispose of any i-eal or personal estate, not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars, trans- 
ferred to it by gift, grant, devise, or bequest, for the use, benefit, or advantage of any 
particular school or schools organized under this act. 

§ 28. Hereafter, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the village of Owego, immediately 
after the election of any person to the office of school c<mimissioner, under this act, to 
notify him in writing of such election, and within ten days after receiving notice of such 
election (or in case the board appoint a commissioner, one or more to fill a vacancy or 
vacancies, then within ten days after such appointment) ; the said commissioner or com- 
missioners, before he or they shall be permitted to discharge any of the duties of such office, 
shall take the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution of this State, and file the same 
with the village clerk. 

§ 29. All former or existing acts, or parts of acts, repugnant to or inconsistent with the 
provisions of this act, or the act to which this act is an amendment, are hereby repealed so 
far as relates to the said union school district of the village of Owego. 



Oyster Bay. 611 

oyster bay, district no. 4. 

IChap. 359, Laws of 1860, p. 605.] 

Section 1. School district number four in the town of Oyster Bay, in the county of Queens, 
Phall form a permanent school district, and shall not he subject to alteration by the town 
Buperintendent, or school commissioners for the town in which said district is situated. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled "the board of 
education," which board shall consist of five members, three or more of whom shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. Daniel V. Weeks, Jacob F. Count and Jacob 
S. Underbill shall compose the first board of education, and shall hold their office from one 
to five years ; that is to say one shall go out of office in each year, and in the order in which 
their names stand recorded in this section. 

§ 3. There shall be elected in each year, in said district, one member of said board of 
education, who shall be a resideut and taxable inhabitant of said district, and shall hold his 
office for five years. The said election shall take place at the annual meeting of said 
district; and the board of education shall appoint three suitable persons as inspectors of 
said elections, and of all other elections provided for by this act, within thirty days next 
preceding any such election : such election shall be by ballot, and notice thereof shall be 
given, the votes shall be canvassed, and the result of the election determined in the same 
manner as in the case of the annual election of town officers. 

§ 4. The board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their government ; they 
shall have the entire control ana management of all the common schools within the said 
district, and all the property belonging to the same ; they shall have and possess, within 
said district, all the rights, powers, and authority of school commissioners They may 
appoint a collector with all the powers and duties of a district collector, or may employ the 
town collector for that purpose ; and such collector shall collect and pay over the school 
moneys assessed upon said district, to the treasurer of the board of education in the same 
manner and under the same conditions as are imposed by the laws of the town of which h,e 
is collector. They shall require two of the members of said board to visit each school in 
said district at least once in each week, to render such assistance to the teacher and advice 
to the pupils as may be necessary, and to see that the regulations are rigidly adhered to. 

§ 5. The said boaVd of education are hereby authorized and directed' to "levy and collect 
by tax in each year, upon all the taxable property in said district, such sums as may be 
necessary, not exceeding in amount one-fourth of one per cent on the value of such taxable 
property, as the same shall be assessed by the assessors of the town of Oyster Bay ; and the 
said board shall add to the amount of any warrant for the collection of taxes such amount 
as they shall deem proper, as the collector's fees for collection of taxes, which compensa- 
tion, however, shall in no case exceed five per cent on the amount of any warrant. 

§ 6. The town supervisor of the town of Oyster Bay shall pay over to the treasurer of thb 
board of education all the public moneys to which said disti'ict number four shall be entitled 
for school purposes. 

§ 7. The said board of education shall call an annual district meeting at such time in the 
year as they think proper, and shall submit thereto a full report in writing of their doings 
as such board, and shall state therein the number and condition of the" schools in sa'Td 
district under their charge and the number of scholars attending the same, the studies pur- 
sued, the amount of moneys received from the State, as well as the amount required in the 
district for school purposes, and the expenditure of the same, and, generally, all the par- 
ticulars relating to the schools in said district ; which report shall, immediately after it is 
made, be published in a newspaper published in the town of Oyster Bay, for two weeks, 
and once in each week. 

§ 8. The board of education shall have control and charge of the district school library in 
said district; they may employ a librarian, make such addition to the library and such 
regulations in relation thereto as thej"^ shall deem necessary. 

I 9. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary ; they shall give notice of the same by posting up a written or 
printed notice thereof in at least four public places in said village, and by publishing the 
same in a newspaper published in the village of Glen Cove, at least one week previous to 
the time fixed for said meeting, which notice shall state the time and place of such meeting, 
and the purpose for which the same is called ; and no business shall be transacted at any 
such special meeting except that stated in the notice calling the same. 

OYSTER BAY, DISTRICT No. 5. 
[CMp. 573, Laivs of 1857, p. 223, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. School district number five, in the town of Oyster Bay. in the county of Queens 
including within its boundaries the village of Glen Cove, shall form a permanent school 
district, and shall not be subject to alterations by the town or county superintendent of 
common schools for said town of Oyster Bay, or said county of Queens. 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled " the board of 
education ;" such board shall consist of five members, three of whom shall constitute a 

Juorum for the transaction of business. Isaac Coles, Joshua T. Wright, Stephen B. Craft 
oshua Kirk and Samuel Frost shall compose the first board of education, and shall hold 
their office from one to five years ; that is to say, one shall go out of office in each year and 
iu the order in which their names stand recorded in this section. ' 



612 Oyster Bay, 

§ 3. At the first annual meeting held in said district, and at each annual meoting thereafter, 
there shall be elected one member of said board of education, who shall hold his office for 
the term of five .years ; also a district collector, both of whom shall be residents and tax 
payers in said district ; and said collector shall collect and pay over the school moneys 
assessed upon said district to the treasurer of the board of education, in the same manner 
and upon the same conditions as the town collector : and the board of education shall appoint 
three suitable persons as inspectors of said election, and all other elections as provided by 
this act. within thirty days next preceding any such election; such elections shall be by 
ballot, and notice thereof shall be given, the same shall be held and conducted, the votes 
shall be canvassed, and the result of the election shall be determined in the same manner 
as for town officers. 

§ 4. The said board of education shall, at their first annual meeting, choose one of their 
number for president, one for secretary, and one for treasurer, who shall hold office for one 
year. The treasurer shall execute a bond conditioned for the faithful performance of hia 
duties, in such form and with such sureties as the said board shall approve. An election 
for said officers shall be held thereafter on the same day of the same week of the same 
month on which the first election was held. If from any cause the election shall not take 
place on the day appointed, it shall be held within one week thereafter. Until such election, 
the old officers shall continue to perform their respective duties. 

§ 5. The said board of education may make such by-laws as they may deem necessary for 
their own government; they shall have the entire control and management of all the com- 
mon schools within their said district, and all the property belonging to the same ; they 
shall have and possess, within the said district, all the rights, powers and authority of town 
or county superintendent of common schools ; they shall require one of the members of 
said board to vi-it each school in said di-trict at least once in each week, to render such 
assistance to the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be necessary, and to see that the 
rules and regulations are strictly enforced. And the said board of education shall have the 
power to take by purchase and devise, and to hold any real and personal estate necessary 
for the purposes of this act, and also to sell and convey the school-house or school-houses. 
and site or sites, situated in the district, and to execute and deliver good and valid con- 
veyances therefor, when authorized by a majority of votes of the tax payers of the said 
district present at a special meeting called for that purpose. 

§ f). All moneys belonging to the said district shall be deposited in a bank or trust com- 
pany, to be designated by' the board of education, or loaned out on interest upon ample 
security under the direction of the board of education. 

No moneys shall be paid out, or securities changed, except under the direction of the 
board of education, and then onlj' by order of the president, couixtersigned by the sec- 
retary. 

§ 7. Whenever the said board of education shall deem it necessary to erect one or more 
school-houses in said district, and before they shall proceed to raise any money as provided 
in section eight, they shall prepare an estimate, showing the location proposed, the cost of 
the ground, a plan of the building, with the estimated cost of construction, and shall submit 
the same to the electors of said district, at a special meeting to be called for that purpose, 
in the same manner as other special meetings are required to be called ; and if a majority 
of all the electors present shall vote in favor of the same, then the said b>>ard may proceed 
to erect said school-house or houses in the manner proposed by said estimate ; and if the 
sum autliorized to he raised by section eight of this act should be insufficient to pay the 
estimated cost of such erection or erections and premises, with the expense of grading and 
rcLntlating the grounds, building the necessarj' out-hotises and fences, with the necessary 
books, stationery and appurtenances for the said school-house or houses and rooms; then 
the said board of education may raise, in addition to the sum mentioned in section eight 
of this act, and in the manner therein authorized, a sum not exceeding one thousand dol- 
lars; and they are al-o authorized to levy and collect such amount as may be necessary to 
pay the principal or interest of such additional sum or sums, as the same may become 
due, in the manner provided by section nine of this act. 

§ 8 . The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to raise a sum, 
not exceeding three thousand dollars, for the purpose of erecting a school-house or houses 
in said district, either by tax on said district or a loan to be secured by a mortgage upon 
the public school property of said district, to be executed by said board in tlieir official 
capacity, signed by the president and secretary, or by the issue of certificates of loan, in 
sums not less than one hundred dollars, the said certificates to be signed by the president 
of said board, and to be a lien upon the school district property. 

§ 9. The said board of education, in addition to the other taxes which they are authorized 
to raise by this act, may levy and collect a sum sufficient to pay interest on loans as the 
game becomes due ; and whenever any part of the principal of such loans becomes due, they 
shall levy and collect an amount sufficient to pay the same ; which sums, when collected, 
shall be paid over by said board in discharge of such principal and interest. 

§ 10. Tiie said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect 
by tax, in each year, such sum as may be necessary for teachers' wages and contingent 
expenses, upon all the taxable ])roperty in said district, not exceeding in amount one-fifth 
of one per cent on the value of such taxable property, as the same shall be assessed by the 
assessors of the town of Oyster Bay: and the said board shall add to the amount of any 
warrant lor the collection of taxes, such amount as they shall deem proper as the collector's 
fees for collection, which compensation, however, shall in no case exceed five per cent on 
the amount of any warrant. 

§11. The town superintendent of common schools of the town of Oyster Bay, or tho 
county superintendent of common schools ot the county of Queens, whichever one it may 



Palmyra. 613 

be, shall pay over to the treasurer of the hoard of education all the puhlic moneys to which 
Baid dit^trict shall he entitled for school purposes. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall call an annual district meeting; at such time in the 
year as they may think proper, hy ^ivin;J: the notice now required hy hw for annual meet- 
ings in school districts, and at such meeting rhey shall suhmit thereto a full report in writing 
of their doings at such hoard, and they shall state therein the numhor of children residing. 
in the said district of wliom public money is drawn, how many white children and how 
many colored ; they shall also state the immber and condition of the schools in said district, 
under their charge, and the number of pupils attending rhe same, the studies pursued, the 
amount of moneys received from the State or other sources, as well as the amount raised in 
the district lor school i)urposes, and the expenditures of the same, and generally all the 
particulars relating to the schools in said district. 

§ l;i. The board of education shall have control and charge of the district school library 
in said district; they may employ a librarian, make such additions to the library, and such 
regulations therefor as they shall deem necessary. 

§14. A school for colored children may be or<>anized by said board, and be supported in 
the same manner as other schools shall be supported, under and by virtue of this act. 

§ 15. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
may deem it necessary: they shall give notice of the same by posting np a written or 
printed notice thereof, in at least six public places in said district, and by publishing the 
same in the newspapers published in said district, at least one week previous to the^^time 
fixed for such mee'ing, which notice shall state the time and place of such meeting, and 
the purpose for which the same is called ; and no business shall be transacted at any such 
special meetimr except that stated in the notice calling the same. 

§ l(i. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, as far as 
they relate to school district number live, in the town of Oyster Bay, county of Queens. 



PALMYRA. 

[ Chap. 296, Laws of 1857, p. 600, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. School district number one, in the town of Palmyra, Wayne county, sliall form 
a permanent school district, and shall not be subject to alteration by rhe district commis- 
pioner of common schools, except by the consent and concurrent action of the board of 
education, hereinafter constituted for said district. 

§ 2. The said consolidated district number one, heretofore comprising three districts in 
said town, shall receive such portion of the one-third of the public money distributed among 
the several school districts in pursuance of an act entitled "An act to establish free schools 
throughout the State," passed April twelfth, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, as such districts 
may be entitled to receive, estimating and computing each qualified teacher employed in 
Baid school for the period of six months, as a separate distiict. 

§ .3. The said uistrict shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled "the board of 
education of the Palmyra classical union school." And the said board of education as 
hereinafter organized, and their successors in office, are hereby constituted a body corporate, 
by the name of " the Palmyra classical union school," and empowered to establish, organize 
and maintain a classical department in the school building now in said district in the village 
of Palmyra, by that name, which department shall be subject to the visitation of the Regents 
of the University of this State, and to all laws and reirulations applicable to the incorporated 
academies thereof, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of such academies, and to a 
share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund of this State, as the academies 
thereof. And the said board shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties in 
respect to said district, that the trustees of common schools now possess or are subject to, 
together with such other powers and duties as are given and imposed l)y this act. 

The said board shall consist of nine members, a majority of whom shall constitute a" 
quorum for the transaction of business, viz. : Stephen Hyde, Joseph W. C''ornin■^ Joseph 
C. Lovett, James Gallup, Martin Putterfield. Lyman H Tiffany, Ornon Archer, William P. 
Aldrich and George G. Jessun. The three first named shall constitute the first class and 
hold their office until the first Monday of September, one thousand eiuht hundred and fifty- 
seven ; the next three named shall constitute the second class, and hold their oflice until 
the first Monday of September, one thtnisand eight hundred and fifty-eight, the last three 
named shall constitute the third class, and hold their office until the first Monday of Sep- 
tember, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine. 

There shall be elected on the first ISiondav of September of each and every year hereafter, 
three trustees to take the place of tho-^e whose term of office shall then have expired ; and 
all vacancies in the said board of education shall be filled at the annual meeting on the first 
Monday of September. The said board of education shall meet for the transaction of busi- 
ness as often as once in each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. 

Special meetings of the board may be called by the president, or, in his absence or ina- 
bility to act, by the secretary of the board, as often as the interests of the school may- 
demand, by giving.personal notice to each member th(;reof. or causing a written or printed 
notice to "be left at his place of residence, at least twenty-four hours before the hour of 
meeting. And if any member of this board shall refuse or neglect to attend any three suc- 
cessive meetings of the board without satisfactory cause of non-attendance beiuir shown, 
the board may declare his office vacant, and appoint some other person to fill such vacancy 
until the next annual meeting. JNo member of said board shall receive any pay or compen- 
sation for his services. 



614 Palmyra. 

§ 4. There shall be elected at the first and at all subsequent annual meetings, a collector 
and a clerk, who shall hold their office for one year, and said election of officers shall be by 
ballot. Notice of the annual meetings shall be given by the clerk of said district at least 
one week previous to the time of holding said meeting, by publication in the village papers, 
and by posting notices thereof in at least five public places in said district. The president 
of the board of education shall preside at the annual meetings, and the clerk shall keep the 
record of their doings, as well as of all adjourned meetings. The officers of the meeting 
ehall conduct the can\-ass of the ballots cast, declare the result, and the result shall be entered 
by the clerk in his book of records. 

"§ 5. The collector shall collect and pay over the school moneys assessed upon the said 
district to the treasurer of the board of education. He shall possess all the powers and be 
subject to all the duties of a town collector, and shall, within ten days after receiving notice 
of his election, execute and deliver to said board of education a bond, in such penalty and 
with such sureties as the said board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of 
his duties : in case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiving such notice, 
Buch office shall become vacated, and said board may appoint a collector to supply sucb 
vacancy. 

§ 6. The said board of education shall at their first meeting after the annual district meet- 
ing, choose one of their number for president, one for secretary and one for treasurer, who 
shall hold their offices for one year. In the absence of either of such officers at any regular 
meeting of the board, a president or secretary may be appointed for the time being. The 
election of such officers shall be held thereafter annually. If from any cause the election 
shall not take place on the day designated, it shall be held within one week thereafter, and 
until such election shall take place, "the old officers shall continue to perform their respective 
duties. The treasurer shall, within ten days after receiving notice of his election, execute 
and deliver to said board of education a bond, with such penalty and with sureties as they 
maj- require. In case such bond sbaU not be ^iven within ten days after receiving such 
notice, such office shall thereby become vacated, and said board of education may make an 
appointment to fill such vacancy- The record of the clerk of the district and the' record of 
the secretary of the board, or a transcript thereof, certified by the president and clerk, sbaU 
be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the facts therein set forth. 

§ 7. The said board of education shall, at the annual district meeting in each year, submit 
a full report in writing of their acts as such board, and shall state therein the condition of 
the school in said district under their charge, the number of scholars in attendance, the 
amount of moneys received from the State and from all other sources, as well as the amount 
received from the district for school purposes, the expenditure of the same, and aU matters 
of interest in detail relating to the schools in said district. 

§ 8. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to levy and collect by 
tax. in each and every year, upon all the taxable property in said district, such sums of 
money voted to be raised at the annual and special meetings of said district. And in no 
instance shall the district be authorized to raise a sum exceeding the one-half of one per 
cent en the value of such taxable property, as the same shall be assessed by the assessors 
of the town as taken from the last assessment roll. Such sums of money shall be applied 
to the payment of teachers" wages, the neeessary contingent expenses of the school, insur- 
ance and repairs of school buildings in said district. An estimate of the amount of moneys 
to be raised by tax for the operation of the school, shall be prepared by said board and 
presented at each annual meeting. 

§ 9. The title of all real and personal property belonging to said district shall be and the 
same is hereby vested in said board of education, and the said board in its corporate 
capacity may take and hold any real or personal estate transferred to it by gift, grant, 
bequest or devise, for the use of the school in said district, also dispose of the same under 
the direction of a resolution passed at any annual meeting. They shall have power to 
divide the school into four grades or departments, including the academical department, 
and to fix the rate of tuition in each grade, and have the exclusive control and management 
of all public schools within said district. Said board shall have power to make all warrants 
for the collection of taxes to be raised by them returnable in sixty days, and to renew the 
same whenever it shall become necessary, also be empowered to direct that the several 
sums assessed may be raised in two or more installments. 

§ 10. There shall be no more than four terms or quarters in each year of said school. The 
tuition fee in the several departments or grades in said school shall not. for the pupUs 
whose parents or guardians reside within the territory of said district, exceed per term or 
quarter for each piipil as follows, that is to say : In the first grade or department such tuition 
fee shall not exceed one dollar ; in the second grade, one dollar and twenty-five cents ; in 
the third grade, two dollars ; and in the fourth grade two dollars and fifty cents. The tuition 
for all other pupils admitted to said school shall be regulated by said board from time to 
time, as they shall deem necessary, and such amounts as they shall think proper. 

§ 11. All nioneys to be raised by virtue of this act, and all moneys by law appropriated to 
or provided for said district, shall be paid to the treasurer of said board. Said treasurer 
shall not pay out any of such moneys except by resolution of said board, and upon an order 
drawn by the president and certified by the secretary, to be so drawn in pursuance of such 
resolution. 

§ 12. All moneys belonging to said district, or to which said district may be entitled for 
EChool or other p'urposes. in whose soever hands the same may be, shall be' paid over to the 
treasurer of said board of education. 

§ 13. The said board of education may call special meetings of the inhabitants of said 
district whenever they may deem it necessary, and it shall become the duty of the clerk of 
the district, upon the requisition of said board of education, to give public notice thereof 



i 



Penn Yan. 615 

hj publishing the same in one or more newspapers published in the district, and by posting 
printed notices of the same in at least ten public places in the district. 

§ 14. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far aa 
relates to school district number one, in the town of Palmyra aforesaid. 



PENN YAN. 

[Chap. 765, Laws of 1857. p. 647, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. All that part of the county of Yates, including the village of Penn Yan, com- 

Srised within the following limits, that is to say : Beginning on the town line of Benton and 
[ilo, at the north-east corner of lot number thirty-two, township number seven, in the first 
range in the said town of Milo ; thence south on the line of lots to the south-east corner of 
lot number thirty-one in said township number seven : thence west on the line of lots 
to the center of a small gulf on or near Alfred Brown's land ; thence down the 
stream which runs in said gulf to the road leading from the foot of the Crooked lake to 
Penn Yan, called Lake street ; thence along said road or street north-easterly toward Penn 
Yan, until it strikes the south-west line of a lot of land conveyed by Henrietta J. Monell to 
Calvin Carpenter; thence along said Carpenter's south-west line to the Crooked lake canal; 
thence up said canal to the lake ; thence along the north and west shore of said lake to a 
point where the west line of fraction lot number fifty-two. in the town of Jerusalem, strikes 
the lake ; thence north along the west line of said lot number fifty-two, and the west line of 
lot number thirty-eio^ht. in said township number seven, to the town line of Benton and 
Milo ; thence westerly on the town line to the south-west corner of lot number sixty-three, in 
township number eight, first range, in the town of Benton ; thence north on the west line 
of said lot number sixty-three to the north-west corner thereof; thence easterly on the 
line of lots, to the north-east corner of lot number forty-seven in said township number 
eight; thence south along the line of lots to the place of beginning, shall hereafter, for the 
purposes in this act mentioned, form but one school district, which shall be called the Penn 
Yan union school district. 

§ 2 The board of education hereinafter created shall have power, by resolution of said 
board, to alter and change the boundaries of said district, bj' and with the written consent 
of the school commissioner in Yates county. 

§ 3. The following^named persons, to wit : Daniel W. Streeter, Martin Spencer. George 
Wagener, Levi O. Dunning, Benedict W. Franklin, Darius A. Ogden, El)enezer B. Jones, 
Charles C. Sheppard, and Jeremiah S. Gillett, resident in the said district, and their success- 
ors to be chosen as hereinafter provided, are hereby constituted a corporation by the name 
of "The board of education for the village of Penn Yan." The three persons first named 
in this section shall hold their office until the first Monday of January, one thousand eitcht 
hundred and fifty-nine ; the three persons next named shall hold their office until the first 
Monday of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty, and the three persons last 
named shall hold their office until the first Monday of January, one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty-one, and until their successors shall be chosen, and enter upon the discharge of the 
duties of their offices respectively. 

§ 4. The term of office of the trustees to be elected under the provisions of this act shall 
be three years from the first Monday of January next succeeding their election, and until 
their successors shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their offices respectively. 
The annual meeting of said district shall be held on the first Monday of October in each 
year, at such time and place in said district as the board of education shall previously 
appoint. The president of the board, or, in his absence, the president for the time being, 
shall preside, and the district clerk, or, in his absence, the clerk for the time being, shall act 
as secretary thereof. 

§ 5. At the annual meeting in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, three 
trustees shall be elected to fill the places of the three persons first named in the'third section 
of this act. The places of the next three shall be filled at the annual meeting in the year one 
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, and of the next three in like manner in the year one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty, and annually thereafter on the day above specified for the 
first election, there shall in like manner be elected three trustees to fill the places of those 
whose terras of office shall next thereafter expire, as herein provided. Every officer elected 
under this act shall enter on the duties of his office on the first Monday of Januarj' next 
succeeding his election. Within ten days after any such election, the clerk shall certify to 
the boardOf education the names of the officers so elected. 

§ 6. Said board of education, and their successors in office, shall be a corporate body in 
relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by virtue of this act, or of any 
law, and a majority of the board shall form a quorum. 

§ 7. There shall annually be appointed by said board of education a clerk, collector, libra- 
rian, and treasurer of said union district, who shall each within ten days after receiving 
notice in writing of his appointment, and before entering upon the duties of his office, exe- 
cute and deliver to said board of education a bond, in such penalty and with such sureties 
as said board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. 
In case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiving such notice, such office 
ehall thereby become vacated, and said board of education shall thereupon make an appoint- 
ment to supply such vacancy. 



616 Penn Yan^. 

§ 8. Notices for annual elections and all other meetins^s of said district shall be sriven by 
said board of education at least ten days before such election or meeting, by publishing 
such notice once in each of the newspapers printed in the village of Penn Yan, and by post- 
ing the same on the door of each school-house in said district. 

§ 9 In case of a vacancy in said board, or of any other oiUce mentioned in this act occa- 
sioned by incapacity or any other cause other than the expiration of the term of office, said 
board of education may make an appointment to fill said vacancy for the unexpired term. 

§ 10. Said board of education shall possess all the powers and rights, and be sxibject to all 
the duties in respect to said district, and all the schools under their charge, that the trustees 
of common schools now have or may possess or be subject to, and such other powers and 
duties as are given or imposed by law. The clerk, collector, and librarian of said district 
shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties in respect to said district that 
like oflicers of common schools now^ have or may possess, or be subject to, and such other 
powers and duties as are or may be given or imposed by law. 

§ 11. From and after the first meeting of the board of education under this act, the office 
of trustee, librarian and collector, in each of the school districts included within the limits 
of the said union school district, shall be abolished, and the title of the property of the said 
school districts, and of the said union district, real and personal, shall from thenceforth 
become the property of and be invested in the said board of education in its corporate 
capacity, as created by this act ; and said board shall settle all business of the several school 
districts and parts of districts in said union district, then remaining unsettled. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall, at its said first meeting, and annually thereafter, 
at their meeting held next after the first Monday of January in each year, appoint one of 
their number president. The clerk of said union district shall act as secretary to said 
board. In the absence of either of said officers at any regular meeting of the board, a 
president and secretary may be appointed for the time being. 

§ 13 The said clerk, in addition to such other duties as are or may be imposed on him by 
law, or rec[uired of him by the board, shall keep a record of the proceedings of said board 
of education, which record, or a transcript thereof, certified by the president and secretary, 
shall be received in all courts, and for all purposes, as presumptive evidence of the facts 
therein set forth. » 

§ 14. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty: 

1. To establish and organize a classical school in the village of Penn Yan, to be known by 
the name of •' the Penn Yan academy," which school shall be subject to the visitation of the 
Regents of the University of this State, and to all laws and regulations applicable to the incor- 
porated academies thereof, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of such academies, and 
to share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund of this State, as the acade- 
mies thereof: 

2 To establish and organize such and so many primary schools in said district, including 
for that purpose the common schools therein, as tiiey shall deem requisite and expedient ; 
and to alter and discontintte, or change and consolidate, the same ; 

3. To build, purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lots, or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence, improve, adorn and repair the same, as they may think proper; 

4. Upon such lots or sites, and upon any lot or site now owned by any school district 
within the limits of said union district erected by this act, to build enlarge, alter, improve, 
adorn and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem advisable ; 

5. To purchase, exchange, improve, and repair school apparatus, globes, maps, furniture 
and appendages, books for indigent pupils and for the school library, to provide fuel and 
lights, and defray the contingent expenses of the schools, the expenses of the library, and 
the salary of tfie librarian ; 

6. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, and all the real 
and personal property of the said union school district and primary schools, and see that 
the ordinances and by-laws of said board in relation thereto be observed ; 

7. To contract with and employ all teachers in any of the schools itnder their charge, and 
in all branches or departments thereof and at their pleasure to remove them ; 

8. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the public moneys and tuition fees received 
by them, and the deficiency, if any, out of the moneys to be raised by tax for general pur- 
poses of education under this act ; 

9 To fix the ratio of tuition fees in said academy, if any shall be charged, and to designate 
some person or persons to whom the same may be paid previous to issuing the warrant for 
the collection thereof, and, by a resolution of said board, to be recorded by the secretary to 
exempt from the whole or any part of the tnititm fees, such persons as they may deem 
entitled to such exemption from indigence or any other sufficient cause, and to graduate 
such tuition fees according to branches of instruction pursued ; 

10. To make out a rate bill as often as they shall deem proper, containing the name of each 
person liable to pay tuition fees, for tnition in said academy, who shall not have paid the 
same prior to making out such rate bill, and the amount Jor which such person is liable, add- 
ing thereto a sum not exceeding five cents on each dollar for collector's fees (which fees shall 
be fixed by said board at the time of making out every rate bill), to annex thereto a warrant 
for the collection thereof, to be signed by the president of said board, or a majority of the 
members thereof, and deliver the same to the collector, who shall collect the same in the 
same manner as collectors of school districts are by law authorized and req^uired to execute 
like warrants issued by the trustees of common school districts, and who, m the execution 
of the same, shall be under the same protection, possess all the powers, and be subject to, 
all the duties, as such collectors may have or possess, and be subject to in respect to like 
warrants; and for this ourpose the jurisdiction of said board of education and of said 
collector shall extend to any other district or town, and to any resident thereof who 



Pej^n Yan. 617 

may be liable for such tuition in said academy, in the same manner, and with like authority, 
as to said union district or residents thereof; 

11. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision, management, and control 
of all the schools mentioned or contemplated in and by the proviisions of this act; to pre- 
scribe the course of studies therein, the books to be used, and establish an uniformity in 
respect to such course of study and books; from time to time to adopt, alter, modify, and 
repeal, as they may deem expedient, rules, re^julations and ordinances for the organization, 

?:overnment and instruction of such schools ; for the reception of pupils and their transfer 
rom one school to another: for the expulsion of any pupil from any of said schools for 
misconduct : for the promotion of good order in said schools, their prosperity and public 
utility; for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school-houses, lots, sitea, 
fences, ornamental trees and slirubbery^ and appurtenances, and all other property connected 
with or appertaining to such schools ; and to cause such rules, regulations, ordinances and 
by-laws to be printed and published in such manner as they may deem best calculated to 
give general information. 

§ 15. Said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty forthwith to 
purchase a suitable lot, so situated as best to accommodate the whole of said union district 
so far as practicable, and procure a clear title there f, to be vested by deed in said board of 
education ; to cause said lot to be properly graded, fenced, planted with trees and otherwise 
properly improved ; to erect thereon a suitable and proper building or buildings and neces- 
sary out-houses, to furnish the same with all proper, useful, and necessary furniture, 
apparatus and appendages, as soon as the building is in a proper condition, employ a 
sufficient number of well qualified teachers, and cause a school to be commenced therein 
to b9 called "the Peiiii Y"a;i aca.le.ny,' in which saall be taught only the higher branches 
of education. All the other schools in said union district, including the common schools 
therein, and whi,ch shall be under the charge of the board of education, shall be known as 
primary schools, in which no tuition fee shall be charged, nor any rate bill made out, but 
the same shall be free schools. Said primary schools shall be used as preparatory schools 
for the instruction of children until they arrive at a certain age, or attain a certain profi- 
ciency in learning, who shall then be transferred, upon proper testimonials, into the 
academy aforesaid, the age, qualifications, and testimonials to be prescribed by the by-laws, 
"ules. and regulations of'the board of education. 

§ 16. Said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, from 
time to time, by tax upon all the real and personal estate within the bounds of said union 
district which shall be liable to taxation for town and county charges, such sums of nnmey 
as may be determined by resolution of said board to be necessary for any and all the pur- 
poses mentioned in this act, or to meet any deficiency connected with the subject of 
education in said district, to provide for which, power shall be given to the said board 
by the provisions of this act, or any law relating to common schools, or the rules and regu- 
lations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Said board of education shall, at the 
commenceraent of each year, make an estimate, by the best means in their power, of 
the amount of money which will be needed for all the purposes of education, and other 
purposes provided for by this act, over and above the public moneys, and moneys to be 
received from other sources, if any, and shall cause the same to be raised by one assessment 
or warrant, and not more than two taxes for such purposes shall ever be raised in one year. 
For the collection of such taxes the board of education may employ the village or town 
collector at their discretion. The >aid board of education s'lall not have power to raise by 
tax, in any one year, for the purpose of this act. except to carry into eff"ect section fifteen 
of this act, any further or greater sum than twelve hundred dollars, unless they shall be 
authorized to "do so by a vote of a meeting of the persons qualifie-:! to vote in said union 
district for school district taxes, at an annual meetin<r of the said district, or at a special 
meeting of the inhabitants to be called by the board of education for that purpose. 

§ 17. For the purpose of carrying into eff'ect the provisions of section fifteen of this act, 
the said board of educati'.ni shall, as soon as practicable, make an estimate of the money 
which will in their opinion be m-cessary therefor, and shall assess, levy, and collect the 
same, by tax upon the real and personal estate as specified in section sixteen oi' this act. 
Tiiey shall for this, and all other taxes raised by them, make out a tax list in the manner 
an 1 "form in which tax lists are required to be made by trustees of school districts, so far as 
such form is applicable, annex thereto a warrant in like form, signed by the president or a 
majority of the members of said board, and deliver the same to the collector, which when 
so made and signed shall be as effectual, to all intents and purposes, as like tax lists and 
warrants when made by the trustees of common school districts. Said board may. in 
respect to the collection of taxes, conform 1o the provisions of the twenty-ninth, thirtieth, 
and thirty-first sections of chapter one hundred and eighty, of Session Laws of one thousand 
eight hundred and fortj'-five. and require the collector to complv with the provisions of said 
sections, so far as the same are applicable. Said board may make their warrants returnable 
at discretion, not less than thirty days, nor mure than ninety days from the issuing thereof. 
The said board may assess, levy, and collect the amount of taxes to be raised under this 
section, in not less "than three annual installments. 

§ 18. All moneys to be raised by virtue of this act, and all moneys by law appropriated to 
or provided for said district, shall be paid to the treasurer of said board, who, together with 
the sureties upon his official bond, shall be accountable therefor to the said board of educa- 
tion; said treasurer shall not pay out any of such moneys except by resolution of said 
board, and upon an order drawn by the president and certified by the secretary, to be so 
drawn in pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 19. Special meetings of the board of education may be called by the president, or, in his 
absence or inability to act, by the secretary or any member of saidboard, as often as ueces- 

18 



618 Penx Yan. 

eary, by gfiving personal notice to each member of the board, or causinsf a written or printed 
notice to be left at his place of residence at least twenty-four hours before the hour for such 
special meeting. No member of said board shall receive any pay or compensation for hia 
services. 

§ 20. Said board of education shall annually make a like report in all respects as required 
from trustees of common school districts to the school commissioner. They shall make reports 
only of the number of scholars attending any school in said union district, and the ages 
thereof, so far as the same shall be necessary to ascertain and apportion the public money to 
"be paid to said district. Such reports shall be received by the school commissioner instead of 
the reports now made by trustees of the school districts included in said union district. The 
supervisors of the several towns from which the said union district is taken shall, in making 
their apportionment of school or library moneys, allot to said unio*a district its proportion 
of said moneys according to law, regulating its apportionment to districts formed out of 
two or morc'towns. and the report of its board of education shall be regarded as the 
reports of its trustees. All such sums shall be paid by said supervisors to the treasurer of 
said board of education, at the same time and in the same manner as to trustees of school 
districts. A copy of the reports of said board of education shall be filed with the clerk or 
secretary of the board. The board of education shall, at the close of each year, publish in 
one or more of the village newspapers a report of the moneys received and expended by 
them during the year, showing the sources from whence received, and the objects of 
expenditure. 

§ 21. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, a sale or exchange of any primary school- 
house or house and lot would be proper, said board may cause such sale or exchange to be 
made, and may buy a new site, or may at any time build a new house lor the accommodation 
of any p -rtion of said district. 

§ 22". All the school property of said board of education, real and personal, while used for 
and appropriated to school purposes, shall be exempt from all taxes and assessments, and 
shall not be liable to be levied upon or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution. Said 
board of education, in their corporate capacity, shall be able to take, hold and dispose of 
any real or personal estate, transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, for the use 
of said district, or any schools under their charge. Said board shall not have power to sell, 
grant, dispose of or incumber said academy school lot. No portion of the library money 
paid to said board of education shall be expended for teachers" wages, but shall be appro- 
priated exclusively for the increase and benefit of the library. 

§ 23. All the lands included in the bounds of said union district shall be subject to taxa- 
tion therein under this act. without regard to the residence of the owners thereof, and the 
board of education may cause them to be returned to the county treasurer in the same 
manner as trustees of common school districts are authorized to return unoccupied and 
unimproved real estate of non-residents of their districts for unpaid taxes assessed thereon. 
Said county treasurer shall pay to said board the amount of such taxes out of any moneys 
in the county treasury not otherwise specifically appropriated, and such proceedings in all 
respects shall thereupon be had in relation to such taxes and lands as required by law 
in relation to such lands when so returned by trustees of common school districts. 

§ 24. The said board of education may permit children of persons not resident within said 
union district to attend any school in said union district on such terms as they may pre- 
scribe : and said board may in their corporate name sue for and recover of the peVsons 
liable therefor all such sums as shail be so prescribed, with costs of suit. 

§ 25. The said board of education are hereby authorized to obtain by loan the whole or 
any part of the moneys required to be expended by them in section fifteen of this act, and 
to reoay the same, with interest, when collected by tax under the provisions of section 
seventeen of this act. All the moneys authorized to be raised or loaned by this act for the 
purposes of said section shall not exceed the sum of ten thousand dollars, exclusive of 
interest. 

§ 26. The said board of education are hereby authorized to raise by tax, according to the 

f)rovisions of said section seventeen, the annual interest of the above mentioned loan or 
oans, and to pay over the same in discharge of such interest, and also in each year in which 
an installment of said loan or loans shall become due, a sum equal to that installment, and 
to pay over the same in discharge thereof. 

§ 27. The taxes imposed by the provisions of this act shall be a lien upon the lands taxed, 
to be enforced and collected by sale in the manner that county taxes are, upon a return to 
be made by the collector to the treasurer of the county of all unpaid taxes in said district. 

§ 28. Whenever any ofllcer of the said union district, or of the said board of education, 
shall have paid any moneys in or about the prosecution or defense of any suit commenced 
by or against him, in the discharge of the duties of his oflice, or for acts done by color 
thereof.lt shall be the duty of the said board of education, unless it shall appear to them 
that the same were paid in consequence of the willful neglect or misconduct of the claimant, 
to ascertain the amount thereof by the best means in their power, and to cause the same to 
be assessed upon and collected of the taxable inhabitants of said district, in addition to the 
sums authorized to be raised for school purposes in said district by this act ; and when so 
collected to pay over the same to the person entitled thereto by virtue of this act. 

§ 29. The provisions of sections twenty-two, twenty-three, twenly-four, twenty-five and 
twenty-eight, of chapter one hundred and twenty-nine, and of section three, chapter one 
hundred and eighty, Laws of eighteen htindred and fifty-six, shall apply to and form a part 
of this act. 



Phelps — Pittsto wn. 619 

PHELPS. 

[Laws of 1855, chap. 553.] 

Section 1. The inhabitants of school district numbereio;ht, in the town of Phelps, county 
of Ontario, shall, at the next election of a trustee of said district, and at such election every 
third year thereafter, elect iwo additional trustees thereof, making the whole number of 
trustees thereof five. The two additional trustees «hall respectively hold their offices for 
three years, and until others are elected in their respective places. 

§ 2. The trustees of said district shall have authority to make regulations respecting the 
attendance of the children of the district in the departments thereof, the transfer of them 
from one department to another, and the instruction and studies to be given and pursued in 
the departments thereof. 

§ 3. The said trustees and their successors in office are hereby created a body corporate, 
by the name of " Phelps union and classical school," and empowered to establish and 
organize a classical schtKil by that name in said district and village of Phelps ; which school 
shall be subject to the visitation of the Regents of the University of this State, and to all 
laws and regulations applicable to the incorporated academies thereof, and shall be entitled 
to all the privileges of such academies, and to share in the distribution of the moneys of 
the literature fund of this State, as the academies thereof: provided, however, that this act 
shall not aflfect the rights and duties of said trustees and district under the statutes of this 
State relating to common schools. 

[Chap. 54, Laws of 1865, j). T9.] 

Section 1. The trustees of school district number eight, of the town of Phelps, in Onta- 
rio county, shall not, hereafter, collect or receive any fees or compensation for instruction 
in the school under the charge of said trustees of said district, of pupils whose parents or 
guardians reside within the territory embraced in said district. The charges for tuition of 
all other pupils admitted into said school shall be regulated by the board of trustees thereof, 
from time to time as they shall deem proper. 

§ 2 Any sums necessary for the payment of teachers' wages, after applying to that purpose 
any moneys or income in the hands or under the control of the said board of trustees, 
applicable" thereto, shall be levied and collected upon the taxable property of said district, 
as other taxes are now or may hereafter be required by law to be levied and collected, and 
such suras may be levied and collected for the year in advance, or otherwise, as may be 
deemed advisable. 



PITTSTOWN. 
[Chap. 151, Laivs of 1866, p. 297.] 

Section 1. School district number sixteen in the town of Pittstown, county of Rensse- 
laer, shall hereafter be a free school district (not subject to alteration, except as hereinafter 
provided) ; and all expenses for teachers' wages over and above the public school moneys 
which shall be applicable thereto, shall be levied by the trustees and collected as are other 
school district taxes ; and any tax list therefor may. without a A'ote of the district, be 
made out by the trustees at such times as they shall deem proper, not exceeding thirty days 
before the said wages may become due. 

§ 2. The trustees are hereby authorized and required to finish, or cause to be finished, 
the new school in said district, now partially completed, and to furnish the same with 
suitable furniture, to erect proper and convenient out-buildin<,'S, fence the school-house site 
with a good and substantial fence, to grade said site, and to plant therein tre^s and shrub- 
bery : tbe whole to be done at an expense not exceeding twelve hundred dollars, which 
sum, or so much thereof as may be deemed necessary by the trustees for the purposes 
named, and to pay for any other expense already incurred by them in the erection and 
preparation of the said school-house, over and above the moneys otherwise provided for 
the purpose, they are authorized to levy upon the taxable property of the district, and to 
cause the same to be collected. 

§ 3. With the written consent of the supervisor of the said town of Pittstown, and the 
written consent of the supervisor of the town of Schaghticoke, the school commissioner of 
the first commissioner district in the county of Rensselaer is hereby authorized to annex to 
Baid school district number sixteen, such territory, from adjoining districts, as he shall 
deem just to the inhabitants annexed and conducive to the convenience and education of 
the children of school age residing therein. 

§ 4. All contracts and acts heretofore made and performed by the said trustees in and for 
the i^urchase of the site upon which the new school-house stands, for the erection of the 
new school-house, and for materials and labor furnished therefor, are hereby ratified and 
confirmed, but nothing in this act contained shall in any manner affect any suit or proceed- 
ing now pending. 



620 Plattsburgh. 

plattsbuegh, districts nos. 1, 2 and 5. 

[Chap. 810, Laws of 1367, p. 2026, vol. 2.] ■ ^ 

Section 1. All that contiguous territory comprised in school districts numbers one, two 
and five, in the town of Plattsburgh, is hereby consolidated into one school district, under 
the name and description of free union school district number one, of the town of Platts 
burgh lit being the village of Plattsburgh and some additional territoiy) ; and hereafter all 
theschools therein, including the academy, shall be under the superintendence, care, man- 
agement and control of one board of education and its successors, to be constituted and 
organized as hereinafter provided. 

f 2. Except as modified by this act, so much of title nine of chapter five hundred and fifty- 
five, of the Laws of one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, as relates to school districts, 
other than those whose limits correspond with the limits of any city or incorporated villacre, 
is hereby extended and made applicable to free union school district number one aforesafd; 
and the board of education therefor, as provided in section seven of said title nine, shall 
be and is hereby as thereby created a body corporate, and, except as qualified by this act, 
shall have and possess all the powers conferred upon such boards in such districts, in and 
by the said title nine. And it shall be the duty of the said board to exercise these powers 
thus qualified, together with any additional powers and duties conferred or imposed by 
this act. 

§ 3. Whenever the existing trustees of the academy of Plattsburgh shall signify their 
assent thereto, it shall be the duty of the said board of education forthwith to establish an 
academical department of the said union free school district in the said academy; but 
nothing in this act contained shall be deemed or held to affect or impair the separate corpo- 
rate existence and continuance of the said academy, or any rights or privileges appertaining 
to it as such, except as herein expressly provided : and the said board of education shall 
succeed to, have, possess and execute all the duties and powers had or possessed by or 
incumbent upon the board of trustees of the said academy to do or perform, touching the 
said Mcademy as a corporate body, the real and personal estate thereof, its fiscal concerns, 
and the duties required to be performed by the rules and regulations of the Regents of the 
Universitj% and to which said academy shall remain subject in its course of education, and 
all matters pertaining thereto. And the said board of education shall become, on the organi 
zation thereof, the acting trustees of the said academy, charged with all the duties and 
powers of the former trustees (except as herein provided), and all the powers and duties 
conferred by this act, and the said title nine of the act of one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-four, as modified by this act : and to enable said board fully to execute said trust, the 
legal title to the academy lot, the structures thereon, and to all the personal property belong- 
ing to the said academy as a corporation, and the care and custody of all existing records 
and papers of the said board of trustees of the academy, shall pass and vest in" the said 
board of education on the organization thereof, in trust as aforesaid. The president, sec- 
retary, treasurer, collector and other officers of the board of education, shall hold the same 
positions respei.'tively in the board of acting trustees of the academy, and a separate record 
shall be kept of all niatters relating to the separate existence of said academy. 

§ 4. It shall be the especial duty of the said board of education to keep the said academy 
open, and in operation as an academy, four quarters every ,year ; and the contingent expenses 
arising therefrom, including necessary furniture, apparatus, additions to library, proper 
instruments, fuel, lighting, necessary repairs, cleansing and the disbursements of the board 
of education in the execution of the"ir duties, and the wages of a janitor to be employed by 
the board for the academy, and the w;iges of teachers "therein, so far as not hereinafter 
otherwise provided for. shall be cared for^by the said board of education, and the requisite 
funds therefor be supplied by the said free union school district, in the manner provided in 
section ten of the said title nine, in respect to any money thereby allowed to be raised and 
collected for any of the purposes therein expressed : and in default thereof, then the said 
board of education shall collect the said requisite funds as they may collect funds for similar 
objects in and by section seventeen of said title nine, or acts amendatory thereof. 

§ 5. The said district schools shall be free only to those persons residing in the district, 
authorized to be enumerated and reported with those forming the basis for the apportion- 
ment of public money to said district ; against all others, whether from within or from 
without the limits of the said district, attending said schools, ju-t and remunerative rates 
of tuition shall be char.;ed and paid. And against all from without the district or from 
■within, and being over twenty-one years of age. attending the academy, the rates of tuition 
shall also be fully remunerative, but against all those from within the district under twenty- 
one years of age, the rates of tuition shall be so adjusted as to be compensatory for tuition, 
as far as mav be. and at the same time keep the said academy in operation up to its capacity, 
and anv defi'^cieiicv of means to pay the teachers therein, after applying moneys derived from 
other sources, shall be charged over upon the district, and be raised and collected as moneys 
are allowed or directed to be raised and collected by section ten. or section seventeen of 
said title nine, and said sections are extended and made applicable to any such deficiency 
and to the powers of the districts, and of the board of education in respect thereto. 

§ (]. The qualified voters of the said free union school district shall have power, upon the 
recommendation of the said board of education, to vote such other taxes additional to those 
to be supplied as conting<nt expenses hereinbefore named, as the majority may by resolu- 
tion approve, for the purchase of additions to the site of the academy buildings, or additions 
to those stnictures, or anv of them, or improvements thereof, and for the erection of new 
structures, and for supplying the proper fixtures, furnishing, furniture, library, apparatus 



POMFRET. 621 

and instruments therefor, and may direct the same to be collected in one snm or by install- 
ments, and the said board of education shall cause all such resolutions to be fully executed 
in the manner and with the means specified in said title nine, in respect to like objt^cts. 

§ 7. The said board of education shall be constituted and composed of five trustees, 
eeiected from the existin.i? board of trustees of the Plattsbnrgh academy, associated with 
five trustees of the free union school district, to be elected by the qualitied voters of the 
district. 

§ 8. Upon the passage of this act. the board of trustees of said Plattsburgh academy shall 
elect five of its members, who shall be residents of said village school district, to be asso- 
ciated with the five school district trustees, to form the said board of education. The said 
academy trustees so elected by the said board, shall determine by lot their respective terms 
of otlice. so that one shall serve until one year from the second' Tuesday of October next, 
one two j'ears, one three years, one four years and one five years, after the said second Tues- 
day of October next. After such first election, the trustees of the Plattsburgh academy, 
ehall, on the second Tuesday of October, in every year after the year one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-seven, or on such other day as shall be prescribed by law for ihe annual 
meeting of said district, elect one of their number to supply the place of a trustee in the 
board of education, whose term of office shall then expire ; and they shall at all times supply 
vacancies occurrins.'- I'rom other cause, in the five so elected from time to time by said board 
of fustees of said PLittsburgh academy: and on the first Tuesday of aMay next, after the 

Sassase of this act. at seven o'clock in" the afternoon, the legal voters of the said consoli- 
ated district aualified to vote for school district trustee, shall assemble at the town-hall in 
the village of Plattsburgh, and organize the school district meeting by appointing a moder- 
ator to ])reside at said meeting, and a clerk to keep the minutes of its proceedings, and 
ehall then proceed to elect by ballot five trustees' in the manner prescribed by law for the 
election of trustees of school districts. Each trustee shall be elected by a separate ballot, 
and at least one trustee shall be located in each district at the time of his election. The 
said trustees so elected shall determine by lot their respective terms of office, so that one 
6h?ll serve until the second Tuesday in October, A. D. eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, 
or for one year, one for two years, one for three years, and one for four years thereafter, and 
there sha'l' be elected at every annual meeting on the second Tuesday of October, in and 
after the year A. D. eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, one trustee to supply the place of the 
trustee whose term of oftice shall thus expire ; and said five so elected ehall, from time to 
time, fill, by appointment, any and all vacancies that may occur in their number, and the 
person so appointed shall hold his office until the next annual meeting, when such vacancy 
ehall be filled by election. The elections from the board of the academy, and of the school 
district trustees at the district meeting thus to be had, shall be duly respectively certified by 
the board and by the oflicers of the nieeting. and tiled with the said board of education ou 
its organization, and with the town clerk of the town of Plattsburgh. the school commis- 
Bioner of the district and the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State ; and. the 
duration of the term of office of each trustee of each class shall also be certified by the five 
of each class to.the town clerk of Plattsburgh, to the said board of education on its organi- 
zation, and to the said resident commissioner; and on the election and classification of the 
said ten trustees, they and their successors in office shall constitute the said board of edu- 
cation for the snid free union school district number one of the town of Plattsburgh, and 
they shall forthwith organize as such board. 

§ 9. On the organization of the said board of education, the trttstees of the Plattsburgh 
academy, and their successors in office, shall continue as a board of trustees, for the purpose 
of electing from their number, from time to time, the successors of the said five deputed to 
form a component part of the board of education aforesaid, and to fill vacancies occurring 
in said five. 

§ 10. On the organization of said board of education, the said board shall succeed to and 
perform the respective duties of the local trustees of the said three districts in respect to 
any unexecuted contract or duty, and said three districts shall have continuance under said 
board for the mere purpose of closing unfinished business, and the office of local trustee 
shall cease on the due organization of said board of education. 

§ 11 Additional territory may be annexed to the school district number one as prescribed 
by law for alterations in school districts, and, when so enlarged, all the provisions of this 
act remaining in force shall apply. 



POMFRET. 

[Chap. 34, Laws of 1858, p. .'55.] 

Section 1. School district number nine, in the town of Pomfret, county of Chautauqua, 
phall form a district, a-.id shall not be subject to alteration except in the manner prescribed 
by law. 

§ -2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board, to be styled the '• board of 
education." which board shall consist of six members, and be a body corporate, a majority 
of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Ebenezer R. Thompson, 
Samuel Hilliard, Joseph Mileham. James H. Van Buren, Julian T. Williams and Otis E. 
Tifiany shall ccmipnse the first board of education, and shall hold their offices from one to 
three years, that is to say : two shall go out in each year, in the order in which their names 
Btand recorded in this section. 



622 POMFRET. 

§ 3. There shall he elected in each year, in said district, two members of said hoard of 
education, who shall he residents and taxable inhabitants of said district, and shall hold 
their offices for three years, or until others are elected in their places. The said election 
shall take place at the annual meeting,' of eaid district, when the taxable inhabitants of said 
district may deposit their ballots, containing The name of one person designated for the 
office ; the two persons having the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected. No 
ballot containing more than oiie name shall be counted ; and the said board shall appoint 
three suitable persons as inspectors of said election, at any time within thirty days next 
preceding such election. 

§ 4. Tire board of education shall enter on the duties of their office within ten days after 
being notified of the passage of this act, and the annual meeting of said district shall be 
held on the first Monday of October in each year. 

§ 5. Said board shall have power to fill vacancies occurring in their own body, but the 
person so appointed shall hold his office only until the next annual meeting of said district, 
when the vacancy shall be filled by election. 

§ 6. The said board may make all necessary by-laws for their own government ; they shall 
have the entire control and management of all the common schools within the said district, 
and all the property belonging to the same ; they shall have and possess within said 
district all the rights, powers and authority of trustees of school districts, and shall in all 
respects be subject to the restriction and control of the commissioner of common schools 
for the district, in the same manner as the common schools in this State are subject. They 
shall at their first meeting, and at their first meeting after the annual election in each year, 
appoint one of their number president of said board, who shall preside at the meetings of 
said board when present ; when absent, a president pro tempore shall act in his stead : they 
ghall also appoint at said meeting one of their number secretary, who shall record all the 
acts and resolutions of the board, also act as clerk of school district: in his absence, a 
secretary pro tempore shall be appointed to discharge said duties ; they shall also appoint 
a treasurer, collector and librarian of said district, who shall hold their offices respectively 
one year from their appointment, and until others are appointed in their places, unless 
sooner removed by said board. Such treasurer and collector shall each within ten days 
after notice in writing has been received of his appointment, and before entering on the 
duties of his office, execute and deliver to said board of education a bond in a penalty of 
twice the amount of the estimated amount of the money coming into his hands, and with 
such sureties as said board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties 
of his office. In case such bond shall not be given within ten days after receiving such 
notice, such office shall thereby become vacated, and such board of education shall there- 
upon make an appointment to fill such vacancy. Such treasurer's bonds shall be approved 
by the county clerk, and a copy thereof deposited in said county clerk's office. 

§ 7. The said board of education shall meet for the transaction of business on the first 
Moi\day in each month, or on such other day of the week as they shall fix upon for the year, 
and may adjourn for a shorter time. Special meetings maybe called by the president, or, in 
his absence or inability to act, by the secretary, or any other member of the* board, as often 
as is necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or causing a written 
or printed notice to be left at his place of residence, at least twenty-four hours before the 
hour of said meeting : and if any of said board refuses or neglects to attend any three 
successive stated meetings of the board, and if no sufficient cause of his non-attendance be 
shown, the board may declare his office vacant. 

§ 8. No member of the board of education, except the secretarv". shall receive any pay Of 
compensation for his services, nor shall it be lawful for any member of said board to become 
a contractor for building or making any improvement or repairs authorized by this act, or 
be in any manner, directly or indirectly, interested, either as principal, partner or surety in 
any such contract. All contracts made in violation of this provision shall be absolutely 
void, and the person so violating shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars, which shall 
be collected bv the board for the use of the district. 

§ 9. The said board of education may call special meetings of said district whenever they 
mav deem it necessary: they shall give notice of the same, by posting up a Avritten or 
printed notice thereof, in at least six public places in said district, and by publishing the 
same in said district, at least two weeks previous to the time fixed for such meeting; 
which notice shall state the time and place of such meeting, and the purpose for which the 
same is called : and no business shall be transacted at any such special meeting except that 
stated in the notice calling the !-ame. One week's notice of the annual meeting shall be 
given in said newspapers. 

§ 10. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books and all other school prop- 
erty in said district, shall be vested in said board of education ; and the said board in its 
corporate capacitv may take, hold and dispose of any real or personal estate transferred to 
it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, for the use of common schools in said district. 

§ 11. The public schools in said district shall be free to all children residing therein ; but 
the board of education mav permit children of persons not resident within said district to 
attend said schools, on such terms as they may prescribe, and said board shall have power 
to sue for and recover such prescribed sum. Said board shall require one of their number 
to visit each school in said district at least once in each week, to render such assistance to 
the teachers and advice to the pupils as may be necessary. 

§ 12. Everv resignation of officers, appointed or elected under this act. shall be made to 
the board of'education ; and such resignation shall not excuse said officer from the discharge 
of his duties until accepted by said board. 

S 13. Said board of education shall cause an enumeration of the children between the ages 
Of four and twenty-one years, in said district, and make, once in each year, such a report to 



POMFRET. 623; 

the school commissioner, at the time and in the manner required by law, of trustees of school 
districts : and any parent, or guardian, or housekeeper refusing to give his or her own name 
to the person appointed by "said board to take such enumeration, and the number of the 
children between said ages, living in his or her family, shall be liable to a penalty of ten, 
dollars ; said penalty to be sued for and recovered by said board, and appropriated to school 
purposes. 

§ 14. The town supervisor shall, upon the written order of the president and secretary of 
paid board, pay to the treasurer of said board, out of money in his hands belonging to said 
district, such sums as said order may specify, and all moneys to be received shall be paid to 
the treasurer of said board, who, together with his sureties on his official bond, shall be 
accountable to said board of education . Said treasurer shall not pay out any moneys except 
by resolution of said board and upon an order drawn by the president and certified by the 
secretary to be so drawn in pursuance of such resolution. 

§ 15. Said board of education shall have the entire control of the district library, and may 
make such regulations in regard to the purchase and distribution of books, and management 
of said library, as they shall deem proper. 

§ 16. Said board of education shall have the power, and are hereby directed, to levy and 
collect by tax, once in each year, upon all the taxable property and inhabitants in said dis- 
trict, as the same shall have been last assessed by the town assessors of the town in which 
said district is situated, such sums as said board shall estimate to be necessary for the 
following purposes, viz. : 

1. To pay any deficiency in teachers' wages, after paying all the public money appropri- 
ated for such purpose ; 

2. To hire sites, school-houses and rooms for the use of said school district when necessary; 

3. To alter, repair and improve the school-houses belonging to said district and their 
appurtenances ; 

4. To insure the school-houses and property belonging to said district ; 

5. To pay all necessary contingent expenses of said school district, and of the board of 
education ; 

6. To p^ the librarian a salary not to exceed twenty-five dollars per year ; 

7. To pay the secretary of said board a salary not exceeding fifty dollars per year ; 

8. Any siich sums as shall be authorized by a majority of the taxable Inhabitants, at any 
spt-c ia. meetinof of said district, for the pui'poses specified in section seventeen of this act ; and 
the board shall add to their warrant for collection of taxes, such amount as they shall deem 
proper for fees for collecting, not exceeding five per cent on the amount to be collected. 
Said board shall have power to make all warrants for the collection of taxes to be raised by 
them returnable in sixty or ninety days, at their discretion, and to renew the same when- 
ever it shall become necessary ; such warrant to be signed by the president and secretary, 
pursuant to a resolution of said board. In case it shall appear that the town assessment 
roll does not include all the taxable property of said district, the property omitted shall be 
assessed by the said board, in the same mode required by law, and added thereto ; and the 
collector of said school district shall in the collection of any tax authorized by this act, 
proceed in the same manner, and have all the powers which collectors of town and county 
taxe^ now possess. 

§ 17. Whenever in the opinion of said board it becomes necessary to procure a site, and 
build a school-house, to enlarge those already built, or to raise money for any necessary 
school purpose not enumerated in this act ; they shall submit the plans, and the estimated 
cost of such buildings, site, and necessary appendages, to the taxable inhabitants of said 
district, at a special meeting called for that purpose ; and if a majority of such inhabitants 
present shall vote in favor of the same, the said board may proceed to carry the same into 
efi"ect ; but no site purchased and house built, after the passage of this act, shall exceed 
in cost, jointly, the sum of three thousand dollars, nor shall any addition to school-houses in 
said district exceed said amount ; neither shall more than one school-house or addition to 
any school-house in said district be built in any one year ; nor shall any addition be made to 
any school-house in said district the same year in which a new school-house is built ; nor shall 
a greater sum than four hundred dollars be raised in any one year, for purposes not enu- 
merated in this act, by said special meeting. 

§ 18. Said board of education shall have the power to establish as many primary schools 
in said district as they may deem proper, and to have in all respects the superintendence, 
supervision and management of the public schools in said district, to adopt, alter, modify and 
repeal, as they may deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, govern- 
ment and instruction, for the reception of pupils, and their transfer from one school to 
another, and generally for their good order, prosperity and public utility. 

§ 19. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, it may be advisable to sell or exchange any 
school-house, lots or sites now or hereafter belonging to the district, they shall state such 
object in ttie notice of an annual or special meeting, and. v/ith the consent of a majority of 
the taxable inhabitants present at such meeting, may sell or dispose of such school-houses, 
sites or lots, to the best advantage. 

§ 20. Said board of education shall, at each annual meeting, submit a report in writing of 
their doings as such board, and shall state therein the number and condition of the schools 
in said district under their charge, and the number of scholars attending the same, the 
studies pursued, the amount of money received tjiom the State and from any other source, 
the expenditure of the same, and all the particulars in detail relating to schools in said 
district, which report may, if the board think proper, be printed. 

§ 21. All laws and parts of laws, inconsistent with this act, are hereby repealed, so far as 
relates to school district number nine, in the town of Pomfret. 



624 POTJGHKEEPSIE. 

[Chap. 98, Laws of 1864, p. 150.] 

Section 1. Section five of an act passed March seventeenth, eighteen hundred and fifty- 
eight, entitled " An act to make school district number nine, in the town of Pomfret, a union 
free school district." is hereby amended so as to read as follows : Said board of education 
shall have power to fill all vacancies occurring in their own body for the unexpired term of 
the person causing such vacancy, and whenever any vacancy shall exist in said board of edu- 
cation a majority of the remaining members shall constitute a quorum of said board. 

§ 2. Whenever said board of education shall be authorized, as provided by said act of 
March seventeen, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight, to levy a tax for purchasing a site, build- 
ing a school-house, making repairs on school-houses, or for other purposes, it is hereby 
authorized to borrow said money, or so much thereof as it shall deem proper, and to issue 
bonds for the same ; said bonds not to draw over seven per cent interest, and to be made 
payable at such places and times as in the judgment of said board shall be to the best 
advantage of said district; and the taxable inhabitants at any special school meeting, as 
provided in said act of eighteen hundred and fifty-eight, are hereby authorized to vote to 
raise such sum or sums for the building of school-houses or additions to those already built, 
or both, or repairs of the same, as they shall deem proper. 

§ 3. The acts of said board of education heretofore done in regard to borrowing money for 
the purpose of building a new school-house, for the levyiu|j of taxes and paying out money, 
are hereby legalized, and the terms of otfice of the following persons constituting the 

g resent members of said board of education shall expire as follows : Cyrus Thompson and 
;. P. Clark, on the second Tuesday of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-tour ; William 
Bookstaver and James H. V"an Bureu, on the second Tuesday of October, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-five; J. T. Williams and Joseph Milcham on the second Tuesday of October, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-six. Whenever, at the annual meeting of the district for the 
election of two members of said board, a tie shall occur between any two of the three 
receiving the highest number of votes, no choice shall be deemed to have been made by said 
meeting, and the outgoing members shall hold over and act as members of said board" until 
their places shall be filled by said board of education, which said board is hereby authorized 
to do. 



CITY OF POTJGHKEEPSIE. 

[Laws of 1854, chap, 90, as amended by chap. 193, Laws of 1860, p. 317, and chap. 527, Laws 

of 1866, p. 1134.] 

TITLE X.— OF &CH00LS AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

Section 1. There shall be elected in said city at every annual election four commissioners 
of schools, who shall hold their oflice for three years At the first elections to be held under 
this act, twelve commissioners shall be chosen: and at the first meeting of the board of 
education, hereby constituted, after such election, the said commissioners shall draw lets 
for their terms of office, so that four shall draw to hold for one, four for two, and four for 
three years, and their respective terms of office shall expire accoi'dingly. 

§ 2. In case of vacancy in the office of any such commissioners, or in case no person shall 
be elected thereto by reason of two or more persons having an equal nurai)er of votes, the 
common council shall appoint an inhabitant of the city to fill the same, and the person 
appointed shall hold his oflice until the next election of commissioners of common schools. 

§ 3. The said commissioners shall meet on the Tuesday next after the annual election and 
organize as a board of education ; they shall elect one of their number to be president, who 
shall i)ossess the powders and discharge the duties of a town superintendent of schools, so 
far as the same may be necessary, and not inconsistent with this act; they may employ a 
clerk at a reasonable compensation, and a librarian to have the charge of the jnablic library, 
wlio shall be paid a reasonable salary out of the school funds ol the city. They shall have 
the charge and control of the public schools in the city of Poughkeepsie, and shall exercise 
the powers and discharge the duties, in respect to said schools, both of trustees of school dis- 
trict and of town superintendent under the statutes of this State; they shall also have charge 
and control of the district school library, which shall be hereafter known as the city library 
of Pouuhkeepsie. and may make all necessary and proper regulations concerning thq same • 
and they may ai)propriate for the benefit of said library, out of the moneys annually raised 
in said city by the school tax, an amount not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars in 
addition to the library money received from the State. 

§ 4. It shall be the duty of the board of education to make to the common council of the 
city of Poughkeepsie an annual report, on or before the first Tuesday in Fel)ruary of each 
year, setting forth the number and condition of each school under their charge, a detail of 
all the expenses and liabilities incurred, with all disbursements madi- by them during the 
past year, and all other particulars relating to the schools. In their annual report, the said 
Doard of education shall determine and certify the amount of money which, wlien added to 
the nn>ney annually apportioned to the said corporation out of the funds belonging to the 
State, will in their judsrment be necessary*to support all the schools under their superintend- 
ence for the then current year. The said amount shall in no case exceed three times the 
amount which shall have been apportioned out of the funds belonging to the State, as afore- 
said, for the year next precedina:. The. said council shall cause said report of the board of 
education, with a statement of the city chamberlain, showing the amount received by him 



POUGHKEEPSIE. C25 

daring the same year for the support of schools from all sources and the disbursement or 
expenditure thereof, to be pnblistied once in every newspaper printed in said city. 

§ 5. If such amount so certified shall not exceed ten thousand dollars, the council of said 
city shall have power to levy and collect the same, or any less amount which they may deem 
proper, at the same time and in the same manner as other o;eneral city taxes are levied and 
raised : and a separate column shall be provided in the general tax roll of said city, in which 
shall be inserted the amount of tax assessed for the support of public schools. 

§ 6. If the said board of education shall at any time recommend the raising of more than 
ten thousand dollars in any year for the support of schools, the said council shall submit 
the question, whether the excess above ten thousand dollars shall be raised, to the electors 
of said city being tax payers entitled to vote at special tax elections, according to the 
provisions of this act at an election to be held in the same manner in which special taxes 
are directed to be submitted to said electors according to the provisicms of the act. If the 
majority of the votes cast at such special election shall be given in favor of raising the 
amount recommended by the board of education, the same shall be levied and collected in 
the manner prescribed by this act for school taxes. If a majority of such votes shall be 
given against raising such amount, the said council shall proceed to raise ten thousand 
dollars, in the manner provided in this act for the support of schools. 

§ 7. If the board of education shall deem the purchase or erection of an additional school- 
house proper or necessary, they may recommend the same in their annual report, or in a 
special report adopted at a regular meeting of said board, by two-thirds of the members of 
said board concurring, stating the location they propose, the cost of a lot, and a plan and 
estimate for a building. The council of said city may thereupon, without unnecessary delay, 
submit the question of the purchase or erection of such school-house to the electors, being 
tax payers entitled to vote special taxes under this act, at an election to be held in the man- 
ner provided by this act in voting special taxes. The said electors shall vote by ballots, on 
which shall be written or printed, "For a school-house," " Against a school-house ;" if a 
majority of the votes shall be cast for a school-house, and not otherwise, it shall be the duty 
of the common council ro certify to the board of education the result of such election, and the 
said board of education are hereby empowered and shall forthwith proceed to purchase a 
lot and erect a building, or purchase a lot and building suitable for a school-house, in such 
location as to said boal'd of education shall seem best. The title to such lot shall be taken 
to and shall vest in the city of Poughkeepsie ; and the cost of building and furnishing such 
school-house shall in no case exceed the sum of six thousand dollars, inclusive of the lot ; 
and the expense thereof, including the lot, shall be defrayed by a general tax, which the 
council shall levy and collect in the same manner as other schodl taxes are levied and col- 
lected ; or if said council shall deem best, such money may be raised by loan, on the credit 
of the city, which the said mayor and council are herel)y authorized to pledge for such pur- 
pose, in the same manner as is by this act provided in relation to loans by said city ; said 
loan to be paid in annual installments, with interest, within the period of twenty years, for 
which time said council shall have power, and are hereby authorized to pledge the credit 
of said city, or for such less time as to the said council shall seem proper; and the install- 
ments, with interest, shall be levied and collected, together with the annual taxes, as the 
said installments become due. [As amended by section 3, of chapter 193, Laws of 
1866.] 

§ 8. The chamberlain of the city of Poughkeepsie is hereby designated as the person 
to receive all public money which said city or the schools therein are or shall be entitled to 
receive from the State, or by tax or loan from the city, and the said chamberlain shall pay 
all school moneys to the president of the board of education, upon his executing and filing 
with said chamberlain a bond to the city of Poughkeepsie, in such sums as the council shall 
direct, and with such sureties as the mayor shalfapprove, conditioned that he will faithfully 
discharge the duties of his trust, and pay over or account for all moneys received by him 
for school purposes ; and all moneys so received by said president shall be deposited in one 
of the banks of said city to the credit of the president of the board of education, and shall 
be paid out by him upon resolutions of said board, certified by the clerk, by draft or check, 
containing the name of the person to whom paid and the date of the meeting when the 
resolution directing the payment of the same was passed by said board, and sighed by the 
presiding officer of said board, and not otherwise. 

§ 9. The board of education shall cause an enumeration of all the children within said 
city, between the ages of four and twenty-one years of age, to be made annually by or before 
the first day of July in every year, and the president of said board shall report the number 
of such children at the time and in the manner required by law of town superintendents of 
schools. [The residue of this section is repealed by chap. 180 of 1856. 

§ 10. The said board may establish, and cause to be kept, a separate school for the instruc- 
tion of colored children. 

§ 11. The services of the board of education designated by this act shall be gratuitous, 
except that the president shall receive ten dollars for making the report and performing such 
other duties as are by this act directed to be performed by him as a town superintendent 
of schools. Any person elected a member of this board who shall refuse to qualify and 
serve or to perform the duties of his office, shall forfeit and pay ten dollars, to be recovered 
in a proper action to be brought for the same by the city, and the money to be applied to 
the benefit of the city library, under the direction of the board of education. 

§ 12. If any person elected a commissioner of schools shall resign his office after having 
duly qualified, such resignation shall not be accepted by the common council, to whom all 
such resignations shall be made, unless the person desiring to resign shall pay to the city 
chamberlain the sura of ten dollars, which shall be applied for the benefit of the city library 
by the board of education. 

79 



626 Pulaski. 

§ 13. The said board may make regulations respecting the use, and imposing fines or 
penalties for the abuse of books belonging to the city librarj' ; and any person incurring any 
each fine or penalty shall be liable to an action for the same by the city, and the amount 
received shall he applied as aforesaid to the use of the library. 

§ 14. The title to all propej-ty, real or personal, now held by the board of education of 
the village of Poughkeepsie is hereby vested in and confirmed to the city of Poughkeepsie 
hereby incorporated. 

[By section 6, chapter 316 of 1852, the children instructed in the schools of the Pough- 
keepsie female guardiau society are to participate in the apportionment of the school fund 
according to the average number in attendance.] 



PULASKI. 

[Laws of 1853, chap. 305, as amended by chap. 567, Laws of 1855.] 

Section 1. All that part of school districts numbers twenty-five, seven and thirty, lying 
within the village of Pulaski, and the parts of the districts adjacent thereto, lying within the 
boundaries of said village, are hereby consolidated, and shall hereafter form but one school 
district, to be called "the Pulaski school district."' provided that the consolidation of said 
districts and parts of districts into one district shall not interfere with the rights, privileges 
and duties of the trastees of the said respective districts and parts of districts in relation 
to the past winter terms of said schools respectively; but for the purpose of closing said 
terms and collecting and paying teachers' wages and all other charges relating thereto, or 
any other arrearages or debts, their powers and duties shall remain and continue as if this 
act had not passed. 

§ 2. Charles H. Cross, Hiram Murdock, Anson R. Jones, George Garley, Don A. King, 
Anson Malby. Xewton M. Wardwell, Samuel Woodruff and William H. Lester are hereby 
appointed trustees of said district, to be divided by lot, at their first meeting, into three 
classes, to be numbered one, two and three, to hold their ofiices as follows: Class number 
one until the next annual meeting, which shall be held on the first Tuesday of October next, 
at which there shall be elected three trustees to supply their place : class number two until 
the next annual meeting thereafter ; and class number three until the next annual meeting 
thereafter; and at each annual meeting there shall be elected three trustees to supply the 
place of those whose terms shall then expire. If at any meeting so annually held there 
shall be a failure to elect said trustees, the class whose term would then expire shall hold 
until others are duly elected in their stead. Notice of the annual or any special district 
meeting may hereafter be given by posting the same in three public places in said -village, 
and also publishing in the newspaper printed in said village, if any shall be published 
therein, and the same shall be deemed a valid and sufficient notice for all purposes. 

§ 3. The trustees of said district and their successors in office shall constitute a board of 
education for said district, and, for the purposes of this act, in addition to the present powers 
and duties of trustees, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name 
and style of "the board of education of the village of Pulaski;" and said corporation shall 
have power to establish and organize a classical school in said village, to be known by the 
name of •• the Pulaski academy;" and such classical school shall be subject to all laws and 
regulations applicable to other incorporated academies of this State, and shall be entitled to 
share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund upon the same terms as other 
academies of this State ; and the Eegents of the University shall recognize said academy as 
such as soon as the required sum of money shall be expended in buildings and competent 
teachers employed therein, 

§4. Such board of education shall appoint one of their number president of said board, 
who shall preside at the meetings of said board when present ; when absent a president pro 
tempore shall be appointed in his stead. They shall also appoint one of their number sec- 
retary, who shall record all the acts, doings and resolutions of said board, and, in the absence 
of the secretary, a secretary pro tempore shall be appointed to discharge such duties. They 
shall also appoint a collector, librarian and treasurer of said district, who shall respectively 
hold their offices one year from their appointment and until others are appointed in their 
places, unless sooner removed by said board ; such collector, librarian and treasurer shall 
each, within ten days after notice of their appointment in writing, and before the entering 
upon the duties of "their office, execute and deliver to said board of education a bond, in 
such penalty and with such sureties as said board may require, conditioned for the faithful 
discharge of the duties of his office ; in case such bond shall not be given within ten days 
after receiving such notice, such office shall thereby become vacated, and said board shall 
thereupon make an appointment to supply such vacancy, 

§ 5. The said board of education shall have power to fill any vacancy which may happen 
by the reason of death or the removal from the said district, or otherwise, and the officer so 
appointed shall hold his office for the unexpired time of the person to supply whose place 
he shall be so appointed. 

§ 6, Said board of education shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties, 
in respect to said district, that the trustees of common schools now possess or are subject 
to. and such other powers and duties as are given or imposed by this act, in addition to the 
powers now vested in them by law. 

§ 7. The taxable inhabitants of said district, at any annual, special or adjouraed district 
meeting, legally held, may vote to raise such sum of money as they shall deem expedient, 
not exceeding nine thousand dollars, for the purpose of purchasing a site, and bui'ding a 
Bchool-house or school-houses in said district, or for the purpose of purchasing any suitable 



Pulaski. 627 

building for such purpose, and furnishin2: the same with the necessary furniture, maps, 
globes and other suitable apparatus, and direct the trustees to cause the same to be levied 
and raised, by tax upon the real and personal estate within the bounds of said district which 
shall be liable to taxation for the ordinary taxes of said village or for town and county 
charsjes, by installments, and make out a tax for the collection of the same as often as such 
instiulments shall become due : and the le<>al voters at any such meeting are authorized to 
fix the compensation for collecting and paying over to the treasurer of said board the 
amount so levied. They shall have power also in like manner to raise such sum or sums as 
shall be deemed necessary for the p.iyment of teachers' wages or the general purposes of 
education in said village. [As amended f^y § 1, diapter 5BT of 1855.] 

§ 2. The inhabitants of the town of Richland are hereby authorized to raise by tax on the 
said town, in the same manner as other town taxes are levied and collected, a sum not 
exceeding four thousand dollars by annual installments or other to be determined by said 
inhabitants at any town meeting legally assembled, and the same, when so raised and col- 
lected, shall be paid to the treasurer of the board of educati<m in said village, to be expended 
by said board for the purposes mentioned in the first section of this act. [Section 2, chapter 
5(37 of 1855. The section referred to is the preceding.] 

§ 8. The board of education are hereby authorized to obtain by loan the whole or any 
part of the money, legally voted by said district, for the purchase of a site and the erection 
of buildings, and" secure the payment of the same by their official bond. 

§ 9. The^said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to sell at public 
auction to the highest bidder, or at private sale, the school-houses and sites thereof belong- 
ing to or situated in said district, the title to all of which is hereby vested in them, and hold 
and use the proceeds therefor for the benefit of said district. 

§ 10. The said board of education are hereby eriipowered and authorized to make such by- 
laws and reirulations as they may deem necessary to secure the prosperity, order and govern- 
ment of said school, and to divide the same into primary and higher departments, and 
regulate the transfer of scholars from one department to the other, and provide suitable 
instructors for each department ; direct what text books shall be used in the same ; to 
establish such primary or infant school or schools as they shall deem requisite and expedi- 
ent, and to alter and discontinue the same : to purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lota 
or sites for school-houses, and to fence and improve the same as they may think proper; to 
purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and appendages ; 
to purchase fuel alid all other necessaries for the use of the school or schools in said district, 
and to pay the contingent expenses thereof; to pay the wages of all teachers employed in 
the school or schools in said district out of the public money and funds ai)plicable thereto ; 
to fix and regulate the terms of tuition fees in said primary and other higher branches in 
said school or schools ; to sue for and collect in their corporate name any sum of money or 
tuition fees due to said district ; and all contracts made by them in their official capacity 
shall be binding upon them and their successors in office: to receive and apply to the use 
of said school or schools, or any department thereof, any gift, legacy, bequest or annuities 
given or bequeathed to said board, and to apply the same according to the instruction of 
the donor or testator; to take. and hold any real' estate given or bequeathed to said board 
for the purpose of said school or schools, or any department thereof, and apply the proceeds 
thereof according to the terras and instructions of the donor or testator; to have in all 
respects the supervision, management and control of said school or schools, and any and 
every department thereof, and hire, pay and discharge any teacher or teachers employed by 
them in said school or schools or department thereof. 

§ 11. The report now required by law to be made to the town superintendents of common 
schools shall be made by said board of education, and the public moneys payable to said 
district shall be payable by him to the treasurer thereof. 

§ 12. Said board of education shall have power and are hereby authorized to receive into 
said academy, and cause to be instructed therein, any pupil or pupils residing in or out of 
said district, and to reo;ulate and establish the terms of tuition fees of such resident or non- 
resident pupils, and said board of education shall have power to regulate the tuition fees and 
rates of charges for instruction, and to graduate the same according to the branches pur- 
sued in the hisrher English and classical departments of said academy. [As amended by 
chapter 159, Laivs of 18(54, p. 3-36.] 

§ 13. After applying the public moneys applicable thereto to the support of said school or 
schools in said districts, in payment of the salaries and wages of teachers emploj'ed therein, 
said board of education shall, unless the same shall have been previously raised, cause such 
additional sum as may be required, to pay said wages and salaries of teachers and other 
contingent expenses necessary to the support of such academy and school or schools, to be 
assessed and levied upon the taxable property of said district, and collected in the manner 
provided by law for the collection and assessment of school district taxes in the several 
towns of this State ; not more than two taxes for such purpose shall ever be raised in one 
year ; warrants for the collection of taxes in said district to be issued under the hand and 
seal of the president or the major part of said board. 

§ 14. All moneys raised in said district for the purpose of said school or schools, and all 
moneys to be received by such district from the common school fund or other source, shall 
be paid to the treasurer of said district, to be paid by him on the warrant of said board of 
education, and to be applied by them for the use of said school or schools, according to the 
provisions of this act. 

§ 15. The libraries of said districts number twenty-five, seven and thirty are hereby consoli- 
dated into one. and the title thereto vested in said board of education, as trustees of said dis- 
trict ; and the library money payable to said district shall be paid to the treasurer thereof, 
and drawn on the warrant of and expended by said board for the use of said trustees. 



628 Rochester. 



ROCHESTER. 

[Title six of chap. 143, Laws of 1861, p. 204, as amended by chap. 121, 'Laws of 1863, ;>. 181 ; by 
chap. 282, Laws of 1864, p. 695, and by chap. 553, Laws of 1865, p. 1085.] 

[By sections six and seven, of title two, one commissioner of common schools is required 
to be annually elected in each ward on the Tuesday after the first Monday in March. 

By section twenty-four, in case a vacancy shall occur in the office. " the common council 
may, in their discretion, fill such vacancy by the appointment of a suitable person who is an 
elector, and if appointed for a ward, who is a resident of the ward for which he shall be 
appointed ; and any officer appointed to fill a vacancy, if the office is elective, shall hold, bv 
virtue of such appointment, only until the first Monday of April next succeeding. If au 
elective officer, whose office shall have become vacant, was one of a class, a successor for 
the unexpired term shall be elected at the next annual election." 

By section twenty-six. every person so elected or appointed to the office of commissioner 
shall, before he enters on the duties of his office, and within five days after beinp; notified 
of such election or appointment, take the oath of office prescribed'by the Constitution of 
this State, before some ofticer authorized to take affidavits to be read in courts of justice, 
and file the same with the clerk of the city ; and by section twenty-eight, his neglect to do 
j?o, or, if required by the common council to execute an official bond or undertaking, the 
neglect to execute and file the same in manner and within the time prescribed by the com- 
mon council, shall be deemed a refusal to serve.] 

TITLE VI,— SCHOOLS AND BOAKD OF EDUCATION. 

§ 134. The several wards of the city of Rochester shall constitute one school district, for 
all purposes except as herein otherwise provided, and the schools therein shall be free to all 
children between the ages of five and twenty-one residing in such wards. 

§ 135. The title of school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurte- 
nances, and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall remain and continue to be 
in the said city of Rochester. 

§ l.SO. The common council of said city may, upon the recommendation of the board of 
education hereinafter mentioned, sell any of the school-houses, lots or sites, or anj'oiher 
school property now or hereafter belonging to said city, upon such terms as the said com- 
mon council inay deem reasonable. The proceeds of all such sales shall be paid to the 
treasurer of the city, and shall be by the common council again expended in the purchase, 
repairs or improvements of other school-houses, lots, sites or school furniture, apparatus or 
appurtenances. 

§ 137. The commissioners of common schools in said city shall constitute a board to be 
ptyled the "board of education of the city of Rochester," which shall be a corporate body 
in relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by virtue of this act ; they shail 
meet on the first Monday of each and every month, and as much oftener as they shall from 
time to time appoint ; a majority of the said board shall ccmstitute a quorum for the transac- 
tion of business. The said board shall appoint one of their number president, who shall, 
when present, preside at all the meetings of said board, and shall have poAver to call special 
meetings of the board, in the manner described by this act for the calling of special meet- 
ings of the common council. In the absence of the president, the board shall appoint some 
other member to preside at such meetings and perform the duties of the president. No 
member of said board of education shall, during the period for which he was elected, be 
appointed to or be competent to hold any office of which the emolum^'Uts are paid from 
the city treasury, or paid by fees dii'scted to be paid by any act or ordinance of the board 
of education, or be direcfly or indirectly interested in any contract, as principal, surety or 
■ otherwise, the expenses or consideration whereof are to' be paid under any ordinance of 
the board of education. 

§ 138. The said commissioners shall appoint a city superintendent of common schools, 
■who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board, and whose compensation shall be 
:fixed by the said board, and whose duties shall be prescribed by said board ; the superinten- 
'dent shall officiate as clerk of the board, and shall keep a record of the proceedings of the 
-board. The said record, or a transcript thereof certified by the president and clerk, shall 
l>e received in all courts as imma facie evidence of the facts therein set forth: and such 
'i-ecords, and all the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of said board, shall at all times 
be subject to the inspection of the common council and of any committee thereof. 

§ 130. The said commissioners may appoint a policeman who shall hold his office during 
the pleasure of said board, and whose salary shall be fixed and paid by the common coun- 
cil, who shall have the same powers as the other policemen of said city, and who shall 
perform such duties as said board may impose. 

§ 140. The common council of said city shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, 
to raise from time to time, by tax to be levied equally upon all the real and personal estate 
in said city which shall be liable to taxation for the ordinary city taxes or for city or county 
charges, such sum or sums of money as may be necessary or proper for any or all the follow- 
ing purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for school-houses ; 

2. To build, imrchase, lease, enlarge, improve, alter and repair school-houses and their out- 
houses and appurtenances ; 

•3. To purchase, improve, exchange and repair school-apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages.; 



Rochester. 629 

4. To procure fuel and defray the continf^ent expenses of the common schools ; 

5. To pay the waives of teachers due after the application of the public moneys which may 
by law be" appropriated and provided for that purpo-<e ; provided, nevertheless, that tiie 
tax to be levied as aforesaid and collected by virtue of this act shall be collected at the same 
time and in the same manner as other city taxes ; 

0. And the amount to be raised for teachers' washes and contingent expenses, in any one 
year, shall not be less then one dollar nor more than three dollars for every scholar over 
the age of five years and under the age of sixteen years within said city, according to the 
annual enuuieration of the previous year. Nor shall the amount to be raised in any one year 
to lease, alter, improve and repair school-houses and their outhouses and appurtenances, 
exceed five thousand dollars. Nor shall the amount to he raised in any one year to pur- 
chase and improve sites, and build or enlarge school-houses, exceed ten thousand dollars ; 
and the common council of said city are authorized and directed, when necessary, to raise 
by loan, in anticipation of the taxes, the moneys so to be raised, collected and levied as 
aforesaid. 

§ 141 . All moneys to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to or provided for said city, shall be paid to the city treasurer thereof, 
who, together with their sureties upon his official bond, shall be accountable therefor in the 
same manner as for other moneys of said city. The said city treasurer shall be liable to the 
same penalties for any official misconduct, in relation to the said moneys, as for any similar 
misconduct in relation to other moneys of said city. 

§ 142. The said " board" shall have power, and it shall be their duty: 

1. To establish and or^^anize in the several wards of said city such and so many schools 
(including the common schools now existing therein) as they shall deem requisite and expe- 
dient, and to alter and discontinue the same ; 

2. To hire school-houses and rooms, and improve them as they may deem proper; 

3. To alter, enlarge, and improve and repair school-houses and appurtenances, as they 
may deem advisable ; 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, furniture and append- 
ages, and to defraj' their contingent expenses ; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, outhouses, fences, books, 
furniture and appendages, and to see that the ordinances of the common council in relation 
thereto be observed ; 

(i. To contract with, license and employ all teachers in said schools, and at their pleasure 
to remove them ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the moneys appropriated and provided by 
law for the support of schools in said city, so far as the same shall be sufficient, and the 
residue thereof from the money authorized to be raised for that purpose, by section one hun- 
dred and forty of this act, by tax upon said city; 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including an annual salary 
to the superintendent : 

9. To have in all respects .the superintendence, supervision and management of the 
common schools in said city, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modifj^ and repeal as 
they may deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, u^overnment, \isita- 
tion and instruction, for the reception of pupils and their transfer from one school to 
another, and generally for the promotion of their good order, prosperity and public 
utility ; 

10. Whenever in the opinion of the board it may be advisable to sell any of the school- 
houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging to the city, 
to report the same to the common council ; 

11. To prepare and report to the common council such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary or proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots and sites, and appurtenances, and all the property belonging to the city con- 
nected with or appertaining to the schools, and to suggest proper penalties for the violation 
of such ordinances and regulations ; and. annually, on or betore the first day of June on 
each year, to determine and certify to said common council the sums in their opinion 
necessary or proper to be raised under the one hundred and fortieth section of this act, 
specifying the sums required (for the year commencing on the first day of January there- 
after), for each of the purposes therein mentioned and the reasons therefor ; 

12. On or before the second Tuesday of October, in each year, to make and file with the 
county clerk, or such other officers as may be designated by law, a report in writing, bearing 
date the first day of October in that year and stating: 

I. The number of school-houses in said city, and an account and description of all the 
common schools kept in said city during the preceding year and the time they have severally 
been taught ; 

II. The number of children taught in said schools respectively, and the number of children 
over the age of five years and under the age of twenty-one years residing in said city on the 
last day of December previous ; 

III. The whole amount of school moneys received by the city treasurer of said city during 
the year preceding, distinguishing the amount received from the county treasurer from the 
city tax. and from^any oth'er source ; 

IV. The manner in which such moneys had been expended, and whether any and whajt 
part remains unexpended, and for what cause ; 

V. The amount of money received for tuition fees from foreisrn pupils during the year, and 
the amount paid for teachers' wages, in addition to the public moneys, with such other 
information relating to the common schools of said city as may from time to time be required 
by the State Superintendent of Common Schools. 



630 Rochester. 

§ 143. The said board of education shall have power to allow the children of persons not 
resident within the city to attend any of the schools of said city under the care and control 
of said board, upon such terms as said board sluill by resolution prescribe, fixing the tuition 
which shall be paid therefor. 

§ 144. It shall be the duty of said board in all their expenditures and contracts to have 
reference to the amount of moneys which shall be subject to their order during tlie then 
current year for the particular expenditure in question, and not to exceed that amount ; 
and they shall apply the moneys levied, raised and received by them for the support of com- 
mon schools in said city in such a manner as shall secure equal educational advantages to 
Jill the children of said city over five and under twenty-one years of age, bv continuing the 
schools in each district an equal period, as near as may be. 

§ 145. The said board of commissioners shall be trustees of the school library or libraries 
in said city, and all the provisions of the law which now are or hereafter may be passed relative 
to district school libraries shall apply to the said com.nissioners. They shall also be vested 
with the same discretion, as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by any laws of 
this State for the purchase of libraries, which is therein conferred upon the inhabitants 
of school districts. It shall be iheir duty to i)rovide ibr the sale keeping of the librarie.'*. The 
city superintendent shall be the general lil)rariau. The board shall also appoint a librarian 
forea-Ch school, to have the care of the books and to superintend the letting out and return 
thereof. The several school librarians shall from time to lime, inform the general librarian of 
the state and condition of the libraries ; and the said board, or the general librarian under 
the direction or by resolution of the said l)oard, may make all purchases of books for the 
libraries, and provide for their equitable distribution among the schools, and exchange or 
cause to be repaired the damaged books belonging thereto, and also to sell any books 
which may be deemed useless, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of other books for 
said libraries. 

§ 146. It shall be the duty of the said board, at least twenty days before the annual election 
for commissioners in each year, to prepare and report to the common council true and cor- 
rect statements of the receipts and disbursements of money under and in pursuance of 
the provisions of this act, during the preceding year, in which account stiall be stated, under 
appropriate heads ; 

1. The money raised by the common council under the one hundred and fortieth section 
of this act ; 

2. The school moneys received by the city treasurer of the city ; 

3. The school moneys received by the common council, under the one hundred and 
fortieth section of this act; 

4. All other moneys received by the city treasurer, subject to the order of the board 
specifying the same and sources ; 

5. The manner in which such sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount paid under each head of expenditure. And the common council shall, ten days 
before such election, cause the same to be published in at least two of the newspapers pub- 
lished in said city. 

§ 147. The common council of the said city shall have the power to pass such ordinances 
and regulations as the said board of education may report as necessary and proper for the 
protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of the school-houses, lots, sites, appurte- 
nances and appendages, libraries and all necessary property belonging to or connected with 
the schools in said city, and to impose proper penalties lor the violation thereof, subject to 
the restrictions and limitations contained in this act ; and all such penalties shall be col- 
lected in the same manner that the penalties for the violation of the city ordinances are by 
Jaw collected, and when collected shall be paid to the city treasurer of the city, and be sub- 
ject to the order of the board of education in the same manner as other moneys raised 
pursuant to this act. 

§ 14S. It shall be duty of the common council, within fifteen days after receiving the 
certificate of the commissioners required by the one hundred and fortieth section of this 
act of the sums necessary or proper to be raised under the one hundred and fortieth section 
of this act, to determine and certify to said board of education the amount that will be 
raised by them for the year commencing on the first Monday of January thereafter for the 
purposes mentioned in said one hundred and fortieth section, distinguishing between 
the amount to be raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses and the amount to be 
raised for the repair of school-houses ; and in case the said common council shall neglect 
or fail to certify to the board of education the amount that will be raised by them within 
thirty days, as above specified, then the said common council shall raise the several amounts 
embraced in the certificate of the board of education, as specified therein, which amounts 
shall be subject to the disposal of the board of education. 

§ 149. All the moneys required to be raised by virtue of this act. or received by the said 
city for or on account of the common schools, shall be dejjosited Ibr the safe keeping thereof 
with the city treasurer of said city, to the credit of said board of education, and shall be 
drawn out, in pursuance of a resolution or rosoluticms of said board, by drafts drawn by 
the president and countersigned by the clerk of said board. i)ayable to the order of the 
person or persons entitled to receive such moneys, and said city treasurer shall keep 
the funds authorized by this title to be received by him separate and distinct from any 
other fund which he is or may by law be authorized to receive. 

§ 150. The said board of education shall have power to establish and cause to be kept 
Buch number, of schools in said city for the instruction of colored children as they shall 
deem expedient. 

§ 151. The said board of education shall possess all the powers and be subject to all the 
duties and responsibilities of trustees of common schools in the towns of the State, iu 



Rome — Sag Harbor. 631 

respect to the schools mentioned in the last precedins^ sectix)n, so far as the same are 
applicable ; and shall pay the compensation of the teachers of the said schools, and all the 
other expenses thereof, out of the moneys raised by tax under this act for the support 
of common schools ; and, until such schools for the instruction of colored children shall be 
so provided, it shall not be lawful to impose any tax upon the property of any colored person 
in said city for the support of the common schools. No member of the board of education 
shall vote for the payment of any money out of any of the funds authorized to be raised by 
section one hundred and forty of the city charter, knowing that such fund is without money 
to pay the same, and any person violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and, upon conviction thereof, Khali be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one 
hundred dollars, and be imprisoned in the Monroe county penitentiary for the period of 
ten days. And the district attorney of the county of Monroe is hereby specially directed, 
and it shall be his duty, to prosecute all persons violating this provision upon the complaint 
of any tax payer of sa'id city. 

§ 152. Whenever the said board of education shall determine to establish any school for 
the instruction of colored children, they shall divide the said city into convenient districts 
for the accommodation of such children, and enter the boundaries thereof on their records ; 
they shall make an estimate of the expense of erecting a suitable school-house in each of 
said districts, and determine the sites thereof respectively, and report all their doings under 
this section to the common council. 

§ 153. The common council shall have power to raise by general tax, in the manner herein- 
before provided, and on a separate warrant, such sum as shall be necessary to build a school- 
house in each of the said districts, or in as many of them as they may deem expedient, not 
exceeding in the aggregate the sum of five thousand dollars, or the said common council 
may refuse to raise such tax. 

§ 154. In case the common council shall refuse to raise such tax, the said board of educa- 
tion shall have power to provide and lease suitable rooms or buildings for the accommoda- 
tion of such schools or either of them ; but the annual expenditure for this purpose shall 
not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars. 

Whenever the said board of education shall have established, in connection with the public 
schools of the city, a high school for the accommodation of pupils pursuing the branches 
of education usually taught in academies, the Reirents of the University of the State of New 
York may, upon the application of said board of education, acknowledge and declare said 
high school to be an academy ; and it shall thereafter be an academy, subject to such rules 
and regulations as said regents may prescribe ; provided, however, that nothing in this sec- 
tion shall aff'ect the rights and duties of said board of education, granted or imposed by this 
act, or the statutes of this State relating to common schools. 

§ -268. The board of education is hereby authorized to organize a " teachers' class " in the 
free academy, or high school of said city, which shall be entitled to an annual allowance 
from the '• literature fund " of the State of New York, on the conditions and rules of the 
Regents of the University, adopted for the distribution of said fund in other academies of 
the State in which such classes are instructed. 



ROME. 

[Chaih 177, Laws of 1867,2?. 263.] 

Section 1. The first section of the act entitled " An act to make the common schools free 
in district number five, in the town of Rome, in the county of Oneida, and to provide a tax 
for that purpose," passed April tenth, eighteen hundred and sixtv-two, is hereby amended 
BO as to read as follows, viz.: The common schools in school district number five, in the town 
of Rome, in the county of Oneida, shall be free to all children between the ages of five years 
and twenty-one years, residing in said district ; and rate bills therein are hereby abolished. 
The trustees of said district shall have the power, and it is hereby made their duty to raise, 
from time to time, by tax to be levied as other taxes upon the property in said school dis- 
trict, which shall be liable for ordinary school district faxes, such sum or sums of money as 
the trustees of said district may deem necessary for the payment of teachers' wages, after 
applying all other moneys belonging to said district which may be applicable to thepayment 
of the wages of teachers. 

§ 2. The second section of the act hereby amended is hereby repealed. 

§ 3. The trustees of said school district are hereby authorized, at any time during the year 
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, to raise by tax such a sum as may be necessary, not 
exceeding eight thousand dollars, for the erection of a new school-house in said district. 
The said trustees, however, shall previously give a bond in the sum of eight thousand dol- 
lars, to be approved by the surrogate of said county, and filed in the said surrogate's oflSce. 



SAG HARBOR. 

{Chap. 441, Laws of 1862, p. 799, as amended by Chap. 295, Laws of 1864, p. 720.] 

Section 1. School district numbers twenty-one and eleven, of the town of Southampton, 
and number nine of the town of East Hampton, all lying within or adjoining the corporate 
limits of the viha^e of Sag Harbor, are hereby consolidated for the purposes in this act 
specified, and shall hereafter, for such purposes, form but one school district, to be called 



632 Sag Haebor. 

the " union school district of Sa» Harhor." The portion of school district number nine, 
of the town of Easst Hampton, not embraced in the corporation limits, is hereby attached to 
the adjoining school district of the town of East Hampton. [As amended by chapter 295, 
Laws of 18«4, p. T20.] 

§ 2. The said district shall be under the direction of a board to be styled "the board of 
education," which board shall consist of six members, four or more of whom shall constitute 
a quorum for the transaction of business. Cleveland S. Stillwell. Brinley D. Sleight, Oliver 
E. Wade, William H. Gleason, Stephen B. French and Jonas Winters, shall compose the 
first board of education, Avho shall be divided into three classes, each class containing two 
members, and shall determine by lot their respective terms of office, so that the first class 
shall serve to the first annual meeting ensuing, the second one year, and the third two years 
from said meeting. 

§ 3. At the annual meeting of said district to be held on the second Tuesday of October 
in each year, which, as well as all special meetings, shall be held at the corporation hall, or 
at such convenient place in said district as the board may in their previous notice designate, 
there shall be elected by ballot, for three years, two members of said board of education, who 
shall be residents and taxable inhabitants of said district. The polls of said election shall 
be kept open for one hour from the time of opening the same, or such longer time as the 
board may in their previous notice indicate. {As amended by chap. 295, Laws of 1864, 
p. 720.] 

§ 4. Said board of education shall possess the powers and authority and be subject to the 
same duties and liabilities in respect to said district as trustees of common schools in this 
State ; 

§ 5. Said board of education shall also have the power, and it shall be their duty: 

1. To appoint a clerk and librarian, who may be of their number, who shall hold office 
during the pleasure of the board, and whose compensation shall be fixed by a vote of the 
taxable inhabitants of said district ; 

2. To divide the said school into primary and higher departments ; to regulate the transfer 
of scholars from one department to the other ; to provide suitable instructors for each depart- 
ment, and direct what text books shall be used therein : 

3. To fix and regulate th- rate of tuition for resident scholars in said primary and o-ther 
higher branches in said school or schools, to sue for and collect, in their corporate name, 
any sum of money due to said district, and to levy a tax upon the taxable property of said 
district for any deficiency which may exist for the payment of teachers' wages. [As 
amended by chap. 295, Laws of 18(54, p. 720.] 

4. To establish and cause to be kept a school in said village for the instruction of colored 
children ; 

5. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision, management and control of 
said school or schools, and to hire, paj and discharge any teacher employed by them in said 
school ; 

6. To purchase fuel and other necessaries for the use of the school or schools in said 
district ; and all contracts made by them in their ofiicial capacity shall be binding upon them 
and their successors in office, provided that no contract shall be made for a lon<?er period 
than two years, except contracts relating to the construction of buildings authorized by 
this act, and the loans which may be necessary to effect that purpose ; 

7. To make such by-laws as they may deem necessary to secure the prosperity, order and 
government of said school ; 

S. To receive and apply to the uses of said school or schools, or any department thereof, 
any gift, legacy, bequest, devise or annuities, given, bequeathed or devised to said district 
for the purposes of said school or schools, and apply the same, or the interest or proceeds 
thereof, according to the terms or instructions of the donor or testator; 

9. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including an annual salary 
to the clerk ; 

10. To fill any vacancy which may happen in said board by reason of death, removal or 
•refusal to serve, of any member or officer of said board ; and the person so appointed in the 

place of any member of the board shall hold his office until the next annual meeting of said 
district ; 

11. To prosecute for all forfeiture* and penalties under this act, and when recovered to 
apply the same to the purposes of education in said district. 

§ 6. The said board may declare vacant the place of any member thereof who, without 
satisfactory cause, shall omit to attend the legally called successive meetings of the board. 

§ 7. Every resignation of officers appointed or elected under this act shall be made iu 
writing to the president of the board of education, and such resignation shall have no force 
or eftect, nor in any degree excuse such officer from the discharge of his duties, until the 
same be accepted and approved by a resolution of said board. 

§ 8. The several schools under the care of the said board shall, as to the common school 
department thereof, be subject to the supervision of the commissioner of common schools 
in like manner as the other common schools in this State. 

§ 9. The clerk of the said board shall attend ail school meetings of the inhabitants of said 
district, and also all the meetings of the board, and act as secretary thereof. He shall notify 
all officers elected or appointed of their election or appointment, within two days thereafter. 
He shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, and perform such other duties as 
they may prescril)e. The said record or transcript thereof, certified by the president and 
clerk, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the acts of said trustees. 

§ 10. The village collector shall be ex-officio collector of said school district, and shall 
possess the powers and authority, and be subject to the same duties and obligations, as such 
officer in the several school districts of this State. 



Salem. 633 

§ 11. The village treasurer shall he ex-ofScio treasurer of said school district, and all 
moneys to be raij^ed pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys or other 
funds by law appropriated to or provided lor the schools of said village, shall be paid to him 
as such'treasurer. He shall be liable to the same penalties for any official misconduct iu 
relation to said moneys as for any similar misconduct in relation to the other moneys of 
paid village. He shall keep the funds authorized by this act to be received by him separate 
and distinct from any other fund which he is or may by law be authorized to receive. Ho 
shall pay out all school moneys, on the warrant of the board of education, signed hy its 
president and clerk. He shall receive for all moneys that he shall disburse upon said 
warrant one-half of one per cent ; provided that for all service required of him under this 
act he shall not receive an amount exceeding twenty-tive dollars in any one year. 

§ 12. Such treasurer and collector shall severally, before entering upon the duties of their 
offices, execute and deliver to the said board of education a bond, with such sufficient pen- 
alty and sureties as the board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the 
duiies of their respective offices. And iu case such bond shall not be given, such offices 
shall thereby become vacant, and said board shall thereupon make other appointments to 
supply such vacancies. 

§ 13. It shall be a sufficient notice of any annual, special or adjourned district meeting, to 
publish such notice in the papers printed in said village, and by athxing a copy of the same 
on the outer door of the district school-house (if there be any), and posting a copy of the 
same in five other public places iu such district; the posting of said notice to be 'done at 
least five days before such meeting, and no other notice of any such meeting need be given. 

§ 1-1. The legal voters of said district, at any annual, special or adjourned meeting legally 
held, may by a three-fifths vote raise such sum of money as they shall deem expedient, not 
exceeding the sum often thousand dollars, for the purpose of purchasing a site and buildin» 
a school-house in said district, or for the purpose of purchasing any suitable buildings and 
site for such purpose; to erect out-buildings, to inclose the same with a fence, and for such 
other improvements as may be considered necessary, and may also direct the board of edu- 
cation to cause the same to be levied by iustallments, and make out a tax list for the collec- 
tion of the same as often as such installments shall become due ; and the said board of 
education are hereby authorized to obtain, by loan, the whole or any part of the money legally 
voted by said district, and secure the payment of the same by their official bond as repre- 
sentatives of said district, as also to collect by tax from said district a sum sufficient to pay 
interest on said loans. 

§ 15. The valuations of taxable property in said district shall be ascertained, as far as pos- 
sible, from the last assessment roll of the said village. [As amended by chapter 295, Laws of 
1864, p. 720.] 

§ 10. The said board of education shall have power to establish and organize a classical 
department in said school, to be known by the name of the " Sag Harbor academy," and 
such academical department shall be under the visitation of the Regents of the University, 
and shall be subject in its course of education and matters pertaining thereto (providing 
said district comply with the provisions of the statutes now in force relating to the organiz- 
ing and chartering of academies or academical departments), and to all the regulations 
made in regard to academies by the said Regents ; and in such department the qualifications 
for the entrance of any pupil shall be the same as those established by the said Regents for 
admission into an}' academy of the State under their supervision. And such academical 
department shall share in the distribution of the income of the literature fund and of the 
income of the United States deposit fund, with the academies in the State subject to the 
visitation of the Regents. 

§ 17. The trustees of said districts numbers twenty-one and eleven, of the town of South- 
ampton, and number nine of the town of East Hampton, holding office at the time of the pass- 
ing of this act, shall, within three months after the organization and establishment of the 
uiiion school under this act, sell at public auction or private sale, as they may deem expedient, 
the district property iu their respective districts. 



SALEM. 

[Laws of 1851, chap. 206,2?. 381.] 

§ 88. The board of trustees [of the village of Salem] aforesaid shall, within twenty days 
after the passage of this act, appoint six commissioners of schools. The persons so appointed 
shall, within five days after their appointment, take the oath of office prescribed by the Con- 
stitution of this State for State officers, and file the same with the clerk. 

§•89. The board of trustees shall divide the said commissioners into three classes, to be 
denominated first, second and third, and shall designate to which class each person so 
appointed shall belong. The term of office of the first class shall expire on the last Monday 
in April next thereafter ; of the second, in one year ; and the third, two years from the said 
last Monday in April. 

§ 90. There shall be elected at the next annual election thereafter two commissioners of 
schools, and each year thereafter a like number, to supply the places of those whose term is 
about to expire; and the term of office shall be three years, except when (elected or) 
appointed to fill a vacancy. [As amended by chap. .31 of 1853.] 

§ 91. The board of trustees may make appointments to fill vacancies which may occur 
from any cause other than the expiration of the term of office of those elected. The com- 

80 



634 Salem. 

mispioners so appointed shall hold their offices for the unexpired term of those to supply 
whose places they are appointed. 

§ 9-i. The president of the board of trustees, together with the said commissioners, shall 
constitute a board to be styled "the board of education of the village of Salem," and shall 
be a corporate body in relation to all the powers and duties conferred or imposed bylaw. 
In the absence of said president, such board may appoint one of their number to preside, 
A majority of such board shall be a quorum. No member of such board shall receive any 
compensation for his services. The clerk of said village ^hall be clerk of said board. 

§ 93. The clerk of said board of education shall keep a record of the proceedings thereof, 
and perform such other duties as the board may prescribe : such record or a transcript thereof, 
certified by such clerk under the seal of the sa'id board, shall be presumptive evidence of the 
facts therein set forth ; and such record, and all the books, accoitnts and proceedings of said 
board, shall be subject to the inspection of said board of trustees, and of anv committee 
thereof. Such clerk shall also perform all the duties, and shall be vested with all the powers 
conferred or imposed by law on clerks of school districts in towns so far as such laws may 
be applicable and can be applied to such village, and are not inconsistent with this act. He 
may appoint a depuly, who shall be vested with the same powers. 

§ 94. The board of trustees aforesaid shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise 
from time to time by tax, upon the taxable property and persons in such villasre which shall 
be liable to taxation for county purposes, in addition to the amount now or hereafter to be 
provided by law for common schools in said village, such sums as may be determined and 
certified by said board of education to be necessary for any or all of the" following purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for school-houses' and appurtenances ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses and their out- 
houses and appurtenances ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, maps and charts, 
furniture and appendages ; provided, however, that class or text books shall not be famished 
for any scholars whose^pareut or guardian shall be able to furnish the same ; 

4. To procure fuel and defray" the contingent expenses of schools and of the school 
library ; 

5. To pay teachers' wages ; 

6. To pay charges or expenses incurred by law or necessary to carry this act into efi'ect, or 
t-o refund loans contracted by law and to pay the interest thereon, or to pay such sums as 
shall be required to fitlfill any contract duly made under the provisions of this act. 

§ 95. The board of trustees shall cause 'the amount of such school tax to be added, in a 
separate column, to the assessment roll for ordinarj- taxes in said village ; and they shall 
cause the same to be assessed, levied and collected at the same time and by the' same 
warrant, and in the same manner with the taxes raised for village purposes as aforesaid. 

§ 96. All moneys raised for school purposes in said village, and all belonging thereto paya- 
ble from other s'ources. shall be paid to the treasurer of said village, who. tog'ether with the 
sureties cm his official bond, shall be accountable therefor in the "same manner as for other 
moneys of the said village. The treasurer shall also be liable to the same penalties, for any 
official misconduct in relation to such monej^s, as for any similar misconduct in relation to 
other moneys of said village. 

§ 97. The treasurer shall keep a separate accotmt of all moneys in his hands or received 
for school purposes, to be called the •• school fund."' Xo payment shall be made out of that 
fund, except upon orders duly drawn, in pursuance of a re'solution of said board of educa- 
tion, and certified by the clerk and countersigned by the president of said board. The 
treasurer shall in his' annual report state fully the account of all receipts and disbursements 
from that fund during the year, and the balance, if any, in his hands. His account as to the 
school fund shall be examined by the board of education annually, who shall report thereon 
to the trustees, 

§ 98. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize such and so many schools in said village, including the 
common schools therein, as they shall deem requisite and expedient, and to alter and dis- 
continue or change and consolidate the same : 

2. To purchase or hire school-houses and rooms and lots or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence, improve and repair them as they shall judge expedient : 

3. Upon such sites or lots, or upon any lots owned by said village, to build, enlarge, alter, 
improve and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem advi- 
sable : 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books for indigent pupils 
and for the school library, to provide fuel and lights, furniture and appendages for the schools 
and defray their contins-ent expenses and the expenses of library ; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses and all the school property 
aforesaid, and to see t'liat the ordinances of the board of trustees in regard thereto be 
obser\-ed, and to report to them any violation thereof; 

6. To contract with, examine, license and employ all teachers in the schools, either high 
or common, and in all branches or departments thereof, and at their pleasure to remove 
them : 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the school moneys which shall be appro- 
priated and provid d by the said village, so far as the same shall be sufficient, and the resi 
due thereof from the money authorized to be raised by this act by tax as aforesaid ; 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board of education, provided that 
the account o'f such expenses shall be first audited and allowed by the board of trustees; 

9. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision and management of the schools 
aforesaid: to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as they may deem expedient, rule« and regu- 



Salem. 635 

lations for their organization, government and instruction, for the reception of pupils and 
their transfer from one s?chool to another, and geneially for their good order, prosperity and 
public utility; 

10. Whenever in the opinion of the board of education it may be advisable to sell any of 
the school-houses, lots or sites, to report the same to the board of trustees ; 

11. To prepare and report to the board of trustees such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary and proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of property 
held for school purposes, and to suggest proper penalties for the violation thereof; and 
annually to determine and certify to said board the sums in their opinion necessary to be 
raised for the several school purposes specified in this act ; 

12. To provide for the payment to any adjoining school district, or any person or persons 
entitled thereto, of any sura on account of such person, or any part of said district being 
or having been included or connected with territory not now included in said village ; 

13. Between the first day of July and the first day of August, in each year, to make and 
file with the county clerk and with the clerk of said village a report, in writing, bearing date 
the first day of Jufy in each year, and stating: 

I. An account and description of all the schools kept in said village during the preceding 
year, and the time they have severally been taught ; 

II. The number of children taught in said school respectively, and designating the number 
over five and under sixteen years of age residing in said village on the first day of January 
in said year ; 

III. The whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of said village during 
the year preceding, designating the amount received from the county treasurer,"from the 
village collector and from other sources, specifying the same ; 

IV. The manner in which such moneys have been expended, and whether any part 
remained unexpended, with the amount and cause thereof; 

V. The amount of mone3"s received for tuition fees from foreign pupils or others during 
the year; the amount paid for teachers' wages in the aggi-egate, and the amount over and 
above the public moneys ; together with such other facts as relate to common schools as is 
required by law to be reported by town superintendents, or as said board of trustees shall 
deem necessary ; 

14. To establish, organize and maintain in said village, whenever in their opinion it shall 
be necessary, a union or consolidated school, composed of primary and secondary schools, 
and a high school, on such plan and under such discipline and management as they shall 
deem advisable ; and in such case to prescribe the course of studies therein, and so arrange 
and regulate the system of instruction in each of said schools that the transfer of pupils 
shall thereafter be from the primary directly into the secondary, and thence into the high 
school or otherwise, as they shall deem advisable. And for the purposes aforesaid, said 
board shall be vested with all the powers and charged with all the duties and liabilities 
above specified in regard to schools generally. 

And said board may organize and maintain primary, secondary or high schools or either 
of them in, or cause the same to be taught in connection with, the Washington academy. 
on such terms and conditions, and for such time, not exceeding ten years, as shall be deemed 
expedient by and between said board of education and the trustee's of such academy ; such 
arrangement shall, if made, be by contract duly executed by said parties, but no such con- 
tract shall be made without the assent of the board of trustees of said village : and in such 
case said board of education are vested with power to make such rules and regulations as 
they shall see fit as to age or degree of scholarship required to enter said several depart- 
ments, the compensation and payment therefor and other terms thereof, and the time of 
continuance therein. 

§ 99. Such board of education shall have a standing committee, consisting of not less 
than three members, whose duty it shall be to visit said schools and each department 
thereof as often as twice every term, and to make report in writing to said board in regard 
thereto. 

§ 100. The said board of education may permit children of persons not resident within 
said village to attend said schools on such terras as they shall prescribe ; and said bt)ard 
may, in the name of said village, sue for or recover of the father, or mother, master or 
mistress, or other person under whose charge such child or children may be, all such sums 
as shall be so prescribed, with costs of suit. 

§ 101. The board of education shall be trustees of the district library or libraries in said 
village. All the provisions of law which now are or hereafter may be passed, relating to 
school district libraries, shall apply to the said commissioners and board of education, so 
far as the same are applicable and can be applied, and are not inconsistent with this act, in 
the same manner as if they were trustees of a school district composed of the said village. 
They shall be vested with the discretion as to the disposition of library moneys which is by 
law conferred upon the inhabitants of school districts, and they may consolidate the said 
libraries, or dispose of parts thereof, as deemed best. It shall "be their duty to provide a 
library room or rooms, and the necessary furniture therefor, appoint a librarian, make all 
purchases of books, exchange or cause to be repaired all damaged books, and sell those 
deemed useless or of an improper character, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of 
others. 

§ 102. No trustee of said village or member of said board of education shall be a contractor 
or be interested in any contract for building or making any erections or repairs authorized 
by this act. or furnishing materials therefor. All contracts made in violation hereof shall be 
void, so far as any benefit may be realized therefrom by the oft'ender. and such person shall 
forfeit to said village fifty dollars, to be recovered by them before any court having cogni- 
zance of the same, wuth costs. 



636 Salem. 

§ 103. The 'board of trustees of said village may pass snch ordinances and regulations as 
they may deem necessary, or as shall be reported by said board of education, for the protec- 
tion, safe keeping, care and maintenance of the school-house or other property connected 
with the schools.^or property held or occupied or used for school purposes, and to impose 
penalties for the violation thereof, subject to the restrictions contained in this act; and 
all such penalties shall be collected in the same manner as other pena:lties imposed by said 
board, and when collected shall be paid to the treasurer, to the credit of the school fund, 
and be subject to the order of the board of education. 

§ 104. Whenever the said board of education shall report to the trustees that it is advisable 
to sell any of the school property as aforesaid, the said trustees shall sell the same as soon 
as may be, and upon such terms as said trustees shall deem best. The proceeds of all such 
sales shall be paid to the treasurer, to the credit of the school fund. 

§ 10.5. The title of the school-house and other school property aforesaid shall be vested in 
the trustees of the village of Salem ; and the same, while used or kept for use for school 
pui-poses, shall not be levied on or sold by virtue of any process, or be subject to taxation 
for any purpose ; nor shall the same be incumbered or in any way disposed of, except as 
authorized by this act. The said village, in its corporate capacity, may take, hold or dispose 
of any real or personal estate transferred to it by gift, grant or devise, for the use or benefit 
of said schools, or any of them, and whether the same shall be transferred, given, granted 
or devised in terms to said village by its proper style, or by any other designation, or to any 
other designation, or to any person or persons, or body or otherwise, for the use or benefit 
of said schools or either of them. 

§ 106. The town superintendent of common schools of the town of Salem, in making the 
apportionment of school or library moneys among the several districts in said town, shall 
allot to said village snch sum as shall be its proportion of such moneys, considering such 
village as a regular school district of said town, and the report of the board of education aa 
the report of its trustees. Such superintendent shall allot to said village iu the apportion- 
ment to be made on the first Tuesday of April, 1851, such sum as school districts numbers 
eleven and twelve in said town would be entitled to had said village not been consolidated 
into one district. All sums allotted as aforesaid, shall be paid by said superintendent to the 
treasurer of said village, to the credit of the school fund aforesaid, at the same time and iu 
the same manner as to trustees of school districts of said town. 

§ 107 Said board of education shall, between the first and fifteenth of January in each 
year, make and transmit a report in writing to the town superintendent of common schools 
of the town of Salem, bearing date on the first day of Januaiy in such year, and containing 
a statement of the name and age of each child residing in the said village, on the last day of 
December previous to the date of said report, over the age of five and under that of sixteen 
years of age, except Indian children otherwise provided for by law, and the names of the 
parents or other persons with whom such children shall respectivt-ly reside, and the num- 
ber of children residing with each. Such report shall be the only report reqttired to be 
made in order to entitle such allotment, as required in the last section. Said schools in 
eaid village, and said board of education, shall not in any other respect be bound to report to 
said superintendent : nor shall stich schools or the teachers thereof be in any wise under 
his control or supervision. 

§ 108. In case said board of education shall contract with the trustees of the Washington 
academy, as authorized in this act, they are further empowered to lease from said trustees 
the academy building and grounds adjacent, or contract for the joint or several occupation 
of the same, or so much thereof, or such privileges therein or appertaining thereto, on such 
conditions, and for such time, not exceeding two years, as they shall deem advisable. And 
they may pay in advance to such trustees such gross sum for the rent thereof, for such term 
as, being calculated with a proper rebate for the advance payment, shall be deemed by said 
board no more than a fair equivalent for the use and occupation thereof for the purposes 
required under this act. And such sum as shall be necessary for the purposes aforesaid, not 
exceeding one thousand dollars, may be loaned by the Comptroller to said village out of any 
moneys belonging to the common school fund, on receiving from the board of trustees of 
said village the bond of said village therefor, payable in five equal payments with annual 
interest. The moneys received thereon shall be paid to the treasurer, to the credit of the 
school fund, and shall be drawn out in the same manner as other moneys in that fund ; 
provided, however, that no such contract shall be made, nor any loan obtained by said board 
of education, without the previous assent of the board of trus'^tees of said village. In case 
said loan shall be made, said trustees shall annually raise during each of said five years by 
tax, in the same manner and at the same time as other village taxes are raised, such sum 
as. over and above the expenses of collection, will pay the several installments so to grow 
due on such loan, with the interest. 

§ 109. Any contract, lease or agreement made or executed by said board of education with 
the trustees of the Washington academy, under the provisions of this act. may be vacated, 
modified or renewed by the parties aforesaid, by and with the assent of the board of trustees 
of said village ; provided no renewal thereof shall be made for a term exceeding ten years 
at any one time. 

§ liO. All the property, real and personal, belonging to the districts numbers eleven and 
twelve shall be and is hereby transferred to and vestecl in the trusteesof the village of Salem 
for school purposes ; and they are authorized to take the same into their possession, and 
hold, use and occupy the same, and exercise the same powers in regard thereto, as if they 
had purchased the same for school purposes under this act ; and the present trustees and 
ofticers of said district are hereby required to deliver possesbion thereof, and of all books, 
papers and vouchers connected therewith, to said board, and said board may sue for 
and recover the same with costs of suit of any person having the same or any part thereof. 



Salina. 637 

§ 111. All debt? and legal liabilites of said school districts numhers eleven and iwclvc sliall 
be audited, paid, satisfied and discharged by said board of education out of tlic ^clltlol 
fund. 

§ 112. Each and every of the schools established or maintained under this aft shall bo free 
to the children of all residents of said village ; provided, however, tliat said board of educa- 
tion may cause the tuition fee to be chargecl and collected of the father or motlier, masu-r or 
mistress, or other person (in whose charge such pupil may be), residiui,^ in taid village, of 
any pupil over sixteen years of age, or who shall pursue studies which said board shall deem 
should not be tuition free. For the purpose of collecting such fees such board sliall by 
general rules provide for the keeping of proper registers, in which shall be be entered the 
name of every such pupil, and his father or mother, master or misircss, or other jjcrsou 
in whose charge such pupil may be, the length of time such pupil shall attend such school, 
and the tuition fee chargeable therefor. Immediately previous to the issuin" of tlic war- 
rant for the collection of the annual village tax, said board of education shall cause to be 
presented to the board of trustees an abstract from such registers, containing a statement 
of names of every such father or mother, master or mistress, or other person residing in 
Buch village, from whom any sum or amount Avas due for such tuition fees at the *close of 
the term previous to the presentation of such lists. The annual tax list shall contain a 
column headed " tuition fees," in which shall be entered, opposite the name of such person, 
the amount so returned as aforesaid, which sum shall be included in the aggregate column 
to be collected under such warrant ; and the same proceedings shall be had for the collection 
thereof as for other village taxes; and when collected the same shall be paid to the 
treasurer, to the credit of the school fund ; but such return so made shall not include the 
name of any person who shall, in the opinion of the board, be in indigent circumstances ; 
any person specified in such retuin may. at any time before the collection of said tuition 
fee, apply to said board of education lor a remission of the same ; and if said board shall 
deem proper, they may, by resolution, duly passed, remit the same in whole or in part, and 
the clerk shall certify such remission to the collector, and no further proceedings shall be 
had for the collection of the sum so remitted. 

§ 113. Nothing in this act contained shall prevent the trustees of the Washington acad- 
emy from receiving from the Eegents of the University any sum or allowance for pupils 
pursuing classical studies therein, or for organizing and maintaining a teachers' depart- 
ment therein. And any pupil in any of the departments organized in said academy under 
the provisions of this act pursuing such classical studies as are required by the Regents 
aforesaid, in order to be entitled to an allowance, and being of sutticient age, shall be 
included in the returtis of said trustees to said Regents, and they shall be entitled to the 
eame allowance for such pupil or pupils as for other classical pupils heretofore. 

[By chapter .31, Laws of 185\ page .3S, the boundaries of the village were so altered as to 
exclude therefrom the lands then occupied by Wra. McKie, and lying on the westerly side 
of lands owned and occupied by the Troy and Rutland Railroad company. And by chapter 
143, Laws of 18Go. page 226. the boundaries were again altered so as to exclude lots 55 and 
150, of Turner's Patent, and also the lands mentioned in a deed of conveyance from Thomas 
J. Boj'd and Ellen his wife to James Collins, dated April 1, IStil. And by section 4, of the 
last named act, the lands thus excluded from the village were made part of the school 
and highway districts of which they formed a part prior to the passage of chapter 206, Laws 
of 1851.] 

SALINA. 

[ChajJ. 211, Laivs of 1860, p. 354, as amended by chap. 205, Laios of 1865.] 

Section 1. School district number one, in the town of Salina and county of Onondaga, 
shall form a permanent district, not subject to alteration by the school commissioners, 
unless to enlarge by adding new territory. 

§ 2. Said school shall be free to all persons between the ages of four and twenty-one years 
residing in the district. 

§ 3. The trustees of said district shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, from 
time to time, by tax to be levied equally upon all real and personal property in the district 
which shall be liable for ordinary school district taxes, such sum or sums of money, not 
exceeding twelve hundred dollars in any one year, as the trustees may deem necessary, for 
the payment of teachers' wages, after having applied all other moneys belonging to said 
district which may be applicable to the payment of teachers' wa^es. 



SALINA, DISTRICT NO. 6. 

iChap. 756, Laivs of 1867, p. 1863, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. All that part of the town of Salina bounded and described as follows, vix. : 
"The territory bounded on the west by the east line of tlie village of Liverpool : on tlu; 
eouth by the north shore of the Onondaga lake ; on the east by the west bounds of tiie city 
of Syracuse : and on the north, from the i)oint where tiie Onondaga salt springs resorvntioii 
line strikes the city line, westerly to the north-west corner of the farm of Hiram L. llawK-v : 
thence south and west on the line of said farm to the east line of the villaire of Liverptx)!."' 
is hereby made and constituted into a separate school district, to be hereafter known and 



638 Saratoga Springs. 

designated aa school district number six of the town of Salina ; and Simon Stevens Oscar 
L. Soule and Hiram L. Hawley, shall be the first trustees, and David S. Earll shall be the 
first clerk of said school district ; said trustees shall hold their ofiices in the order in which 
they are named herein, for the term of one, two and three years respectively after 
which times. "and upon each vacancy the officers of said school district shall be elected 
an the manner now prescribed by law. This district shall be subject to alteration by the 
school commissioner in like manner as other school districts. 

§ 2. Said school shall be free to all persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years 
residing m said district. All payment for teachers' wages shall be by tax and not by rate 

§ 3. The trustees of said district shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to provide a 
good site for a school-house for the purposes of said school, and said site shall embrace not 
less than three-fourths of an acre ; and they shall have power and are hereby required to 
i-Hise by tax. to be levied equally upon all the real and personal property in the district 
liable to taxation for school purposes, not less than the sum of three thousand dollars and 
not exceeding five thousand dollars, as they shall deem necessary for the purpose of build- 
ing. ere»cting, fencing in and suitably furnishing a school-house on said site, which school- 
house shall be built, erected and furnished with no unreasonable delay, and from time to 
time m like manner, to raise from year to year such [moneys] as the trustees shall deem 
necessary for the payment of teachers' wages and other incidental expenses of said district, 
after having applied all other moneys belonging to said district which may be applicable 
to teachers wages. 

§ 4. So much of act, chapter two hundred and eleven of the Laws of eighteen hundred and 
sixty, entitled "An act to constitute school district number one, in the town of Salina 
and county of Onondaga, a free school," passed April ninth, eighteen hundred and sixty, 
as may be inconsistent with this act, is hereby repealed. 



SARATOGA SPRINGS. 

{Chap. 353, Laws of 1867, p. 780, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. All school districts or parts of school districts within the corporate limits of the 
village of Saratoga Springs, in the county of Saratoga, are hereby consolidated into one 
school district, to be called the "union free school district of Saratoga Springs," and said 
school district, for the purpose of the apportionment and distribution of school money 
which, from any source, may be collected or received, shall be a school district under the 
general school laws of the State. 

§ 2. The school or schools in said school district shall be under the management and control 
of nine trustees, being taxable inhabitants of said district, who shall be denominated " the 
board of education of the union free school of the village of Saratoga Springs ;" and said 
board is hereby constituted a body corporate, with all the powers conferred and duties 
enjoined upon them by this act, and shall have a corporate seal such as said board may des- 
ignate. The first board of education under this act shall be constituted as follows : Oliver 
L. Barbour, Augustus Bockes and John Shipman. as trustees of the first class, whose term 
of service shall expire on the fourth Tuesday of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight; 
Joseph A. Shoudy, Thomas Flanagan and Aaron Hill, as trustees of the second class, whose 
term of service shall expire on the fourth Tuesday of October, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
nine, John Woodbridge. John Palmer and Charles S. Lester as trustees of the third class, 
whose term of service shall expire on the fourth Tuesday of October, eighteen hundred 
and seventy, and thereafter the term of service of the class Avhich has served the longest 
period shall expire on the fourth Tuesday of October in each year. The trustees of the 
village of Saratoga Springs shall order a special election, to be holden on the second Tues- 
day of October in each year, except the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, at one of 
the school-houses, under the inspection (jf said trustees, to elect three trustees as members 
of said board of education, at which election any vacancies that may have occurred durinsr 
the year may be filled. At said election the polls shall be open from ten o'clock a. m. until 
four o'clock p. M. of that day, and only those entitled to vote at ordinary school elections 
shall be entitled to vote. 

§ 3. The board of education above named shall hold its first meeting within two weeks 
after the passage of this act, at a time and ])lace to be designated by the member of the 
board first named in the second section of this act. The members of the board shall take 
the usual oath of office, and shall elect a president from among their number, who shall hold 
his office during the pleasure of the board. No memoer of the board shall receive compen- 
sation for any official service, nor shall he be interested, directly or indirectly, in any 
contract, purchase or expenditure which the board at any time may order. 

§ 4. The said board of education shall meet for the transaction of business as often as 
once in each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be 
called by the president, or, in case of his absence or inability to act, by any member of 
the board, as often as necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, 
or by causing a written or printed notice to be left at his last place of residence, at least 
twenty-four hours previous to the hour appointed for such special meeting. 

§ 5. The title to all the real and personal estate appertaining to the schools heretofore 
mentioned shall be vested in the board of education, and the same shall not be subject to 
taxation or assessment for any purpose whatever. 



Saratoga Springs. 639 

§ 6. The board of education shall have power and is hereby directed : 

1. To establish and organize in said village as many and such public schools, with graded 
departments (including an academical department), and schoola for colored children, as 
said board may deem requisite and expedient, and to alter or discontinue the same at its 
discretion ; 

2. To rent or purchase and prepare such houses or rooms as may be found necessary for 
properly conducting such schools, but no entirely new structure designed for the academ- 
ical department, to be erected until after the expiration of three years from the passage of 
this act ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair any school apparatus, books, furniture or 
appendages, and to defray the expense of the free library; 

4. To have the custody and safe keeping of all the school-houses, out-houses, books, fur- 
niture and appurtenances, and to see that all the village ordinances and rules of the board 
of education relative thereto are observed ; 

5. To contract with and employ all necessary teachers, subject to removal at ihe pleasure 
of the board ; 

6. To provide evening schools for the benefit of those whose ages or avocations are such 
as to prevent their attendance upon the day schools established under this act ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the fund appropriated and provided by law 
for this purpose; 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including the wages of 
janitors ; 

9. To expend all moneys raised in accordance with this act for buildings, for the purchase 
of grounds, or for any other purposes for which the same may be required, in such manner 
as they may deem proper; 

10. To have the superintendence and management of the common schools in said village, 
and, from time to time, to adopt, alter, modify or repeal, as they may de em expedient, any 
rules or regulations for the organization, government and instruction of said schools, for 
the reception of pupils, their transfer from one department to another, for their advance- 
ment from class to class, as their degree of scholarship shall warrant, and generally for the 
promotion of the good order, prosperity and public utility of said schools ; and if at any 
time an academical department shall be established by said board, it shall be entitled to its 
distributive share of the literature fund, in like manner and on like conditions with the 
academies of this State, and shall be subject to the visitation of the Regents of the Univer- 
sity, as are the other academies of the State. 

§ 7. It shall be the duty of the board of education, on or before the first day of April in 
each year, after the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, to determine and certily to the 
corporate authorities of the village of Saratoga Springs, what sums are necessary under 
section six of this act, exclusive of such moneys as are to be received from public funds. 
These sums shall be raised and collected at the same time and the same manner as other 
village taxes. And the board of education shall have power to raise, when necessary, by 
loan, in anticipation of the collection of such taxes, any sum required to meet the ordinary 
expenses of the schools. 

§ 8. The treasurer of the village shall take charge of all moneys raised pursuant to this 
act or provided for the board of education from any source, and he shall be accountable for 
their safe keeping in the same manner as for the safe keeping of other funds. These mon- 
eys shall be paid out by him only on drafts drawn by the president of the board of education, 
and countersigned by the secretary, in pursuance of a resolution of the board ; and all drafts 
shall be made payable to the order of the person or persons receiving the same. 

§ 9. The board of education shall elect a secretary, who shall hold oflice during the 
pleasure of the board ; but he shall not be removed, except for inefliciency or misconduct, 
without six months' previous notice. The board shall fix his salary, and he shall be the 
superintendent of all the schools under the care of the board. He sliall, under the direction 
of the board, determine the course of studies to be pursued in the different schools, and 
shall himself have the personal superintendence of the highest school established. 

§ 10. The secretary of the board shall report to the board of education, on or before the 
first day of March in each year, the condition of all the departments in the schools, with 
the number in attendance, the studies pursued, and whatever, in his opinion, may be needed 
to advance the interests of the union free school. This report shall also state the number 
of children, within the limits of the district, who are in attendance upon private schools, 
and of such as do not attend any school. It shall further furnish estimates of the number 
of teachers needed, and of the ordinary expenses to be incurred, for the year following the 
date of said report. 

§ 11. Each member of said board shall visit all the schools in said district, at least twice 
in each year of his official term, and said board of education shall provide that each of said 
schools shall be visited by a committee of three or more of their number at least once in 
each term. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall be trustees of the school libraries of said district, 
and all the provisions of law which now exist or hereafter may be passed relative to school 
district libraries, shall apply to the said board in the same manner aa if they were trustees 
of a school district comprehending said village ; they shall also be vested with the same 
discretion as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by the laws of this State for the 
purchase of libraries, as is conferred by said law on the inhabitants of school districts. It 
shall be their duty to provide rooms for such libraries, and the necessary furniture therefor. 
The librarian shall report to the board the condition of the libraries under his charge ; and 
the said board, or secretary, under the direction and by the resolution of said board, may 
make all purchases of books for said libraries, and may direct the mode of their distribu^ 



640 Schenectady. 

tion ; and may dispose of any books that may be deemed useless, applying the proceeds to 
the purchase of new ones. 

§ 13. The board of education shall have power to take, hold, sell, trar^sfer and convey any of 
the real or personal estate transferred to it by gift, grant, devise or bequest for the benefit 
of any of the schools under its control, and appropriate the avails in scholarships or prizes, 
or in such other manner as the donor may designate. 

§ 14. The clerk of the village shall notify any person elected a member of the board of 
education, wirhin ten days thereafter, of his election, and the secretary of the board shall 
notify him of the time and place of the meeting, at which he shall take his place as a member 
of said board. 

§ 15. The board shall have power to charge a tuition fee for all pupils attending the high 
school, but such fee shall not exceed the sum of five dollars per term for each pupil residing 
in the district ; but the board may determine the amount of tuition fee for pupils not belong- 
ing to the district, in attendance upon any of the schools. 

§ W. The board shall cause to be prepared and presented to the trustees of the village, and 
published in the newspapers in the district, at such time as they may direct, a full annual 
report, stating: 

1. What schools have been kept during the year, and for what time ; 

2. The number of children on the roll of each school, and the average attendance of each, 
and the number of children in the district between the ages of four years and twenty-one 
years ; 

3. The amount of school moneys received by the treasurer, from what sources, and for 
what purposes expended. 

§ IT. The trustees of the village of Saratoga Springs are hereby directed and empowered, 
and it shall be their duty, to raise and collect by tax, in the same manner as other taxes are 
collected, such sums as the board of education hereby established shall deem needful in 
order to organize and carry on the schools of the district until the time named in section 
seven of this act. 

§ 18. The board of education shall meet all liabilities of the trustees of school district? 
numbers one, two, eight and nine, in the town of Saratoga Springs, and shall succeed to all 
their rights and rights of action, and nothing in this act shall" imj)air their contracts or 
interfere with or prevent the collection of such tax or rate bUl as at the time of the passage 
of this act was in the hands of the collector for collection. 

[Chap. 787, Imws of 1867, p. 1958, vol. 2.] 

Section 1. Section two of " Ati act to consolidate the several school districts and parts of 
districts within the corporate liiiiirs of the village of Saratoga Springs, and to establish a 
free union school or schools tu-'rem," is hereby amended by in'serting the name of James B. 
McKean in the place of Augustus Bockes, as trustee. 

§ 2. Amajority of the trustees constituting the board of education shall constitute a quorum 
for the purpose of organization or the transaction of any business at any of the regular 
meetino-s of the said board, and at any special meeting when all the trustees have been 
notified as required by said act. 



SCHENECTADY. 

[Laws of 1862, chap. 385, title 6, p. 644.] 

Section 1. There shall be elected in said city, at a special election to be held on the first 
Tuesday of May. in each year, in the same manner and under the same regulations as other 
ward officers are elected, one commissioner of common schools for t-ach ward to supply the 
places of those Avhose terms are about to expire ; they shall hold their offices for two years, 
and until others are elected and have taken the oath of office. The term of the office of all 
the commissioners elected pursuant to this act shall commence on the Tuesday next after 
the election. 

§ 2. The common council of said city may make appointments of commissioners of com- 
mon schools, to fill vacancies which may occur from any other cause than the expiration of 
the term of office of those elected. The commissioners so appointed shall hold their office 
until the Tuesday next succeeding the next annual election : and at each annual election 
there shall be chosen a commissioner to supply the place of any person so appointed; and 
the person thus elected shall serve out the unexpired term. 

§ 3. Any commissioner of common schools in said city may be removed from office for 
official misconduct, by the common council of said city, by a vote of two-thirds of the 
members thereof, but a written copv of the charges preferred against said commissioner 
shall be served upon him. and he shall be allowed an opportunity of refuting any such 
charges of misconduct, before removal. 

§ 4. The commissioners of common scLools in said city shall constitute a board, to be 
Btyled " the board of education of the city of Schenectady,'" which shall be a corporate body 
in relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by virtue of this title. A 
majority of the board shall constitute a quorum. The annual meeting of said board shall be 
held on the Wednesdav succeedin? the second Tuesday of May in eacli year. At such annual 
nieetinir. they shall elect one of their number president of the board, and whenever he shall 
oe absent a president pro tempore may be appointed. The said commissioners shall receive 
no compensation for their services, nor shall they be interested, directly or indirectly, iu 



Schenectady. 641 

any contract for building or for making any improvement or repairs provided for by this 
title. 

§ 5. The said commissioners shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once in 
each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may be called by the 
president, or, in his absence or inability to act, by any member or the board, as often as 
necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or by causing a written 
or printed notice to be left at his last place of residence, at least twenty-four hours before 
the hour for such special meeting. 

§ (i. The said commissioners shall appoint a secretary and librarian, who shall hold his 
office during the pleasure of the board, and whose compensation shall be fixed by the board. 
The said secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, have charge of the 
library, and perform such other duties as the board may prescribe. The said record or tran- 
script" thereof certified by the secretary, shall be received in all courts as prima facie 
evidence of the facts therein set forth ; and such record, and all the books, accounts, 
vouchers and papers of said board, shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the 
common council or any committee thereof. 

§ T. The common council of said city shall haA^e power and it shall be its duty, to raise 
from time to time, by tax, to be levied upon all the real and personal estate in said city which 
shall he liable to taxation for city and county charges, in like manner as other city taxes are 
raised, such sums as may be determined and certified by said board of education to be neces- 
sary and proper for any and all of the following purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for school-houses, or sites with buildings thereon 
for the same purpose ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, and their 
out-houses and appurtenances ; 

8. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; but the power herein granted shall not be deemed to authorize the furnishing 
with class or text books any scholar whose parents or guardian shall be able to furnish the 
same ; 

4. To procure fuel and defray the contingent expenses of the common schools, including 
the academical department therein and the expenses of the school library of said city, and 
the necessary contingent expenses of said board, including the salary of the seci*etary of the 
board, and the compensation allowed to the assistant librarians ; 

5. To pay teachers' wages, after the application of public moneys which may by law be 
appropriated and provided for that purpose ; 

6. The amount raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses shall not exceed the 
sum of ten thousand dollars in any one year ; nor shall there be raised in anj' one year, for 
buying sites, or sites with buildings thereon, erecting and repairing school-houses and the 
appurtenances, a sum exceeding two thousand dollars, except as herein otherwise provided 
for. And the common council is authorized and directed to borrow, upon the promissory note 
of the city in anticipation of the amount to be raised by tax as aforesaid, such sums as the 
board of education shall from time to lime certify is required by it. 

§ 8. All moneys to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this title and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to or provided for said city, whether from the school or literature funds, 
or under the act to establish free schools throughout the State, or otherwise, shall be paid to 
the treasurer of said city, who, together with the sureties on his official bond, shall be 
accountable therefor in the same manner as for other moneys of said city. The said treas- 
urer shall be liable to the same penalties for official misconduct in relation to the said 
money as for any similar misconduct in relation to other moneys of said city. 

§ 9. All moneys required to be raised by virtue of this act, or received by said city for the 
use of the common schools therein or of the academical department hereinafter mentioned, 
shall be deposited for the safe keeping thereof with the treasurer of said city, to the credit 
of said board of education, until draw-n from said treasurer as hereinafter provided for ; and 
the said treasurer shall keep the fund authorized by this act to be received by him separate 
and distinct from any other funds which he is or may by law be authorized to receive. 

§ 10. The treasurer shall pay out the moneys authorized by this title to be received by him 
noon drafts drawn by the president and countersigned by the secretary of said board of 
edacation, which drafts shall not be drawn except in pursuance of a resolution or resolutions 
of said board, and shall be made payable to the person or persons entitled to receive said 
money 

§ 11. The said board shall have power, and it shall be its duty: 

1. To organize and establish such and so many schools in said city as they shall deem 
requisite and expedient, and to alter and discontinue the same ; 

2. To purchase and hire school-houses and rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, or sites 
with buildings thereon, to be used as school-houses, and to fence and improve such sites as 
it may deem proper ; 

3. Upon such lots and upon such sites, owned by said city, to build, enlarge, alter, improve 
and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances, as it may deem advisable ; 

4. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, books, furni- 
ture and appurtenances, and to see that the ordinances of the common council in relation 
thereto be observed; 

5. To contract with, license and employ all teachers in said schools and the academical 
department therein, and at its pleasure to remove them ; 

6. To pay the wages of the teachers in said schools out of the moneys appropriated and 
provided bylaw for^the support of common schools in said city, and the wages of the teachers 
of the academical department out of the moneys appropriated to said department from the 
income of the literature and United States deposit funds, so far as the same shall be suffi- 

81 



642 Schenectady. 

cient, and the residue of the wages of the teachers in said schools and academical depart- 
ment from the money authorized to be raised for that purpose, by section seven of this title, 
by tax upon said city : 

7. To defray the contingent expenses of the said common schools and academical depart- 
ment, and the expenses of the school library of said city, and the necessary and contingent 
expenses of the board, including the annual salary of the secretary of the board and the 
conmensation allowed to the assistant librarians, provided the account of the expenses 
shall first be audited and allowed by the common council; 

8. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision and management of the com- 
mon schools of said city, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as they 
may deem expedient, rules and reflations for their organization, government and instruc- 
tion, or the reception of pupils and their transfer from one school to another, and generally 
for their good order, prosperity and utility; and to have power to establish in said schools 
an academical department, to receive into said schools or academical department pupils 
residing out of said city, and to regulate and establish the tuition fees of such non-resident 
pupils in the several departments of said schools and in such academical department, and 
to collect such fees in the name of the said city ; to regulate the transfer of scholars from 
the primary to the academical departments, to direct what text books shall be used in said 
schools and academical department, to provide and keep in repair school apparatus, books 
for indigent pupils, furniture and appendages, fuel and other necessaries for the schools and 
academical department ; and to appoint assistant librarians, as they may from time to time 
deem necessary, and to regulate their compensation ; 

9. Whenever in the opinion of the board of education it may be advisable to sell any of the 
echool-houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging to 
the city, to report the same to the common council ; 

10. To prepare and report to the common council such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary and proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots and sites and appurtenances, and all the property belonging to the city con- 
nected with or appertaining to the schools ; and annually, on or before the first day of June 
in each year, to determine and certify to the said common council the sums in their opinion 
necessary or proper to be raised under the seventh section of this title for the year com- 
mencing on the first day of July thereafter, specifying the amount required for each of the 
purposes therein mentioned, and the reason therefor; 

11. Between the first day of July and the first day of August, in each year, to make and 
transmit to the county clerk, or such other officer as may be designated by law. a report in 
writine, bearing date the first day of July, in the year of its transmission, and stating: 

I. The number of school-houses in said city, and an account and description of all common 
schools kept in said city during the preceding year, and the time they have severally been 
taught : 

It. The number of children taught in said schools, respectively, and the number of children 
over the age of four years and under the age of twenty-one years residing in said city on the 
first day of January in each year; 

III. The whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of said city during the 
preceding year, distinguishing the amount received from the city treasurer from the city 
tax and from any other sources ; 

IV. The manner in which such sums of money have been expended, and whether any, 
and what part remains unexpended, and for what cause ; 

V. The amount of moneys received for tuition fees from foreign pupils during the j'ear, 
and the amount paid for teachers' wages in addition to the public moneys, with such other 
information relating to the common schools ol said city as may from time to time be required 
by the State Superintendent of Common Schools. 

§ 12. Each school commissioner shall visit all the schools in said city, at least twice in 
each year of his official term ; and said board of education shall provide that each of said 
schools shall be visited by a committee of three or more of its number at least once in each 
term. 

§ 13. It shall be the duty of said board, in all its expenditures and contracts, to have refer- 
ence to the amount of moneys which shall be subject to its order during the then current 
year for the particular expenditures in question, and not to exceed that amount. 

§ 14. The said board of commissioners shall be trustees of the school libraries in said city ; 
and all the provisions of law which now are or hereafter may be passed, relative to school 
district libraries, shall apply to said commissioners in the same manner as if they were 
trustees of a school district comprehending said city; they shall also be vested with the 
same discretion, as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by the laws of this State 
for the purchase of libraries, which is therein conferred on the inhabitants of school dis- 
tricts. It shall be their duty to provide room or rooms for such libraries, and the necessary 
furniture therefor. The librarian shall report to the board the condition of the library or 
the libraries under his charge ; and the said board, or secretary thereof under the direction 
and by the resolution of said board, may make all purchases of books for said library or 
libraries, and may direct the mode of their distribution, and may cause to be repaired dam- 
aged books belonging thereto, and may sell any book in said library or libraries that may be 
deemed useless, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of other books for said library or 
libraries. 

§ 15. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, fiimiture. books, apparatus and appur- 
tenances, and other school property in this title mentioned, shall be vested in the city of 
Schenectady, and the same, while used or appropriated for school purposes, shall not be 
levied upon or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution, nor be subject to taxation for any 
purpose whatever ; and the said city in its corporate capacity shall be able to take and hold 



SCHEXECTADY. 643 

any personal or real estate transferred to it by grants, gifts, devise or bequest, in trust for 
the benefit of the common schools of said city or of the academical department therein, 
whether the same be transferred in terms to said city by its corporate name, or by any other 
designation, or to any person or persons or bodies for the benefit of said schools or aca- 
demical department. 

§ Itt. The common council of said city shall, upon the recommendation of said board of 
education, sell any of the school-houses, sites, lots or any of the school property now or 
hereafter belonging to said city, upon such terms as the common council shall deem reason- 
able ; the proceeds of all such sales shall be paid to the treasurer of said city, and shall be, 
by said board, expended in the purchase, repairs or other improvement of school-houses, 
lots or school furniture, apparatus or appurtenances. 

§ 17. It shall be the duty of said board, at least fifteen days before the annual election for 
commissioners in each year, to prepare and report to the common council true and correct 
Btateraents of the receipts and disbursements of moneys, under and in pursuance of the 
provisions of this title, during the preceding j'ear, in which account shall be stated, under 
appropriate heads : 

1. The moneys raised by the common council under the seventh section of this title ; 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the city from the county treasurer ; 

3. The moneys received by the treasurer of the city under the aeventh section of this 
title ; 

4. All other moneys received by the treasurer of said city, subject to the order of the 
board, specifying the sources from which they shall have been derived ; 

5. The manner in which such sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount under each head of expenditure; and the common council shall, at least ten days 
before such election, cause the same to be published in all newspapers of said city. 

§ 18. The common council shall have power, and it shall be its duty, to pass such ordi- 
nances and regulations as the said board may report as necessary for the protection, 
preservation, safe keeping and care of the school-houses, lots, sites, appurtenances and 
appendages, libraries and all necessary property belonging to or connected with the schools 
of said city, and to impose such penafties for the violation thereof as the common council 
are authorized to impose by this act : and when collected to be paid to the treasurer of the 
city, to the credit of the said board of education, and shall be subject to its order in the same 
manner as other moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this title. 

§ 19. It shall be the duty of the clerk of said city, immediately alter the election of any 
person as commissioner of common schools, personally or in writing to notify him of his 
election ; and if any such person shall not, within ten days after receiving such notice of 
his election, take and subscribe the constitutional oath, and file the same with the clerk 
of said city, the common council may consider it as a refusal to serve, and proceed to supply 
the vacancy occasioned by such refusal, and the person so refusing shall forfeit and pay to 
the city treasurer, for the benefit of the schools of said city, a penalty of ten dollars. 

§ 20. Every academical department to be established as aforesaid shall be under the visita- 
tion of the Regents of the University, and shall be subject, in its course of education and 
matters pertaining thereto (but not in reference to the buildings or erections in which the 
same is conducted, unless in case the buildings or erections aforesaid are separate from 
those of the common school department), to all the regulations made in regard to acade- 
mies by the said Regents ; and in such department the qualifications for the elitrance of any 
pupil shall be the same as those established by the said Regents for admission into any 
academy of the State under their supervision. And such academical department shall share 
in the distribution of the income of the literature fund, and of the income of the United 
States deposit fund, with academies in the State subject to the visitation of the Regents. 

§ 21. The said board of education shall have power to purchase, in the corporate name of 
the city of Schenectady, from the trustees of Union college, and the said trustees of Union 
college shall have power to sell and C(mvey to said city, the building culled the west college, 
and the buildings connected therewith, and the site on which they stand, situate on Union 
street, in said city, and lying between College street and the Erie canal and the New York 
Central railroad, for the use of the said common schools and academical department, and 
upon such trusts and upon such terms, and subject to such conditions, as shall be agreed 
upon by and between the said board of education and the said trustees of Union college ; 
and said buildings and premises, after the same shall be conveyed to the city of Schenectady, 
in pursuance of such agreement, shall be held by said city for such uses and purposes, and 
upon such trusts and subject to such conditions, as shall be so agreed upon, and as shall be 
specified in the deed of conveyance. The preceding provisions of this title in relation to 
the purchase of school-houses, sites and lots, and other real property, and to the taking, 
holding, disposition and sale of the same, so far as the same are inconsistent with this 
section, shall not be applicable to the purchase, sale and conveyance authorized in this 
section. 

§ 22. The said board of education and the said trustees of Union college shall have power 
from time to time to enter into such contracts as they may deem expedient, in relation to 
the organization, superintendence and management of the said academical department, the 
prescribing the course of studies and system of discipline, and the appointment and pay- 
ment of the professors and teachers in such academical department ; and, also, in relation 
to the terms upon which the pupils in said academical department may receive books from 
the libraries of Union college, or attend the lectures of the professors in said college, or be 
admitted, when prepared, as members in full standing of its several classes. Such contract,, 
when entered into, shall be binding on said board of education and the said trustees of 
Union college, and shall be faithfully executed. The preceding provisions of this title, in 
relation to the powers and duties of said board of education in reference to the academical 



64-4 SCHROEPPEL. 

department, shall be deemed modified by this section, and snch powers and duties shall be 
exercised only in conformity to the contract? which may be entered into under this section. 

§ 23. This title shall extend over and be applicable to all the territory lying within the 
corporate limits of the said city ; and the office of town superintendent of common schools, 
go far as it is applicable to the said city of Schenectady, is hereby abolished. 

§ 24. This act shall take effect immediately, and all acts and parts of acts Inconsistent 
with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. 



SCHROEPPEL. 

{Chap. 458, Laws of 1865, p. 826.] 

Section 1. All that part of the town of Schroeppel now included in the villafje of Phoenix, 
and all that shall hereafter be added thereto, and all the territory now included in what is 
known as school district number twelve, shall hereafter form but one school district, to be 
known as " the Phoenix free school district," for the purposes and to the extent in this act 
specified. 

§ 2 The following named persons, to wit : John N. Gillis. Edmund Merry, Govemeur M. 
Sweet, Alfred Morton, Mathew S. Cushman and Enoch S. Brooks, and their successors in 
office, to be chosen as hereinafter provided, are hereby constituted a corporation by the 
name of the "board of education for the Phoenix academy and free school." 

§ 3. Two of said persons shall hold office until January first, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
six, two until January first, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and two until January first, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and the persons holding such terms shall be designated 
by lot on the first meeting of said board of education. 

§ 4. The annual meeting of the electors of said free school district shall be held on the 
second Tuesday in October in each year, at such hour and place in said district as the board 
of education shall designate. The president of the board of education, or, in his absence, 
the president for the time being, shall preside, and the clerk, or, in his absence, the clerk for 
the time being, shall act as secretary thereof. 

§ 5. At the annual meeting to be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
five, two members of the board of education shall be elected to fill the places of the two 
persons first named in section three of this act. The places of the next two shall be filled 
jit the annual meeting to be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, and 
annually thereafter, on the second Tuesday of October, there shall in like manner be elected 
two members to fill the places of those whose terms of office shall next thereafter expire. 
Every officer elected under this act shall enter on the duties of his office on the first Monday 
of Januaiy next succeeding his election, and shall continue in office for the term of three 
years. At the first regular meeting of the board of education after any such election, the 
clerk shall certify to the board the names of the officers so elected. 

§ 6. Said board of education shall be a corporate body in relation to all the powers and 
duties conferred upon them by virtue of the provisions of this act, and a majority ot the 
board shall form a quorum, 

§ 7. At the first regular meeting of the board of education, held in January in each year, 
they shall appoint a clerk, librarian, collector and treasurer of said district, the last two of 
whom shall each, within twenty days after receiving written notice of his appointment, and 
before entering upon the duties of his office, execute and deliver to said board of education 
a bond in such penalties and with such sureties as the said board may require, conditioned 
for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. 

§ 8. In case of a vacancy in any elective office mentioned in this act, occasioned by the 
death of such officer, his removal from the district, refusal to serve, his incapacity, or any 
cause other than the expiration of the term of office of persons so elected, said board of 
education may make an appointment to fill such vacancy. The officer so appointed shall 
hold his office until the next annual election, when the inhabitants shall fill such vacancy 
by an election for the unexpired term thereof. 

§ 9. Notices for annual meetings and all other meetings of said district shall be given by 
the board of education at least ten days before such meeting, by publishing such notice once 
in each of the newspapers printed in the village of Phoenix, and by posting the same on the 
door of each school-house in said school district. 

§ 10. Said board of education, and the clerk, the librarian, and the collector of said district, 
shall severally possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties and liabilities in respect 
to all the schools in said district, that the trustees and other officers of common schools now 
possess or shall be subject to by law, and such other powers and duties as are given or 
imposed by this act. 

§ 11. From and after the first meeting of the board of education under this act, the offices 
of trustees, librarian, clerk and collector in each of the school-districts included within the 
limits of the said free school district shall cease, and the title of the property of the said school 
districts, real and personal, shall from thenceforth become the property of, and be vested in, 
the said board of education in its corporate capacity, as created by this act; and said board 
shall settle all business of the school districts forming said free school district then 
remaining unsettled. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall, at their said first meeting, and uniformly there- 
after at their meeting to be held next after the first Monday of January, in each year, 
appoint one of their number president. The clerk of said district shall act as secretary to 



SCHROEPPEL. 645 

paid board. In the absence of either of said officers at any regular meeting of the board, 
a president and secretary may be appointed for the time being. 

§ 13. The said clerk, in addition to" such other duties as are or may be Imposed on him by 
law or required of him by the board, shall keep a record of the proceedings of said board 
of education, which record, or a transcript thereof certified by the president and secretary, 
shall be received in all courts and for all purposes as presumptive evidence of the facta 
therein set forth. 

§ 14. The said board of education shall have power and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize a classical school in the village of Phoenix, to be known by 
the name of " the Phoenix academy," which school shall be subject to the visitation of the 
Regents of the University of this State and to all laws and regulations applicable to the 
incorporated academies thereof, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of such academies 
and to share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund of this State the same 
as the other academies thereof; 

2. To establish and or>ranize such and so many primary and intermediate schools or 
departments in said district, including for that purpose the co'mmon schools therein, as they 
shall deem requisite and expedient, and to alter and discontinue or change and consolidate 
the same ; 

3. To build, purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence, improve, adorn and repair the same as they may think proper ; 

4. Upon such lots or sites, and upon any lots or sites, now owned by any school district, 
within the limits of said district erected by this act, to build, enlarge, alter, improve,, adorn 
and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances as they may deem advisable ; 

5. To purchase, exchange and improve and, repair school apparatus, globes, maps, furni- 
ture and appendages, books for indigent pupils, and for the school library, to provide fuel 
and lights and defray the contingent expenses of the schools, of the board, the library, and 
to pay the salary of the librarian and clerk ; 

6. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, and all the real 
and personal property belonging or which shall belong to said district and primary schools, 
and to see that the ordinances and by-laws of said board in relation thereto be observed; 

7. To contract with and employ teachers competent and legally qualified in the several 
departments of instruction, to remove them at any time for neglect of duty or immoral con- 
duct, and to pay the wages of such teachers out of the moneys appropriated for that purpose ; 

8. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the public moneys and tuition fees received 
for that purpose, and the deficiency, if any, out of the moneys to be raised by tax for general 
purposes of education under this act: 

9. To fix the rates of tuition fees in said academy and to designate some person or persona 
to whom the same may be paid ; 

10. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision, management and control of 
all the schools mentioned or contemplated in and by the provisions of this act, to prescribe 
the course of studies therein, the books to be used, and to establish a uniformity in respect 
to such courses of study and books, from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as 
they may deem expedient; rules, regulations and ordinances for the organization, govern- 
ment and instruction of such schools, for the reception of pupils and their transfer from one 
school to another, for the expulsionof any pupil from any of said schools for misconduct, for 
the promotion of morals and good order in said schools, their prosperity and public utility, 
for the protection, safe keeping and care and preservation of school-houses, lots, sites, fences, 
ornamental trees, and shrubbery, and other appurtenances, and all other property connected 
with or appertaining to such school-houses, and to cause such rules, regulations, ordi. 
nances and by-laws to be printed and published in such a manner as they may deem best 
calculated to give general information thereof; 

11. The said board of education shall have power and it shall be their duty to raise, from 
time to time, by tax upon all the real and personal estate within the bounds of said district 
which shall be liable to taxation for town and county charges, such sums of money as may 
be determined by resolution of said board to be necessary for any and all the purposes 
mentioned in this act, or to meet any deficiency for any purpose of education in said dis- 
trict, to provide for which power is hereby given to said board by the provisions of this 
act, or any law relating to common schools, or the rules, regulations, or any order of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction ; 

12. Said board of education shall, at the commencement of each year, make an estimate, 
by the best means in their power, of the amount of money which will be needed for all the 

{)urposes of education and other purposes provided for by this act, over and above the pub- 
ic money and monej's to be received from the other sources, if any, and shall cause the 
pame to be raised upon one assessment or warrant, and not more than two taxes for such 
purpose shall be raised in one year. 

The amount of money so to be raised for teachers' wages, to be raised in any one year, 
shall not be less than the amount received from the State for the support of said schools for 
the year next preceding, nor shall more than four times that amount be raised by the board 
of education for any purpose, unless such greater amount shall be authorized by a vote of 
the voters at school meetings of said school district, at an annual or special meeting of such 
district, when they shall have power to vote such sum or sums as they may deem necessary 
for such purposes. 

§ 15. All the primary and intermediate schools and departments, and the academy in said 
school district, and which shall be under the charge of the board of education, shall be free 
schools, and no tuition shall be charged, nor any rate bill made out for the tuition in the 
regular or prescribed course of study of any pupils of lawful school age, who are or may be 
actual residents of said free school district, but said board of education shall have power 



646 SCHROEPPEL. 

to establish or charge such rates of tuition as they shall see fit for non-resident pupils, and 
for the instruction of all pupils in any branch of learning not embraced in the regular courae 
of study prescribed by said board of education. 

§ Ifi. They shall, for all taxes raised by them, make out a list in the- manner and form in 
which tax lists are or shall be required by law to be made by trustees of school districts, so 
far as such form is applicable, annex thereto a warrant in like form signed by the president 
or majority of the members of said board, and deliver the same to the collector, Avhich when 
so made and signed, shall be as efl'ectual to all intents and purposes as like tax lists and 
warrants, when made by the trustees of common school districts in this State. Said board 
may. in respect to the collection of taxes, conform to the provisions of the twenty-ninth, 
thirtieth and thirty-first sections of chapter one hundred and eighty of Session Laws of one 
thousand eight hundred and forty-five, and require the collector to' comply with the provis- 
ions of said section so far as the same are applicable. Said board may ma'ke their warrants 
returnable at discretion, not less than thirty nor more than ninety days from the issuing 
thereof. The said board may assess, levy and collect the amount of taxes to be raised 
under the preceding sections in not more than tu o annual installments. 

§ IT. All moneys to be raised by virtue of this act, and all moneys by law appropriated to 
or provided for "said district, shall be paid the treasurer of said board, whu, together 
with the sureties on his official bond, shall be accountable therefor to the said board of 
education ; said treasurer shall not pay out any of such moneys except in accordance with 
a resolution of said board, and upon an order drawn by the president and certified by the 
secretary, to be so drawn in pursuance of such resolution, 

§ 18. Special meetings of the board of education maybe called by the president, or, in his 
absence or inability to act. by the secretary or any member of said board, as often as neces- 
sary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or causing a written or printed 
notice to be left at his place of residence at least twenty-four hours before the hour for such 
special meeting. No member of said board shall receive, directly or indirectly, any pay or 
compensation ft)r his services. 

§ 19. The said board of education shall annually make a like report in all respects as 
required from trustees of common school districts to the school commissioner. Such 
report shall be received by the school commissioner instead of the reports now made by 
trustees of the school districts included in the said union district. 

The school moneys received for said district by the supervisors shall be paid by the said 
supervisors to the treasurer of said board of education. A copy of the reports of said boards 
of education shall be filed with the clerk or secretary of the board. The board of education 
ehall. at the close of each school year, publish, in one or more of the village newspapers, a 
report of the moneys received and expended by them during the year, showing the sources 
from whence received and the objects of expenditure, and such other matters pertaining to 
public instruction in said district as they shall deem expedient. 

§ 20. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, a sale or exchange of any primary school- 
house or house and lot would be proper, said board may cause such sale or exchange to be 
made, and may buy a new site, or may at any time build a new school-house for the accom- 
modation of any portion of said district when authorized thereto by a vote of a majority of 
the tax payers 'of said district, present and voting at any aixnual or special meeting caDed 
together as herein provided. 

f 21. All the school property of said board of education, real and personal, while used for 
and appropriated to school p'lirposes. shall be exempt from all taxes and assessments, and 
shall not be liable to be levied upon or sold by virtue of any execution. Said board of 
education, in their corporate capacity, shall be able to take, hold and dispose of any real of 
personal estate, translerred to it by gift, grant, bequest, or devise, for the use of sai-d district 
or any schools under their charge.' Said board shall not have power to sell, grant, dispose 
of or'incumber said academy or school lots. Xo portion Of the library money paid to said 
board of education shall be expended for teachers' wages, but shall be appropriated exclu- 
sively for the increase and benefit of the library and for school apparatus. 

§ 22. All the lands included in the bounds of said district shall be subject to taxation 
therein under this act, without regard to the residence of the owners thereof, and the board 
of education may cause them to be returned to the county treasurer in the same manner as 
the trustees of common schools are authorized to return unoccupied and unimproved real 
estate of non-residents of their districts for unpaid taxes assessed thereon. Said county 
treasurer shall pay to the treasurer of said board the amount of said taxes out of any moneys 
in the county trea'sury not otherwise specifically appropriated, and such proceedings in all 
respects shall thereupon be had in relation to such taxes and lands as required by law in 
relation to such lands when so returned by trustees of common school districts 

§ 23. The taxes imposed by the provisions of this act shall be a lien upon the lands taxed, 
to be enforced and collected by sale in the manner that county taxes are, upon a return 
to be made by the collector to the treasurer of the county of all unpaid taxes in said district. 

§ 24. The board of education of said district is hereby empowered, and it shall be their 
duty at their first regular meeting after the passage of this act. to levy a tax in accordance 
with the twelfth article of the fourteenth section of this act, for the support of the schools 
in said district, for the current school year, and to settle and pay all demands and accounts 
of the old school district. 

§ 25. The district hereby created shall, except as hereinbefore specially provided, be 
possessed of all the powers and be subject to all the provisions of chapter five hundred and 
fifty-five, of the Laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-four, so far as the same are applicable 
thereto. 



Seneca. C47 



SENECA. 

[Laws of 1844, chap. 175.] 

Sbction 1. It shall be lawful for the trustees of school district number one, in the town 
of Seneca, in the county of Ontario, at the next annual meeting of the district after the 
passage of this act. to submit for the consideration of such meeting a proposition gradu- 
ating the rates of tuition to be paid by scholars attending the diflerent departments into 
which such school is now divided ; if the same is approved or shall be so amended as to be 
approved by a majority of those present, qualified to vote in such meetings, such rates may 
be charged and collected, but they shall not be raised during the year next following their 
adoption. 

§ 2. At any annual meeting of the district, after such rates of tuition have been adopted, 
the same may be raised, reduced or entirely abolished, by a majority of such meeting. 

[Laws of 1853, chap. 252, as amended by chap. 357 of 1855.] 

Section 1. The inhabitants of school district number one, in the town of Seneca, in the 
county of Ontario, shall, at the nexf election of a trustee of said district, and at each annual 
election thereafter, elect a trustee, who shall hold his office for five years, and until another 
trustee is elected in his place, making the whole number of trustees thereof five, 

§ 2. At the annual election of said district to be held in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and fifty-six, said district number one shall, in addition to the election of a trustee 
to fill the vacancy which will then occur, also elect a trustee, who shall hold his oflice for 
two years, and shall also elect a trustee who shall hold his office for three years, and until 
others are elected in thei*" places. 

§ 3. The said trustees may, whenever they deem it necessary, call district meetings for 
the transaction of anj business relating to said district, by publishing a notice of such 
meeting in any two of tne public newspapers of the village of Geneva,' or if there be but 
one such newspaper, then in such newspaper once in each week for two weeks in succession, 
and by posting a copy of such notice in three public places in said district, fourteen days 
before such meeting shall be held ; such notice shall contain the time and place of said 
meeting, and state the purpose thereof, and be signed by at least three of said trustees ; and 
the meeting held in pursuance thereof shall have all the powers and authority of a regular 
meeting of said district. 

§ 4, The said trustees or their successors are hereby authorized to employ a clerk, or such 
other official labor, counsel or assistant in and about the business and aflairs of the district, 
at such salary as a majority of the legal voters of said district at anj' meeting thereof shall 
determine, which salary may be raised by a tax upon the inhabitants of said district. The 
said trustees may also, with the concurrence of a majority of the legal voters at any meeting 
of said district, raise by tax a sufficient sum for the purpose of insuring the property of the 
district against loss by fire, and also for the payment of a salary to the librarian of said 
district, 

§ 5. The said trustees are hereby authorized to raise by tax a sufficient sum to pay the 
interest which has accrued or may hereafter accrue on the sums now voted by said district, 
to be paid by installments ; and they may hereafter, at any meeting regularly called, raise 
by tax upon the inhabitants of said district, whenever a majority of the legal voters thereof 
at such meeting shall so determine, any moneys for the purposes of saict district, subject, 
however, to the consent of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to be expressed in 
writing, which consent shall be filed in the office of the town clerk of said town of Seneca. 

§ 6. The trustees of said district shall have authority to make regulations respecting the 
attendance of the children of the district in the school-houses thereof, the transfer of them 
from one school-house to another, and the instruction and studies to be given and pursued 
in the schools thereof. 

§ 7. The inhabitants of said district, authorized to vote as aforesaid, shall at the first 
district meeting duly held for the election of officers, and every third year thereafter, and 
as often as the office becomes vacant, elect a suitable person treasurer of said district, who 
shall hold his office for three years and until a ^uccessor is elected or appointed in his place, 
unless sooner removed by the trustees of the district for misconduct in office : to make 
w^hich removal for that cause the trustees are hereby authorized, in which case and incase of 
a vacancy they may appoint a treasurer in his place. The person so elected or appointed 
treasurer shall give a bond to the trustees and their successors, by the name of the Geneva 
union school, with sufficient wireties, for the faithful discharge of his duties. The amount 
and form of such bond and the sufficiency of the sureties shall be settled and determined 
by the trustees Such treasurer shall receive, keep and disburse the moneys of the district, 
under the direction of the trustees. 

§ S. The said trustees and their successors in office are hereby created a body corporate, 
by the name of " the Geneva union school," and empowered to establish and organize a 
classical school by that name in said district and village of Geneva, which school shall be 
subject to the Yisitatiou of the Regents of the University of this State, and to all laws 
and regulations applicable to incorporated academies thereof, and shall be entitled to all the 
privileges of such academies, and to share in the distribution of the money of the literature 
fund of this State, as the academies thereof; provided, however, that this act shall not 
affect the rights and duties of said trustees and district under the statutes of this State 
relating to common schools. 



.648 Seneca Falls. 



SENECA FALLS. 

\Chap. 389, Laws of 1867. p. 924, xol. 1.] 

Section 1. School districts number one, two, three and eight, of the town of Seneca 
Falls, are hereby consolidated into one school district, to be known as the educational dis- 
trict of Seneca Falls. 

§ 2. The public schools within the said educational districts shall be under the exclusiA'e 
charge of a board of education consisting of seven members, of which the president of the 
village of Seneca Falls shall be one, and the said board shall be known and designated as 
the board of education of Seneca Falls. 

§ 3. The said board of education of Seneca Falls shall be a body corporate, with all the 
powers of school trustees under the union free school law, and all the other general powers 
of a corporation under the Revised Statutes. Josiah T. Miller, Simeon Holton, Burnet B. 
Boardman. Gilbert Wilcoxen, John Cuddeback and Oliver S. Latham, together with the 
president of the village of Seneca Falls, shall constitute the said board until the second 
Mondaj' in April, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight. 

§ 4. At the first annual town meeting held in said town of Seneca Falls, next after the 
passage of this act, the qualified electors of said town residing within the limits of said 
educational district shall elect six members of said board of education ; ard at each subse- 
quent town meeting two members shall be elected ; each elector voting at such first 
election shall designate on his ballot one person for one year, one for two years, and one 
for three years ; and the two persons for each term having the highest number of votes 
shall be declared elected, and shall hold their office for the time specified ; term commenc- 
ing on the second Monday in April next after such election. At each subsequent election, 
each elector shall vote one name, and the two highest shall be elected and shall hold their 
office for three years. The officers holding such town meeting shall provide a separate 
box for ballots for " board of education ; " and they shall designate one of their number to 
receive the ballots, and they shall conduct the election in all other respects as that for the 
election of town officers. The clerk of the board of education shall keep the poll list of the 
district. Every person elected a member of the board of education shall be notified of his 
election by the town clerk, and shall take and file with the said town clerk the usual oath 
of office within ten days after receiving personal notice of such election within said town. 
Vacancies in the board shall be filled for the unexpired term by a two-thirds vote of the 
remaining members of the board, exclusive of the president of the village, and the said 
members shall vote until a choice is thus made. 

§ 5. The said board shall meet for the transaction of business as often as once in three 
months, and the president may call special meetings by causing a notice thereof to be per- 
sonally served on each member in said town, at least twenty-four hours before said meeting 
shall be held. At the first regular meeting of the board next after the second Monday in 
April, in each year, the said board shall elect one of their number president for the ensuing 
year. They shall also electa superintendent of schools, who shall be, ex officio, clerk of 
said board, and chief librarian of said district. The said superintendent shall be under the 
direction of the board, and they shall prescribe his general duties ; and may, in their 
discretion, allow him an assistant librarian, whose jduties and compensation shall be pre- 
scribed by the board. In addition to such other duties as may be devolved upon the 
superintendent by the board, in the visitation of schools, he shall examine the qualifi- 
cations of teachers, and grant certificates in such manner and form as may be prescribed 
by the State Superintendent, and which may at any time be revoked by the board of 
education. The superintendent shall be paid out of the school fund, such salary as the 
board of education may fix ; and he may be removed by a vote of a majority of all the 
members of said board. The members of said board shall not receive any compensation 
for services rendered as such members; nor shall they be interested in any contmct made 
with said board for the purchase, sale or repair of any property ; nor shall any relative of 
any member of the board be emp]o}'ed as a teacher in said district, except by a unanimous 
vote of the board. 

§ fi. The said board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, 
from time to time, by tax to be levied on all the real and personal estate in said educational 
district, liable to town and county taxes, in the same manner as town and county taxes are 
raised, such sums as they shall determine to be necessary and proper for the maintenance 
of the public schools within said district, as free schools ; and such additional sum as may 
be necessary for the purchase of sites, and the building, repairs or equipment of school- 
houses within said district, and the payment of any interest or principal which shall become 
due and payable by said district: and the said board of education may make such tempo- 
rary loans on the credit of the district for the ordinary expenses of 'the schools as mav 
become necessary in auj^ year, in anticipation of the annual collection of taxes ; but the 
said board shall not be authorized to purchase any site, or construct any building, or to 
create any debt for the purchase of any new site or the construction or alteration of any- 
building, unless the same shall have been authorized by a vote of the taxable inhabitants of 
said election district. A meeting of the taxable inhabitants may be called by the said 
board of education at any time, to take such vote, upon giving at least two weeks' 
public notice of the time and place and object of such meeting ; such notice to be pub- 
lished in each of the weekly newspapers published in said villaire. and not more than two 
such meetings shall be called in any one year, and there shall be at least four months 
between such meetings. The president of the board, or in his absence the president of 
the village, shall preside at such tax meeting, and the clerk of the village, and the secretary 



Seneca Falls. 649 

of the board of education, shall be the clerks of said tax meeting. The resolutions of such 
tax mcetinjrs, declared passed by such presiding officer, and certified by said clerks, shall 
be conclusive evidence of the action of the taxable inhabitants of said district ; and it shall 
be the duty of said officers to attend said meetings and truly to certify the resolutions 
thereof. But the aggregate tax for school purposes, levied in said district in any one 
j'ear, shall not exceed one-half of one per cent upon the taxable property in said district, 
as the same shall appear upon the last assessment roll filed in said town. Whenever 
any district tax meeting shall vote to purchase any school site, or to build any school 
building within said district, and authorize the issue of bonds therefor, the said board of 
education may issue the bonds of the said district on interest for such an amount, and in 
such sum», and on such time, as the said tax meeting shall authorize and the said board 
shall approve. The form of said bonds, and the mode of disposing of them, shall be fixed 
by said board, and all moneys received thereon shall be held by the treasurer of the village 
of Seneca Falls as other school moneys are held under this act, subject to the drafts of said 
board for the purposes for which such bonds shall have been authorized ; said bonds shall 
be signed by the president of said board of education, attested by the clerk and seal of said 
district, and they shall be countersigned by the president and clerk of the village of Seneca 
Falls, and they shall be a specific lien and charge upon the school-houses and property, 
real and personal, of said educational district, and ratably upon all taxable property within 
said district. The secretary of the board shall keep a record of all the bonds issued under 
this act, with a brief description thereof. The said bonds shall be numbered, and the record 
shall show to whom and on what account each bond was issued by said board. 

§ T, The taxes imposed by the board of education shall be "collected of the taxable 
inhabitants of said district upon the warrant of said board, in the same manner as the taxes 
imposed by the board of trustees of the village of Seneca Falls are collected ; and the collec- 
tion of said district taxes may be enforced in the same manner as such village taxes. The 
treasurer of the village of Seneca Falls shall be the collector and treasurer of the said edu- 
cational district : and his jursdiction shall extend, under this act. to all the territory embraced 
in the said educational district. Tlie tax to be levied in the said district as aforesaid, and 
collected by virtue of this act, shall be levied and collected in the same manner, and at the 
same time," and for the same compensation, that other village taxes are ; and the powers, 
duties and liabilities of the village treasurer and his sureties, shall be the same for the col- 
lection of this tax and for the pajnnent of any school moneys held by him as for village 
taxes ; and the board of trustees of said village, in fixing the amount of the treasurer's 
sureties, shall include the moneys to be received by said treasurer under this act. 

§ 8. All moneys raised by virtue of this act, or received from any other source for the use 
of common, academic or high schools within said district, shall be kept by the said treas- 
urer separate anddistinct from any other funds which he is or may be authorized to receive ; 
any increase or interest or profit received thereon shall be added to said funds. The treas- 
urer of the village of Seneca Falls, under the direction of the said board of education, shall 
draw upon the county treasurer, or other proper officer, for all moneys appropriated to the 
schools within said district, from the common school, literature or other fi,inds of this State, 
or of the county of Seneca ; and the treasurer is hereby authorized to receive the same for 
the said educational district. 

§ !). The treasurer shall pay out the moneys received by him, by virtue of this act, only 
upon drafts drawn by the pre'sident of the board of education, countersigned by the secre- 
tary of the board, which drafts shall not be drawn except in pursuance of a resolution or 
resolutions of said board, and shall be made payable only to the order of the person or per- 
sons entitled to receive the money thereon, and shall state on what account said draft is 
drawn : except that said treasurer may take up any lawful bond of said district, at the 
maturity thereof, or pay any coupon due for interest thereon, without such draft, provided 
such payment shall have been authorized by a resolution of said board. 

§ 10. The said board shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize in said educational district so many primary departments or 
schools, and departments of higher grades, including an academical department, and to alter 
and discontinue the same, as they may deem advisable ; 

2. To hire or purchase school-houses, school-rooms, lots or sites for schoo.-houses, oi sites 
with buildings thereon, to be used as school-houses, and to fence and improve such sites, 
and to sell the same with their appurtenances, as they may deem proper, provided such pur- 
chase be authorized by a vote of the district; 

3. To build, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, with their out-houses and 
appurtenances, as they may deem advisable ; 

4. To have the custody oYthe said school-houses, books, furniture and appurtenances, and 
to see that the ordinances in relation to the care and safe keeping of the same be observed; 

5. To contract with, and employ all teachers in said public schools, the number of teachers 
not to be less than one for every fifty pupils regularly attending such schools; 

6. To pay teachers' wages from the money authorized by this act to be raised for that 
purpose ; 

7. To defray all necessary and contingent expenses of estal)lishing and maintaining the 
eaid public schools with proper furniture, library and apparatus, and the necessary and con- 
tingent expenses of said board of education ; 

8. To have in all respects the superintendence and management of the public schools of 
said district, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as they may deem 
expedient, rules and regulations for the organization, government and instruction ; for the 
reception of pupils and their transfer from one department to another, and generally for their 
good order and government ; to receive into said public schools pupils residing out of said 
educational districts ; to regulate the tuition fees of such non-resident pupils, and to collect 

82 



650 Seneca Falls. 

the same ; to expel any scholar for misconduct or cause injurious to the interests of the 
school; to regulate the transfer of pupils from one department to another; to direct what 
text books shall be used in the public schools ; to provide and keep in repair school appa- 
ratus, books, furniture and appendages ; to provide fuel and other necessaries for the said 
public schools, and to appoint assistant librarians, as they may from time to time deem 
proper, and regulate their duties. 

§ 11. The title to the school-houses, lots, furniture, books, apparatus, and appurtenances, 
and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall be vested in the said board of 
education, and the same while used or appropriated for school purposes shall not be subject 
to taxation, and shall not be levied on or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution, except 
for teachers' wages and the bonds of said district, issued by order of the said board, and 
except that the lien, and all proceedings for enforcing the same, of mechanics and others 
for labor and materials furnished in erecting, altering, or repairing buildings and their 
appurtenances, shall in no way be affected or impaired hy this act; and the said board in its 
corporate capacity, shall have full right and authority to take and hold any personal and real 
estate transferred to it by grant, gift, devise or bequest, subject to the limitations provided 
by law, in trust for the public schools or educational interest of said educational district, 
whether the same be in terms to said boai-d in its corporate name or by any other designa- 
tion, or to any person, persons or bodies for the benefit of said public schools ; and all real 
or personal estate so transferred shall be accepted, held, used and applied as specified in the 
article or deed of transfer. Any person willfully injuring any property belonging to or 
which shall be in the custody of said board of education, shall be liable to punishment as 
and for a misdemeanor— and doing such willful injury is declared to be a misdemeanor. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall once in each year, and at least fifteen days before- 
the annual town meeting, make a report to the inhabitants of the district, in which they 
shall set forth the whole amount and items of the moneys received, raised and collected by 
them during the year preceding the date of such report, and the amount and items of the 
expenditures for the same time, also the number and condition of the various schools and 
departments in said school district ; the number of pupils attending such schools and depart- 
ments during the year, the number and names of the teachers employed by them, and the 
text books in use in such schools ; the number of volumes and condition of the books in 
the libraries of said districts ; and such other facts and information relative to the affairs 
of said district as in their judgment may be of interest to the inhabitants thereof; and 
shall publish such report in the weekly newspapers regularly published in the said village 
of Seneca Falls. 

§ 13. It shall be lawful for the inhabitants of any school district in the town of Seneca 
Falls, adjoining said educational district, at any annual or special meeting, by a vote of the 
majority of the legal voters present, to declare said district to be a part of said educational 
district, and if accepted, the said district shall become a part of said educational district 
and be subject to all the conditions, rules and regulations of said board of education, the 
same as any other districts included in the said educational district; but no such action 
of any school district shall take effect or become operative for any purpose, until said board 
of education shall by resolution accept such school district as a part of such educational 
district. 

§ 14. The said board of education shall be trustees of the school district libraries of said 
district, and all the provisions of law which are now in force, or hereafter may be passed, 
relative to school district libraries, shall apply to said board of education in the same manner 
as if they w^ere trustees of a school district, so far as the same is or shall be consistent with 
this act. They shall be vested with the same discretion as to the disposition of moneys 
appropriated by the laws of this State, for the purchase of libraries, which is therein con 
ferred on the inhabitants of school districts ; and they shall have power to purchase, ex- 
change, repair or dispose of any books or other property of said libraries, or cause it to be 
done, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of other books or apparatus ; also to provide 
suitable rooms and furniture for said libraries. 

§ 15. The trustees of the " Seneca Falls academy " are hereby authorized and empowered 
to transfer to the board of education hereby ci-eated, either immediately or at a future time, 
on such conditions as they jointly shall deem most conducive to the cause of education, the 
right, title and interest in and to all the estate, real and personal, and all bequests belonging 
to said academy, to be by them used in the purchase of a site, the erection of suitable 
buildings, the organization of an academic or high school, or for the maintenance of an 
academy in connection with the general free school system contemplated in this act. The 
board of education, if they shall deem it necessary, may, with the advice and consent of the 
hoard of trustees, organize and maintain primary, secondary or high schools, or either of 
them in, or cause them to be taught in connection with the Seneca Falls academy, on such 
terms and conditions, and for such time as shall be deemed expedient, by and between said 
board of education and the trustees of such academy. 

§ 16. The academy connected with the school system contemplated by this act, when 
organized, and when it has complied with the necessary requirements, shall be recognized 
as one of the academies of this State, subject to the visitation of the Regents, and shr.ll 
he entitled to participate in the distribution of the income of the literature and other funds, 
in the same manner and upon the same conditions as the other academies of the State ; and 
the Regents of the University of the State of New York shall pay annually to the board of 
education of Seneca Falls, the distributive share of the said funds to which the said acad- 
emy shall be entitled. 

§ 17. The various school district oflices, in each of the districts herein embraced, shall 
terminate whenever this act shall take effect, and the board of education shall be organized, 
and shall enter upon the duties of their office, except as herein otherwise provided. The 



Sing Sing. 651 

trustees and collector in each district shall retain the power now by law vestod in such 
officers, until they, by due diligence, shall have closed up all the unsettled business of their 
several districts, and discharged all the indebtedness thereof, and for such purpose shall, if 
necessary, call meetings of the inhabitants of such district, and, when voted at a legally called 
meeting, shall levy and collect a tax sutUcient to liquidate such indebtedness. The said 
school district officers shall severally transfer to the said board of education, all the school 
property and all the property of their respective districts, on or before the ilrst day of June, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven ; and the said board of education shall take ])08session 
of the same, except that the property of joint district number two shall be disposed of or 
divided as is now provided by law on the dissolution of school districts ; but the said board 
of education are authorized, instead of making such division, to make any other settlement 
or adjustment with the inhabitants of such joint district, not residing within said educa- 
tional district, as may be acceptable to said board and a majority of said inhabitants, or 
which shall be accepted and approved by the trustee or trustees of said joint district not 
residing in the town of Seneca Falls. The said board of education is also authorized to 
deduct from the first tax levied upon the taxable property of the inhabitants of any school 
district, by virtue of this act. the amount of mcmey heretofore raised by tax in any such 
district, which shall be turned over to the said board by the trustees of any district, in 
pursuance of this act ; such deduction to be made ratably from the tax of each of such 
inhabitants, as the same shall appear upon said educational district tax list. 

§ 18. The record of the board of education, or a transcript thereof certified by the secre- 
tary, shall be received in all courts as i)?^'ma facie evidence of the facts therein set forth; 
and such record, the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of the board shall at all times 
be subject to the inspection of the trustees of the village, or any committee thereof, or the 
justices of the peace or supervisor of the town. 

§ 19. The board of education may cause a suit or suits to be prosecuted in the name of the 
village of Seneca Falls, upon the official bond of the treasurer of the said village, for any 
default, delinquency, or official misconduct in relation to the collection, safe keeping and 
payment of any money in this act mentioned. 

§ 20. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed; and this 
act shall take effect immediately. 



SING SING. 

ILaws of ISM, chap. 314, p. 667, as amended by chap. 199, Laws of 1859, p. 455.] 

Section 1. The village of Sing Sing shall form a permanent school district, and the 
electors residing within the bounds of said village, at their annual charter election, or at any 
time thereafter, upon the usual notice being given, may determine by a majority of votes, 
by ballot, upon the expediency of establishing free schools in said village. The trustees of 
the village shall conduct the election, and theballots having written or printed on them the 
words "For free schools," or "Against free schools," shall be duly canvassed, and the 
result declared by them in the usual manner. 

§ 2. The trustees of said school district shall be elected in the manner and shall hold their 
offices for the terms prescribed by the common school law of this State ; and upon the 
decision of the legal voters of said village in favor of establishing free schools, it shall be 
the duty of the district trustees, on or before the first day of December of each year, to 
estimate, determine and certify the amount of money, in addition to the funds now provided 
by law and apportioned to the district, that will be required to support all the schools under 
their charge ; the said amount shall in no case exceed three times the whole amount of 
funds "for the support of schools" that shall have been apportioned for the year 
preceding. 

§ 3. The supervisor of the town of Ossining shall, on the presentation of the certificate of 
the said trustees specifying the amount of school moneys necessary to be raised for said 
district authorized by the preceding section, prepare a separate tax "list and assess therein 
the required amount of school moneys upon the taxaV)le property within the said school 
district, according to the estimated value thereof in the town assessment roll of that year, 
and shall deliver such tax list to the town collector of the town of Ossining ; and the said sum 
required to be raised as aforesaid shall be inserted in each year in the supervisor's warrant 
to the collector of the town of Ossining, which shall authorize and require the said collector 
to collect the said taxes as the same are assessed in the said tax list, to be delivered to him 
by the supervisor of the town of Ossining, as aforesaid, and to pay the same over to the 
trustees of the said school district, within the same time he is required to pay over town 
and county taxes ; and it shall be the duty of the said collector to collect the same with the 
other yearly taxes, and he shall pay over the whole amount certified to be necessary, exclu- 
sive of the fees of collection, to the treasurer of the trustees of said school district, within 
the time required by said warrant; and any violation or neglect of official duty under this 
act shall be deemed and is hereby declared to be a breach of his official bond as such collec- 
tor; and in collecting such taxes, the said collector shall have the same powers he now has 
in the collection of town and county taxes, and he shall be subject to the same duties and 
obligations: and the county treasurer of the county of Westchester, upon the complaint of 
the said trustees^ or either of them, shall have the same power to enforce or compel pay- 
ment by the said collectors of any taxes collected or received by him by virtue of this act. as 
he now has to compel town collectors to pay over town or county taxes collected or received 
by them. 



652 Syracuse. 

§ 4. The tovra superintendent aforesaid shall have the authority and exercise the duties 
prescribed in the pfeneral school law of this State over the said school district, and shall pay 
out of the funds paid into his hands by virtue of the preceding section, upon the drafts of 
the trustees, such sums as may be certified by them to be due to qualified teachers that have 
been employed by them, and include such payments, with any balances or deficiencies, in hia 
annual report of the schools of his town to the department, and for record ; he shall also be 
authorized, upon a vote of the inhabitants of the district at their annual meetino-, or the 
application of the trustees, to apply the "library money" apportioned to the said district 
to the purchase of text books and school apparatus until the schools are sufficiently 
eupplied. 

§ 5. The district trustees aforesaid shall be authorized to raise by tax. anmially, for the 
purchase of fuel, ordinary repaii's and improvement of the school property of the district, a 
sum not exceeding: three hundred dollars ; and in case of the enlargement, rebuilding or the 
erection of new school-houses, the said trustees shall be authorized to levy and raise on the 
taxable property of the district, with the assent of the school commissioner, the amount 
required for such object, which sum shall not exc^-ed four times the usual amount authorized 
by law for building new district school-houses, which amount, so levied, shall be collected 
as other school moneys are. by the town collector, and paid to the treasurer of said trus- 
tees, -who shall make an exhibit and statement of all such receipts and expenditures with 
his other accounts in his book, annually, as required by the school law aforesaid. 

§ 6. There shall be, after the establishment of free schools in said village on the preceding 
plan, no rate-bill for the attendance of scholars or any other exaction whatever made out 
against or demanded by the trustees of any person sending children to such schools in the 
village of Sing Sing. 

[Chap. 326, Laivs of 1857, p. 689, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. The trustees of the permanent school district of the village of Sing Sing, 
erected into a free school district by an act of the Legislature, and a vote of the inhabitants 
of said village, in conformity with the provisions of the first section of said act, are hereby 
authorized and empowered to borrow a sum of money not exceeding five thousand dollars 
for the purpose of completing their new central school-house, upon the lot recently pur- 
chased ; and they are hereby authorized to mortgage said school lot, and improvements 
thereon, as security for the payment of the money sb loaned, in annual installments of not 
less than five hundred dollars until the same shall be paid. 

§ 2. The powers and duties exercised by the trustees of the district in compliance with 
the provisions of section five of said act, levying the sum of one thousand six hundred 
dollars per annum, for building a new school-house, are hereby legalized and confirmed ; 
and shall be continued until all the expenses of building and furnishing said school-house 
shall have been paid and reimbursed. And whenever the building of another school-house 
shall become necessary, and shall be so determined, by the vote of the inhabitants of said 
district, then again shall the trustees have the same power to proceed in levying and col- 
lecting (and borrowing if need be) in like manner herein provided for the erection of said 
school buildings, and providing furniture therefor. 

§ 3. The third section of said act is hereby amended, so as to authorize and require the 
town collector to pay over all moneys levied by the town supervisor under the direction and 
by authority of said act to the treasurer of the trustees of said free school district. 

§ 4. The treasurer of the trustees of said school district is hereby required to give a bond 
with two sufficient sureties, to be approved by the district clerk and president of the village 
of Sing Sing, in twice the amount of moneys that may come into his hands, in the manner 
required to be done by the supervisor of towns on receiving school moneys, as provided in the 
school law of eighteen hundred and fifty-six, and with the same guards and liabilities for its 
faithful disbursement, and the transfer of any funds or property remaining in his hands, 
belonging to the district, to his successor at the expiration of his office, or when required 
by a vote of the district. 

SYRACUSE. 

[Lazvs of 1857, chap. 63, p. 104, title 11, as amended hy chap. 138, Laws of 1865, p. 245.] 

[Title ten provides for the election of two commissioners of common schools in each of 
the eight wards of the city, to hold office for two years, but so classified that one shall be 
elected each year.] 

TITLE XI. — THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

Section 1. The commissioners of common schools shall constitute a board of education 
of the city. The board shall meet annually, on the second Tuesday after the annual charter 
election, and appoint a president from their body, and a clerk. A majority shall constitute 
a quorum, but a less number may adjourn. The president shall have a vote on all questions, 
and in case of his absence a president pro tempore may be appointed. 

The president and clerk shall hold their offices during the pleasure of the board, and the 
compensation of the clerk shall be fixed by said board. 

The clerk shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, which record, or a tran- 
ecript thereof certified by the president and clerk, shall be received in all courts as prima 
facie evidence of the facts therein set forth. Such records, and all the books and accounts 
of the said board, shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the common council and of 
any committee thereof. The clerk shall perform the duties prescribed by law and such 
other duties as the board may prescribe. 



Syra-Cuse. 653 

§ 2. The board of education shall annually report to the common couuci], on or before the 
first day of April, after the charter election, a detailed statement of the amount estimated 
by them to be necessary to be expended by said board, for each of the following purposes, 
for the current year : 

To defray the expenses of teachers'wages ; 

To procure fuel and defray the necessary expenses of keepino^ the school-houses in order, 
exclusive of repairs ; 

To defray the expenses for janitors' services ; 

To defray the expenses of the district libraries ; 

To defray the continijent expenses of the board ; 

To defray the expenses of temporary repairs upon school-houses : 

The amount of moneys on hand and the amount receivable during such year by said board 
for school purposes, other than from city taxes. 

§ 3. Upon the reception of ihe report, in the last section required to be made, the common 
council shall proceed to consider the same, and approve, increase or diminish any or all 
the said estimates, but they shall not diminish the aggregate amount so that the sum to be 
raided hy the city shall be less than twice, nor increase the same so that the sum to be 
raised by the city shall be more than four times, the amount received during the preceding 
vear from the State for school purposes ; and after having fixed the amount to be expended 
ior each and all the purposes mentioned in the last preceding section, the same shall be cer- 
tified to the board of education, who shall during such fiscal year limit the expenditures for 
such purpose, so that the same shall not exceed such appropriation, and not lessen the length 
of the time each school shall be kept in each district. In case a greater sum shall be 
expended for any purpose than the appropriation, the city shall not be liable for the same, 
but the members of the board of education voting therefor, or either of them, shall be per- 
sonally liable therefor to the party entitled to payment. 

§ 4. The board of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, subject to the 
provisions of this act : 

To have the care and custody and provide for the safe keeping of school-hotises, out- 
houses, books, furniture and appendages, and the district libraries in said city ; 

To contract with, license and employ all teachers of the several public schools therein ; 

To contract for purchasing sites, and for building, enlaro^ing and furnishing, all school- 
houses authorized by the common council and to superintend the same ; 

To contract for the temporary repairing of all school-houses, and for all repairs and 
improvements around the same ; 

To audit accounts and order the payment of the same, if contracted by them for either 
of the purposes stated in the third section of this title ; 

To make all selections of books for the district libraries or for school purposes in said 
city ; 

To divide the city into school districts in such manner as they shall deem proper, and regu- 
late and define the boundaries, and the number of teachers for the same ; to supply the 
places and perform the several duties of superintendents of common schools in towns and 
districts; and, in respect to the several school districts in said city, to supply the place and 
perform the several duties required to be performed by trustees of the several school dis- 
tricts in this State by the general statutes relating to common schools. 

§ 5. At such time as the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall direct returns to be 
made to him in each year, said board shall make and transmit to the county clerk a report in 
writing, containing an account and description of all the common schools kept in said city 
during the preceding year, and the time they have severally been kept; the number of 
children taught in said schools respectively ;" the number of children over the age of five 
and under the age of twenty-one years residing in said city on the first day of January 
of that year ; the whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of said city 
during the year preceding, distinguishing the amount received from the county treasurer, 
from the city collectors, and from any other source ; the manner in which said moneys have 
been expended, and whether any and what part remains unexpended, and for what cause ; 
the amount of money received for tuition fees from foreign pupils during the year, and the 
amount paid for teachers' wages in addition to the public moneys, with such other infor- 
mation relating to the common schools of said city, as the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction and the common council may require. The common council of said city shall 
have the power, and it shall be their duty, to raise from time to time by tax, upon the real 
and personal estate of said city which shall be liable to taxation for ordinary city taxes or 
for county or city charges, in addition to the amount of school moneys now or" hereafter 
appropriated, as provided by law for common schools in said city, such sums as may be 
determined by the common council to be necessary or proper for any or all of the following 
purposes, viz. : 

To purchase, lease or improve sites of or for school-houses ; 

To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve or repair school-houses, and their out- 
houses and appurtenances; 

To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and append- 
ages ; but the power herein granted shall not be deemed to authorize the fui-nishing of 
class or text books for any scholar whose parents or guardians shall be able to furnish the 
same ; 

To procure fuel and defray the expenses of the common schools and the expenses of the 
pchool libraries in the city ; 

To pay the wages of teachers, due after the application of the public moneys which may, 
by I iw, be apprMpriated and provided for that purpose; provided, that such tax shall not 
be laid oftener than once in each year, nor shall the amount to be raised in any one year, 



654 StEPH ENTO WN. 

for buying sites and erecting and repairing? school-houses and appurtenances, exceed eight 
thousand dollar*. 

f6. The common council shall cause the amount of the tax, at any time ordered to he 
raised in pursuance of this act, to be added to the amount which is otherwise authorized by 
law to be raised by tax in said city ; and the common council shall cause the same, with the 
fees thereon, to be assessed, levied and collected at the same time, and by the same warrant 
and in the same manner, with the taxes raised for city expenses under and by virtue of the 
act of incorporation of said city of Syracuse. 

§ 7. All moneys required to be raised by virtue of this act, which the board of education 
is authorized to expend, on being raised as herein provided, with all other moneys received 
from any source for school purposes, shall be deposited, for the safe keeping thereof, with the 
treasurer of said city to the credit of the school fund, and shall be drawn out, in pursuance 
of a resolution or resolutions of said board, by warrants drawn by the clerli of the board, 
and countersigned by the president thereof, payable to the order of the pers(m or persons 
entitled to receive such moneys ; and the treasurer shall keep the school funds, authorized 
b}' this act to be received by him, separate and distinct from any other fund which he is or 
may by law be authorized to receive. Nor shall any of the moneys belons^ing to said school 
fund be paid out by the treasurer, except upon such warrants. Nor shall any part of said 
school funds be borrowed from said funds, directly or indirectly, by the city, or in any man- 
ner transferred to any city fund, but the same shall remain in the treasury, sacredly set 
apart and dedicated to school purposes, and to be drawn therefrom only for such purposes, 
and in the manner herein provided. 

§ 8. The city of Syracuse shall be taken and deemed a to\vn, for all purposes, in respect 
to making returns in respect to common schools, and for receiving money for school or 
library purposes from the State, or other sources, and by virtue of this act it is hereby 
declared to be a school commissioner district. 

[Chap. 92, Laws of 1867, p. 133, vol. 1.] 

Section 1. The board of education of the city of Syracuse are authorized and empowered 
to purchase grounds, and erect thereon buildings and fixtures, furnish the same, and supply 
necessary apparatus, as they may think proper, for the uses of the high school in said city 
now under their charge. To defray the expense thereof, the common council of said city is 
authorized and required to issue the bonds of the city, in such sums and at such times as 
the said board of education may direct, for the purposes aforesaid, to an amount not exceed- 
ing seventy-five thousand dollars, and. when properly executed, such bonds shall be 
negotiated through the tax receiver of said city, at rates not less than the par value thereof, 
and the proceeds remain in the city treasury, subject to the order of the said board of edu- 
cation, for the purposes aforesaid. 

§2. Said bonds shall bear seven per cent interest, and the same, Avith the principal 
moneys, shall be made payable at such times, at such places and in such manner as the said 
board shall direct, within periods not exceeding thirty nor less than five years. But no 
greater amount than ten thousand dollars of principal shall be payable in any one year. 
The said common council shall include in the annual tax list for said city ah amount 
suflScient to meet the interest and any principal moneys that may fall due in each year, until 
said bonds, with interest, are fully paid 

§ 8. The tax receiver of said city, or other officer or person into whose custody or under 
whose control the said bonds or the funds therefrom derived shall come, shall execute and 
deliver to the mayor of said city, bonds to be approved by said mayor for the faithful dis- 
charge of the duties and trusts created by this act, which bonds shall be filed wdth the clerk 
of said city before such officer shall enter upon his duties. 



STEPHENTOWN. 

<- [Chap. 46, Laws of 1119^, passed March 23, Kent and Saddiff's Revision, vol. 2, i;. 251.] 

Whereas, it is represented to the Legislature that there is a certain fund given, the interest 
of which is to be appropriated for the encouragement of schools in that part of Stephentown, 
in the county of Rensselaer. knoA\-n by the name of the tweh-e thousand acres; and the 
freeholders on said land interested in said fund have by their petition prayed to be incorpo- 
rated, that they might be enabled to choose trustees for the better management of said 
fund; therefore, 

I. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, 
That the freeholders residing on that part of Stephentown known by the name of the twelve 
thousand acres, are herebv constituted and declared to be one body corporate and politic, in 
fact and in name, by the name of '• the trustees of schools in Stephentown," and by that name 
they and their successors may forever hereafter have perpetual succession, and shall and may 
by the same name be persons capable in law to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, 
answering and being answered unto, defend and being defended, in all courts and places 
whatsoever, and that they and their successors may have a common seal, and may change and 
alter the same at their pleasure, and shall be in law capable of purchasing, holding and con- 
veying any estate, real or per-onal. for the use of said corporation ; provided such estate 
shall not e'xceed the sum of three thousand dollars. 

IT. And he it further enacted. That Hosea Moffat, David Gould and Jonathan Niles, shall be 
and they are hereby declared to be the first trustees for the freeholders of that part of 



Stephentown, 655 

Stepheatown aforesaid, an^ shall continue to be trustees for , the piirppses aforesaid 'until 
the last Tuesiday in Mav next, and until others shall be chosen in theii places : and that it 
shall and may be lawful for the freeholders residing in that part of Stephentown aforesaid 
for the time being, to assemble on the last Tuesday of May in each year, at such tin<c of the 
day and place as the trustees forthe time being, oi-'-a major part of them, shall appoint by adver- 
tisement, and under the direction of said trustees, or such of them as shall be present, who 
are hereby made inspectors of such election, and then and tbere, by a majority of voices, to 
elect three discreet freeholders to be trustees as aforesaid, Avho shall continue in office until 
the last Tuesday in May in the next ensuing year, and until others shall be chosen in their 
places. 

III. And be it further enacted, That when and as often as any vacancy shall happen by 
death, removal, resignation, or neglect to serve of any of the said trustees, it shall and may 
be lawful for one or more of the trustees to notify a meeting of the freeholders aforesaid, 
for the election of a trustee or trustees to fill such vacancy or Vacancies, and that said trustee 
or trustees shall remain in office during such time as the person or persons in whose place 
he or they shall be chosen would have done in case such vacancy had not happened, and no 
longer. 

IV. And be it further enacted, That the said freeholders, at their annual meetf ng to be 
held as aforesaid, and at such other times in the year as the said trustees, or a majority of 
them, may think necessary to advertise for the purpose, shall be and they are hereby author- 
ized and empowered from time to time to make, ordain, constitute and establish such 
jjrudential rules, orders and regulations, as a majority of such freeholders so assembled shall 
judge necessary and convenient for the better securing to the said corporation the property 
hereby vested in them, for the more equal distribution of the income of all such corporate 
property among the schools within the bounds of said corporation, and also for well ord r 
mg and regulating the schools in such manner as will best promote the education of children, 

[Chajh 505, Laws of 1866, p. 1113,] 
Section 1. Isaiah B. Coleman, Edwin A. RoUo and Hiram A. Carpenter of Stephentown, 
in the county of Rensselaer, are hereby appointed commissioners of the school fund of 
Stephentown, in the county of Rensselaer, and shall hold their offices for the terms follow- 
ing : The said Coleman for the term of one year, from April first, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-six ; the said Edwin A. Rollo for two years from said April first, and the said Carpenter 
for three years from said April first, and said persons shall severally hold their s;iid officea 
until their successors severally shall be duly elected and qualified; and they and their suc- 
cessors shall be a body corporate, and have the general powers of a corporation, and shall 
also have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To take and bold, for the purposes of said trust, any estate, real or personal, which has 
or may have been devised or bequeathed, given, granted or conveyed to s^id town or to the 
school fund thereof, by whatsoever name or howsoever otherwise the same may have beer, 
given, with the same effect as if given to said corporation after this act took eftect; 

2. To lease any real estate that may belong to such fund, for such time, not exceeding 
twelve years, and upon such conditions as they shall judge best ; 

3. To sell the same with the consent of the town in town meeting assembled, for such 
price and upon such terms of credit as shall appear to them most advantageous ; 

4. To invest the proceeds of such sales and all the personal estate that may come to their 
hands, in loans, secured by bond and mortgage on unincumbered real estate, of the value, 
*ixclusive of buildings, of double the amount loaned, or in stocks of this State, or stocks, 
bonds or other obligations of the United States ; 

5. To purchase any real estate so mortgaged upon a foreclosure whenever they shall deem 
it for the interest of said fund ; 

6. To return the amount paid to them for principal upon the like security ; 

7. To apply the rents and profits of such real estate, and the interest on such loans, to the 
support of common schools in said town, by paying over to the trustees of the several school 
districts in said town, in the same manner and at the same time as the public money is 
apportioned by the superintendent of common schools of the district in which said town is 
located ; 

8. To keep a just and true account of the receipts and expenditures of all moneys which 
shall come to their hands by virtue of his ofl[ice, in a suitable book or books to be provided 
by him. and render a just and true account of the proceeds of the sales, and the interest on 
the loans aforesaid, aud of the rents and profits of the real estate aforesaid, and of all other 
receipts by him and of the expenditures and appropriation thereof by them, and of the 
vouchers therefor, on the last Tuesday next preceding the annual town meeting in each year, 
to the board of auditors of town accounts, to be audited and allowed ; 

9. Tu deliver over to their successors in office all books, papers and securities relating to 
the same, at the expiration of their respective offices, aud take a receipt therefor, which 
shall be filed in the clerk's office of said town. 

§2. Any willful neglect or refusal to perform any duty imposed by law on said commis- 
sioners shall be a misdemeanor and punishable as such, and also by a penalty of fifty dollars 
against any such commissioner so neglecting or refusing, to be sued for and recovered by the 
superintendent of common schools of the district in\vhich said to\vn is situated, in his 
name of office. 

§ 3. There shall be elected, at the annual town meeting of said town, in eighteen hundred 
and sixty-seven, a commissioner of said school fund, to hold his office for the term of three 
years, and annually thereafter a like commissioner shall be elected in the place of the com- 
missioner whose term as aforesaid is about to expire. And in case any commissioner, after 
he shall have entered upon the duties of said office, shall die, resign or remove from said 



656 Troy. 

town, it Bhall be lawful for the supervisor and any three justices of the peace of said town, 
to assemble in joint meeting, and by appointment under their hands, or the hands of a 
majority of those present, fill said vacancy till a successor shall be elected and qualified as 
aforesaid, which shall be done at the next annual town meeting ; and any person elected 
to fill a vacancy shall hold his ofiice only for the remainder of the term. 

§ 4. Before any commissioner, elected or appointed as aforesaid, shall enter upon the duties 
of his office, he shall execute a bond with suretieb to the satisfaction of the supervisor of 
Bald town, to be signified by his approval to be indorsed on the same, in the penal sum of 
at least twice the amount of the estate belonging to said fund, conditioned that such person 
shall faithfully execute the duties of said triist, and shall pay, according to law, all moneys 
which shall come to his hands as commissioner, and I'ender a just and true account thereof 
to the board of auditors of said town. 

§ 5. The said commissioners shall not charge or receive any sum or allowance for their 
services, but the actual and necessary expense? of said commissioners shall be a town charge, 
and shall be audited by the board of town auditors, and paid as other town charges. 

§ 6. Nothing in this act contained shall aflfect the funds or the control thereof now in the 
custody of said town, or held by the authority thereof, and belonging to the present school 
fund of said town. 



TROY. 

[Laws of 1849, chap 198, as amended by chap. 47 of 1851, chap. 366 of 1851, chap. 81 of 1854, 
and chap. 695, of 1865, p. 1409.] 

Section 1. Each public school at present existing, or which may hereafter be main- 
tained in the city of Ti-oy, shall constitute a school district, under the supervision and 
direction of the board of education of said city, and the schools therein shall be free to all 
children between the ages of four and twenty-one years residing in such wards. 

§ 2. There shall be erected in each of the said wards, as hereinafter provided, one or more 
school-houses of size and form sufficient to accommodate all the children between the afore- 
said ages residing in such wards. The purchase of sites for school-houses shall be agreed 
upon in joint committee of three from each board hereinafter mentioned; and in case of 
disagreement the decision shall rest with the common council. 

§ 3. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, fundture, books, apparatus and appurte- 
nances, and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall be vested in the city of 
Troy, and the same, while used or appropriated for school purposes, shall not be levied 
upon or sold by virtue of any warrant of execution, nor be subject to taxation for any pur- 
pose whatever ; and the said city in its corporate capacity shall be able to take, hold and 
dispose of any real or personal estate, transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, for 
the use of the common schools of the said city, whether the same shall be transferred in 
term to said city by its proper style or by any other designation, or to any person or persons 
or body for the use of said schools. 

§ 4. The common council of said city may, upon the recommendation of the board of 
education hereinafter mentioned, sell any of the school-houses, lots or sites, or any other 
school property now or hereafter belonging to said city, upon such terms as the said com- 
mon council niay deem reasonable. The proceeds of all such sales shall be paid to the 
chamberlain of the city, and shall be by the said board of education again expended in the 
construction, repairs or improvements of other school-houses, lots, sites or school furni- 
ture, apparatus or appurtenances. 

§ 5. [Relates to the number and election of commissioners. As amended by chapter 18G 
of the Laws of 1851, it provides for the election of two commissioners from each ward, 
except the 5th, 6th and 9th, which have but one each.] 

§ 6. Within ten days after their election, as in the last section mentioned, said commis- 
sioners, so elected from those wards in which more than one commissioner is elected, shall 
meet at the office of the clerk of said city, and shall determine by lot which of the two per- 
sons so elected for each ward shall serve for the term endiuir on the second Tuesday of 
March. 1851, and which for the term ending on the second Tuesday of March, 1852. 

§ 7. In each year thereafter there shall be elected in said city, at the annual charter elec- 
tion, in the same manner and under the same regulations as other ward officers are elected, 
one commissioner of common schools for each ward, to supply the places of those whose 
terms are about to expire. The term of office of all commissioners elected pursuant to this 
act shall commence on the Tuesday next after their election, and shall continue two years. 
The number of commissioners of common schools in the city of Troy shall always be the 
Bame as the number of aldermen in said city. 

§ 8. The common council of said city, upon the nomination of the board of education, may 
make appointment of commissioners of common schools to fill vacancies which may occur 
from any cause other than the expiration of the term of office of those elected ; and the removal 
from the ward for which he was appointed or elected, and neglect to attend three meetings 
of the board, unless under circumstances which shall be sustained by the board, shall be 
deemed a resignation of his office by any commissioner. The commissioners so appointed 
shall serve out the unexpired term of the commissioners whose places they were appointed 
to fill. 

§ 9. Any commissioner of common schools in said city may be removed from office, for 
official misconduct, by the common council of said city, by a vote of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers thereof; but a written copy of the charges against said commissioner shall be served 



Troy. 657 

upon him, and he shall be allowed an opportunity to refute any such charge of misconduct 
before removal. 

§ 10. The commissioners of common schools in said city shall constitute a board to be 
styled the " board of education of the city of Troy," which shall be a corporate body in 
relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by virtue of this act. A majority 
of the board shall form a quorum. The Urst meeting of the board shall be on the second 
Wednesday next after their election, and the annual meeting of the board thereafter shall 
be on the second Wednesday next after their election. At the first meeting of the board, 
and annually thereafter, at the annual meeting, they shall elect one of their number presi- 
dent of the board ; and whenever he shall be absent a president /;ro lempwe may be appointed. 
The said commissioners shall receive no compensation for their services. 

§ 11. The said commissioners shall appoint a clerk, who may be one of their number, who 
shall devote his whole time to the interests of the schools, and hold his office during the 
pleasure of the board. His compensation shall be fixed by them. The said clerk shall 
keep a record of the proceedings of the board, and perform such other duties as the board 
mav prescribe ; the said record, or transcript thereof certified by the president and clerk, 
shall be received in all courts as irnma facie evidence of facts therein set forth ; and such 
records, and all the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of said board, shall at all times 
be subject to the inspection of the common council and of any committee thereof. 

§ 12. The common council of said city shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to 
raise from time to time by tax, to be levied equally upon all the real and personal estate in 
said city which shall be liable to taxation for the' ordinary city taxes or for city or county 
charges, such sum or sums of money, as may be necessary or proper for any or all the fol- 
lowiha: purposes : 

1. To purchase school-houses, and also to purchase, lease or improve sites therefor ; 

2. To enable the board of education to build, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair 
school-houses, and their out-houses and appurtenances ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; but the power herein granted shall not be deemed to authorize the furnishing 
with class or text books any scholar whose parents or guardian shall be able to furnish the 
same ; 

4. To procure fuel and defray the contingent expenses of the common schools, and the 
expenses of the school libraries of said citj^^ 

5. To pay the wages of teachers due after the application of the public moneys which may 
by law be appropriated and provided for that purpose ; provided, nevertheless, that the tax 
to be levied as aforesaid, and collected by virtue of this act, shall be collected at the same 
time and in the same manner as other city taxes ; 

6. And the amount to be raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses in any one 
year shall not be less than twice nor more than four times the amount apportioned to said 
city from the common school fund of the State during the previous year ; nor shall the 
amount to be raised in any one year, after the first Tuesday in March. 'one thousand eight 
hundred and fifty-one, for purchasing sites and erecting and repairing school-houses, exceed 
ten thousand dollars, unless, in the opinion of the common council, a larger sum should be 
required to meet unforeseen contingencies. And the common council of said city are 
authorized and directed, when necessary, to raise by loan, in anticipation of the taxes, the 
moneys so to be raised, collected and levied as afore'said. 

§ 13. All moneys to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to or provided for said city, shall be paid to the chamberlain thereof, 
who, together with the sureties upon his official bond, shall be accountable therefor, in the 
same manner as for other moneys of said city ; and the said chamberlain shall be liable to 
the same penalties for any official misconduct in relation to the said moneys, as for any 
similar misconduct in relation to other moneys of said citj^ 

§ 14. The said board shall have power, and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize, in the several wards of said city, such and so many schools 
(including the common schools now existing therein) as they shall deem requisite and 
expedient, and to alter and discontinue the same ; 

2. To build, lease or contract for the occupation and use of school-houses and rooms, and 
to improve the same as thej' may deem proper; 

3. To alter, improve and repair school-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem 
advisable ; 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books for indigent 
pupils, furniture and appendages, and to defray their contingent expenses, and the expense 
of the school libraries; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, books, furni- 
ture and appendages, and to see that the ordinances of the common council in relation 
thereto be observed ; 

6. To contract with, license and employ all teachers in said schools, and at their pleasure 
to remove them ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the moneys appropriated and provided by 
law for the" support of schools in said city, so far as the same shall be sufficient, and the 
residue thereof, from the money authorized to be raised for that purpose by section twelve 
of this act, by tax upon said city ; 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including an annual salary 
to the clerk, provided the account of such expenses shall first be audited and allowed by the 
common council ; 

9. To have in all respects the superintendence, supervision, and management of the 
common schools in said citv, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as 

83 



658 Troy. 

they may deem expedient, mle? and regulations for their organization, government and 
instruction, for the reception of pupil? and their transfer from one school to another, and 
generally for the promotion of their good order, prosperity and public utility ; 

10. Whenever in the opinion of the board it may be advisable to sejl any of the school- 
houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging to the city, 
to report the same to the common council : 

11. To prepare and report to the common council such ordinances and regulations as may- 
be necessary or proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots and sites and appurtenances, and all the property belonging to the city, con- 
nected with or appertaining to the schools, and to suggest proper penalties for the -violation 
of such ordinances and regulations : and annually, on or before the first day of February in 
each year, to determine and certify to said common council the sum in their opinion neces- 
sary or proper to be raised under 'the twelfth section of this act, for the year commencing 
on the first of March thereafter, specifying the sums required for each of the purposes 
therein mentioned, and the reasons therefor : 

V2. Between the first day of July and the first day of August, in each year, to make and 
transmit to the county clerk, or such other oflicer as may be designated by law, a report in 
writing, bearing date the first day of July, in the year of its transmission, and stating: 

I. The number of school-houses in sa'id city, and an account and description of all the 
common schools kept in said city during the preceding year, and the time they have sever- 
ally been taught ; 

II. The number of children taught in said schools respectively, and the number of children 
over the age of four years and under the age of twerxty one years resicling in gaid city on the 
first day of January of that year ; 

III. The whole amount of school moneys received by the chamberlain of said city during 
the year preceding, distinguishing the aniount received from the county treasurer, from the 
city "tax and from any other source ; 

IV. The manner in which such moneys have been expended, and whether any and what 
part remains tmexpended. and for what cause ; 

Y. The amount of money received for tuition fees from foreign pupils during the year, 
and the amount paid for teachers' wages in addition to the public moneys, with such other 
information relating to the common schools of said city as may from time to time be 
reqtiired by the Stafe Superintendent of Common Schools. 

§ 15. It shall be the duty of each commissioner to visit the schools in his ward twice in 
each year ; and the board of education shall provide that each of the schools in the city 
shall be visited by a committee of three or more of their number, or by their clerk, at leaet 
once in each term. 

§ Ifi. The said board of education shall have power to allow the children of persons not 
resident within the city to attend any of the schools of said city under the care and control 
of said board, upon such terms as said board shall by resolution prescribe, fijsing the tuition 
which shall be paid therefor. 

§ IT. It shall be the dutv of said board, in all their expenditures and contracts, to have 
reference to the amount of moneys which shall be subject to their order during the current 
year, and not to exceed that amount. 

§ IS. The said board of commissioners shall be trustees of the school library or libraries 
in said citv. and all the provisions of law which now are or hereafter may be passed relative 
to district'school libraries shall apply to the said commissioners : they shall also be vested 
with the same discretion, as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by any law of 
this State for the purchase of libraries, which is therein conferred upon the inhabitants of 
school districts. It shall be their duty to provide a library room or rooms, in the several 
school-house? in said citv, and the necessarv furniture therefor. The clerk of said board 
shall be the general librarian. The board shall also appoint a librarian for each school, to 
have the care of the books and to superintend the letting out and return thereof The sev- 
eral school librarians shall from time to time inform the general librarian of the state and 
condition of the libraries, and the said board, or the general librarian under the direction 
and bv resolution of the said board, mav make all purchases of books for the libraries and 
provide for their equitable distribution among the schools, and exchange or cause to be 
repaired the damaged books belonging thereto, and also sell any books which may be deemed 
useless or of improper character, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of other books for 
said libraries. , , .. ^ 

§ 19. It shall be the duty of said board, at least fifteen days before the annual election for 
commissioners in each vear, to prepare and report to the common council true and correct 
statements of the receipts and disbursements of moneys, under and in pursuance of the 
provisions of this act, during the preceding year ; in which account shall be stated, under 
appropriate heads : . . * 

1. The monevs raised by the common council under the twelfth section of this act ; 

2. The school moneys received b\ the chamberlain of the city from the county treasurer, 
distinguishing between the sum received from the State and the sum raised upon the city 
by the board of supervisors ; 

3. The monevs received bv the common council under the third section of this act ; 

4. All monej's received by the chamberlain subject to the order of the board, specifying 
the sources; , ... .. 

5. The manner in which such sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount paid under each head of expenditure: 

And the common council shall, ten day? before such election, cause the same to be puD- 
lished in at least two of the newspapers published in said city. 



Troy. 659 

§ 20. The common council of said city shall have the power to pass such ordinances and 
regulations as the said board of education may report as necessary and proper for the pro- 
tection, safe keeping, care and preservation of the school-houses, lots, sites, appurtenances 
and appendages, libraries, and all necessary property belonging to or connected with the 
schools in said city, and to impose proper penalties for the violation thereof, subject to tho 
restrictions and limitations contained in the act to incorporate the said city; and all such 
penalties shall be collected in the same manner that the penalties for the A'iolation of the 
city ordinances are by law collected, and when collected shall be paid to the chamberlain of 
the city, and be subject to the order of the board of education, in the same manner as other 
moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ 21. It shall be the duty of the common council, within fifteen days after receiving the 
certificate of the commissioners, required by the fourteenth section of this act, of the sums 
necessary or proper to be raised under the twelfth section of this act, to determine and 
certify to said board of education the amount that will be raised by them for the year com- 
mencing on the first of March thereafter, for the purpose mentioned in said twelfth section, 
distinguishing between the amount to be raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses 
and the amount to be raised for the repairs of school-houses, which amounts shall be sub- 
ject to the disposal of the board of education. 

§ 22. All the moneys required to be raised by virtue of this act, or received by the said 
city for or on account of the common schools, except such sums as are raised for the pur- 
chase of sites for school-houses, shall be deposited, for the safe keeping thereof, with the 
chamberlain of said city, to the credit of said board of education, and shall be drawn out in 
pursuance of a resolution or resolutions of said board, by drafts drawn by the president and 
countersigned by the clerk of said board, payable to the order of the person or persons 
entitled to receive such moneys ; and said chamberlain shall keep the funds, authorized by 
this act to be received by him, separate and distinct from any other fund which he is or may 
by law be authorized to receive. 

§ 2-3. It shall be the duty of the clerk of said city, immediately after the election of any 
person as a commissioner of common schools, personally or in writing to notify him of his 
election, and if any such person shall not, within ten days after receiving such notice of 
his election, take and subscribe the constitutional oath, and file the same with the clerk 
of the said city, the common council may consider it a refusal to serve, and proceed to supply 
the vacancy occasioned by such refusal ; and the person so refusing shall forfeit and pay 
to the city chamberlain, for the benefit of the tuition fund, a penalty of ten dollars. 

[Chap. 353, Laws of 1850, as amended by chap. 366, Laios of 1851.] 

Section 1. It shall be lawful for the board of education of the city of Troy, and the said 
board is hereby authorized, to discharge all the duties and exercise all the powers belonging 
to the office of town superintendent of common schools by law, in relation to the formation 
of joint school districts out of parts of said city and parts of the adjoining towns, and also 
in the erection of separate school districts, as hereinafter provided, in eitlTer the fifth, sixth 
and seventh wards of said city. 

§ 2. Whenever it may become necessary or convenient to form a joint district out of parts 
of said city and of any adjoining town, the board of education may depute any member of 
said board, or the clerk thereof, to meet with the superintendent of such adjoining town, 
and the proceedings of such member of said board, or the clerk thereof, and such town 
superintendent, m conformity wirh the statute, duly certified under their hands, in forming, 
regulating and altering any such districts, shall be valid and conclusive, when approved by 
said board at any meeting regularly convened. 

§ 3. The said board of education may, in its discretion, upon the written application 
of at least two-thirds of the inhabitants, entitled by law to vote in school district meetings, 
residing within the territory to be included therein, erect separate school districts, and from 
time to time regulate and alter the same, in either the fifth, sixth or seventh wards of said 
city. Such separate school districts, when eo erected, and the joint districts provided for 
in the second section of this act, when so formed, shall severally enjoy all the rights and 
privileges and be subject to all the duties and liabilities of school districts legally formed 
in the several towns of this State, and shall be no longer under the care and government 
of said board of education. 

§ 4. It shall be the duty of the trustees of all such joint and separate districts as shall be 
formed and erected, in pursuance of this act, to make to the board of education of said city 
all the reports and returns which are or may be by law required in the several towns of this 
State to be made to the town superintendents thereof. It shall be the duty of the said 
board of education to apportion to each of the parts of such joint districts lying within said 
city, and to each of such separate districts, from all the public school moneys that shall 
thereafter be apportioned and paid to the city, whether the same shall be received from the 
State school moneys or from the taxes directed by law to be levied and collected for that 
purpose, the just proportion of such moneys, according to the number of children residing 
within such parts of said joint districts as shall lie within said city and within said separate 
districts between the ages of five and sixteen years, inclusive, making the whole number 
of such children residing within the city the basis for such apportionment, as the same 
shall appear from the last reports thereof. 

§ 5. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the county of Rensselaer, from and 
after the passage of this act, to direct that all the moneys levied and collected on the inhab- 
itants of the city of Troy for common school purposes, whether the same shall be levied 
and collected as county taxes or otherwise shall be paid over by the receiver of taxes for 
said city to the chamberlain thereof, for the sole use and benefitof the free public schools 



660 Utica. 

within said city, and it shall be the duty of the board of education to apply all such moneys 
to the support of the free schools of said city, in conformity to law. 



UTICA. 

[Laws of 1842, chap. 137, as amended by chap. 131 of 1844, chap. 184, title 10 of 1848. chap. 66 
of 1850, chap. 348 of 1854, and chap. 572, Laws of 1857, and chap. 115, Laws of 1807.] 

Section 1. At the next annual election for city officers to beheld in the city of Utica there 
shall be elected six commissioners of common schools for the said city, who shall be elected 
in the same manner as justices of the peace, supervisors and constables are elected in said 
city pursuant to the act incorporating said city. 

§ 2. Within ten days after their election, the persons so elected shall take and subscribe 
the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution, and file the same with the clerk of said 
city; and they or a majority of them shall thereupon meet and cause the whole number of 
commissioners so chosen to be divided into three classes, to be severally numbered first, 
second and third. The term of office of the first class shall expire at the end of one year, 
of the second class at the end of two years, and of the third class at the end of three years ; 
but each class shall continue in office until their successors are elected and have taken the 
oath of office. 

§ 3. At every annual election for city officers in said city after the next, there shall iu like 
manner be elected two commissioners of common schools, to supply the places of those 
whose term of* office is about to expire ; they shall hold their office for three years, and until 
their successors are elected and have taken the oath of office. The term of office of all com- 
missioners elected pursuant to the provisions of this act shall commence on the first Monday 
after the first Monday in March next succeeding their election. 

§ 4. The common council of said city may make appointments of commissioners of com- 
mon schools, to fill vacancies which miay occur from any cause other than the expiration of 
the term of office of the person elected. The commissioners so appointed shall hold their 
office for the unexpired term of those to supply whose places they are appointed. 

§ 5. Any commissioner of common schools in said city may be removed from office for 
official misconduct by the common council thereof, by a vote 'of two-thirds of the members 
thereof. 

§ 6. The commissioners of common schools in said city shall constitute a board to be 
styled the " commissioners of common schools in the city of Utica," which shall be a cor- 
porate body in relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by virtue of this 
act ; a majority of the board shall form a quorum. At their first meeting after each annual 
city election they shall elect one of their number chairman, and whenever the chairman 
shall be absent from a meeting of the board they may appoint a chairman p?^ tempore ; 
they shall also elect a clerk, who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board ; the 
said commissioners shall receive no compensation for their services. 

§ 7. The clerk of said board shall keep a record of the proceedings thereof, which record, 
or a transcript therefrom certified by the chairman and clerk, shall be received in all courts 
as prima facie evidence of the facts therein set forth: and such records, and all books, 
papers and accounts of the said board, shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the 
common council and of any committee thereof. 

§ 8. The common council of the said city shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, 
to raise from time to time, by tax upon the real and personal estates in said city which shaU 
be liable to taxation for the ordinary city taxes or for town or county charges, such sums as 
may be determined and certified by the said board of commissioners to be necessary or 
proper for any or all of the following purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for school-houses ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses and their 
out-houses and appurtenances ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, furniture and 
appendages ; 

4. To procure fuel and defray the contingent expenses of the common schools, and the 
expenses of the district library of said city, which shall be in addition to the amount of 
school moneys now or hereafter appropriated or provided by law for common schools in 
said city ; provided, nevertheless, that such tax shall not be laid oftener than once in each 
year, and that the whole amount to be raised shall not in any one year exceed the sum of 
five thousand dollars. 

I 9. The common council shall cause the amount of the tax, at any time ordered to be 
raised in pursuance of the last section, to be added to the amount which they are otherwise 
authorized by law to raise by tax in said city, and they shall cause the same, with the col- 
lectors' fees thereon, to be assessed, levied and collected at the same time, by the same 
warrant and in the same manner with the taxes raised for city expenses under and by \irtue 
of the forty-fourth section of the act to incorporate said city. 

§ 10. All moneys to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to or provided for said city, shall be paid to the treasurer of the said 
city, who, together with the sureties upon his official bond, shall be accountable therefor in 
the same manner as for other moneys of the said city ; the said treasurer shall also be liable 
to the same penalties for any official misconduct in relation to the said moneys as for any 
Bimilar misconduct in relation to the other moneys of the city. 



Utica. 661 

511. AHcr the jjaspaETC of this act the treasurer of the said city shall not pay out any 
nn'ii.ryb 111 his hands, received by the said city either as school moneys or collected or 
reccivod hy virtue of any of the provisions of this act, excepting upon an order drawn upon 
liiin and hii^'ucd by the chairman and clerk of the said board of commissioners ; and no such 
order bhallbc drawn except by virtue of a resolution of the board. 

§ 1-2. The said board may cause a suit or suits to be prosecuted in the name of the city of 
ITtica ui)oii the official bond of the treasurer, or of any collector of the said city, for any 
default, delinquency or official misconduct in relation to the collection, safe keeping or pay- 
ment of any moneys in this act mentioned. 

§ 18. The said board shall have power, and it shall be their duty: 

I. To establish and organize such and so many common schools in said city (including the 
common and free schools now existing therein) as they shall deem requisite and expedient, 
and to alter and discontinue the same ; 

'2. To purchase or hire school-houses and rooms and lots or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence and improve them as they deem proper ; 

3. Upon such lots or sites, and upon any sites now owned by said city, to build, enlarge, 
alter, improve and repair school-houses, out-houses and appurtenances, as they may deem 
advisable : 

4. To procure fuel and defray the contingent expenses of the common schools, and the 
expenses of the district libraiy of said city, which shall be in addition to the amount of 
school moneys now or hereafter appropriated or provided by law to be raised for common 
schools in said city ; provided, nevertheless, that such tax shall not be laid oftener than 
once in each year, and that the whole amount to be raised shall not in anyune year exceed 
the sum of ten thousand dollars. [As amended by § 2 of chapter 115, Laws of 1867, p. 185.] 

5. To haVe the custody and safe-keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, apparatus, 
books, furniture and appendages, and to see that the ordinances of the common council in 
relation thereto be observed ; 

6. To contract with and employ all teachers in the common schools, and at their pleasure 
to remove them ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the school moneys which shall be appro- 
priated and provided in the said city, so far as the same shall be sufficient, and the residue 
thereof from the tuition fees they shall be authorized to collect or receive, as herein pro- 
vided ; and in case the said school moneys and tuition fees shall be insufficient to pay such 
wages, then to pay the deficiency out of the moneys to be raised by the common council of 
said city, in pursuance of the eighth section of this act ; 

8. To'fix the rate of tuition fees in said schools at a sum not exceeding two dollars per 
term, which shall be a period of not less than eleven weeks, and to designate a person or 
persons to whom the same may be paid previous to issuing a warrant for the collection 
thereof; and to exempt from the payment of the whole or any part of the tuition fees such 
person as they may deem entitled to such exemption, for indigence or any other sufficient 
cause, and cause a list of the persons so exempted, with the extent of their exemption, to 
be kept by the clerk of the board ; 

9. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, iricluding an annual salary 
to the clerk which shall not exceed two hundred and fifty dollars ; provided that the accounts 
of said necessary expenses shall first be audited and allowed by the common council. [As 
amended by § 4, chapter 115, Latvs of 1867.] 

10. After the end of each school term to make out a rate bill containing the name of each 
person liable to pay tuition fees, who shall not have paid them (prior to the making out of 
such rate bill) to the person or persons designated by the board for that purpose, and the 
amount for which such person is liable, adding thereto a sum not exceeding five cents on 
each dollar of the sum due, for collector's fees, and to annex to such rate bill a warrant for 
the collection thereof; 

II. To deliver such rate bill, with the warrant annexed, to one of the collectors of taxes 
of said city, who shall execute the same in like manner and with like efi'ect with the other 
warrants for the collection of taxes placed in his hands ; or, in their discretion, to deliver 
the same to a collector to be appointed by said board of commissioners, who shall, if 
required by said board, execute to said commissioners in their corporate capacity a bond, 
with one or more sureties, to be approved by said commissioners or a majority of them, 
which bond, as to its penalty and conditions, shall be the same as is by law required to be 
executed by the collectors of school districts ; and the said board of commissioners shall 
have the same power and authority, in regard to said bond and the collection thereof, as 
the trustees of school districts have by law in regard to the bonds given by collectors of 
school districts ; and the said collector shall have the same power in the execution of said 
warrants that the collectors of taxes of said city have by virtue of this act ; 

12. To have in all respects the superintendence, stipervision and management of the 
common schools in said city, and from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and repeal, as 
they may deem expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, government and 
instruction, for the reception of pupils and their transfer from one school to another, and 
generally for the promotion of good order, prosperity and public utility ; 

13. Whenever, in the opinion of the board, it may be advisable to sell any of the school- 
houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging to the city, 
to report the same to the common council ; 

14. To prepare and report to the common council such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary or proper for the protection, safekeeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots, sites and appurtenances, and all the property belonging to the citv connected 
with or appertaining to the schools, and to suggest proper penalties for the violation of 
Buch ordinances and regulations ; and annually to determine and certify to the said common 



662 Utica. 

council the sums in their opinion necessary and proper to be raised under the eighth section 
of this act, specifying the sums required for each of the several purposes therein mentioned ; 

15. To unite with the commissioners of schools of any adjoining town, and form, regulate 
and alter any district out of any portion of the said city and such town whenever they shall 
deem it necessary and proper to do so ; in which case', so far as such district or districts 
are concerned, the said board shall, during the existence of such districts, have the same 
powers and duties which the commissioners of schools in towns have : 

16. Between the first day of July and the first day of August, in each year, to make and 
transmit to the county clerk a report in Avriting, bearing date the first day of July in the 
year of its transmission, and stating: 

I. The whole number of districts separately set ofi" within the said city, in pursuance of 
subdivision fifteen of this section ; 

II. An account and description of all the common schools kept in said city during the 
preceding year, and the time they have severally been taught ; 

III. The number of children taught in the said schools respectively, and the number of 
children over the age of five and under sixteen [21] years residing in the city on the first 
day of January of that year ; 

IV. The whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of the said city during 
the preceding year, distinguishing the amount received from the county treasurer, from the 
town collector, and from any other and what source ; 

V. The manner in which such moneys have been expended, and whether any and what 
part remains imeipended, and for what cause ; 

Yl. The amount of money received for tuition fees during the year, and the amount paid 
for teachers' wages, in addition to the public moneys, with such other information as the 
superintendent of common schools may from time to time require. 

§ 14. All persons collecting or receiving tuition fees, pursuant to the designation or the 
warrant of the said board, shall be liable for all moneys thus collected or received by them, 
in the same manner as collectors are for moneys received by them for taxes, and any 
collector of the said city and his sureties shall be liable upon his ofiicial bond for any default, 
delinquency, neglect or misconduct, in the duties with which he may be charged under or 
by virtue of this act, in the same manner and with the like effect as for any other official 
default, delinquency, neglect or misconduct ; and such collector shall also be liable to the 
same penalties for any such official misconduct as for any similar misconduct in relation to 
any other duties of his office. 

§ 15. The warrant annexed to any rate bill, pursuant to the provisions of this act, shall 
be under the hands of the commissioners, or a majority of them, and shall command the 
collector to collect from every person in such rate bill named the sum therein set opposite 
his name ; and in case any person so named shall not pay such sum on demand, to levy tho 
same, together with the fees of said collector, by distress and sale of goods and chattels of 
the person who ought to pay the same, or of any g-oods and chattels in his possession, 
wheresoever the same maybe found in the city of Utica. and to make return of such warrant 
to the treasurer of said city within thirty daj'S after the delivery thereof. 

§ 16. Such warrants shall have the like force and effect as warrants issued by the boards 
of supervisors to the collectors of towns ; and the collectors of the said city are authorized, 
to collect the amount due from any person or persons in the said city in the same manner 
and with the same power that collectors of a school district have for the collection of tax 
or rate bills issued by the trustees of school districts. 

§ 17. The board of commissioners shall possess the same powers which the trustees of 
school districts have for the collection of tuition fees which shall not be collected by the 
warrant issued by them with rate bills, and subject to the same regulaticms ; and they may, 
in like manner as the trustees of school districts, correct and amend errors in making out 
any rate bill, and refund to any person any sum improperly collected in consequence of 
such error. 

§ 18. It shall be the duty of the said board, in all their expenditures and contracts, to have 
reference to the amount of moneys which will be subject to their order during the then cuiv 
rent year for the particular expenditures in question. 

§ 19. The baid board of commissioners shall be the trustees of the district library in said 
city, and all the provisions of the act entitled "An act respecting the school district libra- 
ries." passed April 15. 1839, and all other laws which now are or may hereafter be passed 
relating to district school libraries, shall apply to the said commissioners in the same man- 
ner as if they were trustees of a school district comprehending the said city ; they shall 
also be vested with the discretion as to the disposition of the moneys appropriated by the 
fourth section of chapter two hundred and thirty-seven of the statute of eighteen hundred 
and thirty-eight, which is therein conferred upon the inhabitants of school districts. It 
shall be their duty to provide a library room and the necessary library furniture, and appoint 
a librarian to make all purchases of books for the said librarj% and from time to time to 
exchange or cause to be repaired damaged books belonging thereto ; they may also sell any 
books which they deem useless, or oflmproper character, and apply the proceeds ta the 
purchase of other books for the said library. 

§ 20. It shall be the duty of said board, at least fifteen days before the annual election for 
city officers in each year, to prepare and report to the common council true and correct 
statements of the receipts and disbursements of moneys under and in pursuance of the 
provisions of this act during the preceding year, in which account shall be stated, under 
appropriate heads : 

1. The moneys raised by the common council under the eighth section of this act ; 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the city from the county treasurer and 
the collector of taxes for town and county charges in said city; 



Utica. 663 

3. The moneys received for tuition fees ; 

4. All other monej-^s received by the treasurer, subject to the order of the board, specify- 
ing the sources ; 

5. The manner in which such moneys shall have been expended, specifying the amount 
paid under each head of expenditure ; 

And the common council shall, ten days before the said election, cause the same to be 
published, with the statement required to be published by the thirty-third section of the 
act to incorporate the said city. 

§ 21. The said board shall be subject to the rules and regulations from time to time made 
by the Superintendent of Common Schools, so far as the same may be applicable to them, 
and not inconsistent with the provisions of this act. 

§ 22. The common council of said city shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to 
pass such ordinances and regulations as the said board of commissioners may report as 
necessary and proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of the school- 
houses, lots, sites and appurtenances, and all the necessary property belonging to or con- 
nected with the schools in said city, and to impose proper penalties for the violation 
therei>f, subject to the restrictions and limitations contained in the act to incorporate the 
said city ; and all such penalties shall be collected in the same manner that the penalties 
for violation of the city ordinances are by law collected, and when collected shall be paid 
to the treasurer of the city, and be subject to the order of the board of commissioners, in 
the same manner as other moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ 23. Whenever the said board shall report to the common council that it is advisable to 
sell any of the school-houses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter 
belonging to the city, it shall be the duty of the common council to sell the same without 
unreasonable delay, and upon such terms as the said council may deem advisable. The 
proceeds of all such sales shall be paid to the treasurer of the city, and shall be subject to 
the order of the said board, to be expended by them in the purchase, leasing, repairs or 
improvements of other school-houses, lots, school furniture, apparatus or appurtenances. 

§ 24. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and appurte- 
nances, and all other school property hereinbefore in this act mentioned, shall be vested in 
the city of Utica ; and the same, while used for or appropriated for school purposes, shall 
not be liable to be levied upon or sold by virtue of any Avarrant or execution, nor be sub- 
ject to taxation or assessment for any purpose whatsoever ; and the said city, in its 
corporate capacity, shall be liable to take, hold and dispose of any real or personal estate 
transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, for the use of common schools of the said 
city, whether the same shall be transferred in terms directly to said city by its proper style, 
or by any other designation or to any other designation, or to any person or persons or 
body, for the use of said schools. 

§ 25. All former acts and parts of acts in relation to common and free schools in the said 
city, inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed. 

[Latvs of 1850, chap. 66, as amended by chap. 258 of 1852, and chap. 348 of 1854, and chap. 115, 

Laws of 1867.] 

Section 1. The board of school commissioners of the city of Utica shall annually prepare an 
estimate of the amount of money necessary to be raised in the said city, for the then ensu- 
ing year, for the payment of teachers' wages (exclusive of the money now required or 
which may hereafter be required by law to be appropriated or apportioned from the State 
school money for the use of common schools in said city), and present the same to the 
common council of said city ; and said common council shall cause the same to be levied 
and collected in the said city, in the same manner as other city taxes are levied and col- 
lected : but the sum to be raised by virtue of this section, shall not in any year exceed 
three times the sum appropriated or apportioned to the city for the last year (eighteen 
hundred and sixty-six) by virtue of the law in reference to common schools. \_As amended 
by § 1, chapter 115. Laws of 1867, j!>. 185.] 

§ 2. The said board of commissioners shall appoint a superintendent of common schools 
for the city, to hold his office during the pleasure of the board, and to perform such duties 
in the care and oversight of the schools in the city as it may charge him with. He shall be 
paid such compensation for his services as the board shall from time to time determine, 
which shall be audited and allowed as other town charges are in the said city. 

[_Laws of 1853, chap. 272.] 

Section 1. After the passage of this act, the commissioners of common schools in the 
city of Utica, for the time being, shall be the trustees of the Utica academy, and possess 
the powers and perform the duties which the present board of trustees thereof possess and 
are charged with. 

§ 2. The said academy shall be one of the common schools of the said city of Utica, but 
shall continue subject to the visitation of the Regents of the University, and entitled to all 
the rights and privileges which it has hitherto possessed. 

§ 3. A majority of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum to transact business. 

iChap. 115, Laws of 1867, p. 185.] 

§ 3. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the city of Utica, immediately upon the 
receipt by him of any money appropriated, raised or designed for the use of the common 
BChools of said city, to deposit the same in the bank or banks in which he is required to 



664 Utica. 

deposit the moneys of the said city ; and to cause the same to be immediately entered and 
continually kept in and by accounts sejjarate and distinct from the general account and all 
other accounts of the city treasurer ; and he shall cause all money which shall be raised 
(and be received by him) for the purpose of buying sites and building school-houses in said 
city, to be kept, in manner aforesaid, in and by a separate account, distinct from the other 
moneys designed for school purposes. And the said moneys for the use of the said schools 
herein mentioned shall not be used, paid out or transferred by said treasurer, or in any way 
whatever, except upon the order of the commissioners of common schools in said city, in 
the manner now provided by law. 

[Chap. 7, Laws of 1846, p. 8.] 

Section 1. Whenever the board of school commissioners of the city of Utica shall be of 
opinion that it is necessary to erect one or more new school-houses for the accommodation 
of the common schools in said city, it shall be their duty to state such necessity, with the 
reasons thereof, in their annual report, required to be made to the common council of the 
eaid city, together with an estimate of the expense of erecting the same. 

§ 2. At the succeeding charter election, each elector of said city may, upon a separate 
ballot, write or print the words "For new school-houses," or "Against new school-houses," 
and in canvassing the ballots, the inspectors of election shall make a return of the number 
of ballots containing either of such expressions, to the common coimcil of the city, in the 
same manner that they make returns of votes given for city officers. At any election, when 
a vote by ballot is to be taken, the inspectors of election in the several election districts of 
said city shall provide a separate box at each poll, in which the said ballots shall be depos- 
ited, and which boxes shall be labeled "school-houses." {As amended by § 1, chapter 57?, 
Laws of 1857.] 

§ 3. If the number of ballots containing the words " For new school-houses," exceed those 
containing the words " Against new school-houses," it shall be the duty of the common 
council, in addition to the moneys which they are otherwise authorized by law to raise by 
tax in the said city, to raise, in the same manner that moneys are now raised for the ordinary 
expenses thereof, either in the ensuing year, or in one, two or three successive years, as they 
shall elect, such sum or sums of money as the board of school commissioners in their said 
report shall have estimated to be necessary for the erection of said school-house, or school- 
houses, and for no other purpose whatsoever. 

IChap. 164, Laws of 1856, p. 256, as amended bij § 3, chap. 572, Laws of 1857., p. 221.] 

Section six amends § 106 of the act of 1849, as follows : 

§ 106. The board of commissioners of common schools may, from the moneys received by 
them for the school district library, defray the contingent expenses of the library and the 
salary of the librarian. For the purpose of the distribution of any moneys now or hereafter 
appropriated by the State for the support of common schools, m which the said city of 
Utica shall be entitled to a share, every one hundred children, between the ages of four and 
twenty-one, in said city, as ascertained in the last preceding annual report of the commis- 
sioners of common schools therein, or otherwise, according to law, shall be deemed to be a 
school district for the purpose afoi-esaid, and shall be calculated and stated accordingly in 
the reports of said commissioners. 

§ 4. Such moneys when raised shall be paid to the treasurer of the city, and be kept by 
him distinct from other moneys in his hands, subject to be drawn by the board of school 
commissioners, for the expenses of erecting such proposed school-house, or school-houses, 
and for no other purpose whatsoever. 

[Chap. 18, Laws of 1862, p. 28, title 10.] 

§ 124. The act entitled " An act in relation to common schools in the city of Utica." passed 
April seventh, eighteen hundred and forty-two, and the several acts amending the same, 
shall continue in force, excepting wherein their provisions are expressly amended, any thing 
herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. 

[Chap. 9, Laws of 1866, p. 26.] 

[This law authorizes the city to borrow $25,000, to be paid in three equal annual install- 
ments, by a tax to be levied and collected like other city taxes, the money to be paid on the 
order of the commissioners of common schools, and to be expended in erecting a building 
for the Utica academy.] 

[Chap. 269, Laws of 1858, p. 425.] 

Section 1. The commissioners of common schools of the city of Utica (ex-officio trustees 
of the school district library of said city), are hereby authorized to make such rules and 
regulations, from time to time, for the better preservation and care of the books of the said 
district library, as they may deem expedient ; and may therein designate and determine such 
valuable books as cannot be circulated without material injury, to be books of reference, 
not to be taken from the library rooms without the special permission of the commissioners, 
or the librarian, under their instructions, and subject to such rules and conditions as they 
may impose ; and they may also exercise, and authorize the librarian to exercise, discretion- 
ary power as to the delivery of books to minors, and irresponsible persons ; any exercise 
of such authority by the librarian to be a subject of appeal to the board of commissioners. 
The said commissioners may impose fines for the violation or non-observance of said rules 



Waterfoed — Waterloo. 665 

and regulation?, not exceeding the fine? authorized to be imposed by the trustees of school 
district libraries, under the general regulations respecting the same ; and the rules and regu- 
lations so made and adopted by them "shall be obligatory upon all persons and officers having 
charge of said library, or using or possessing any of the books thereof, and may be enforced 
in tlfe same manner that the said general regulations concerning the books in school district 
libraries framed by the Superintendent under the act respecting libraries, passed April 15, 
1839, may be enforced. The said general regulations framed under the said act shall be 
applicable to and remain in force in regard to the said library of the city of Utica, except 
when the same shall be inconsistent with the rules and regulations made by the said com- 
missioners under and by virtue of this act. 

[Cha2). 572, Laws of 1857, p. 221.] 

§ 4. All claims and accounts presented to the board of school commissioners shall be in 
writing. They shall be numbered and filed, and a brief entry of the name of the claimant, 
number, nature and amount of the claim, made in a book to be kept for that purpose, pre- 
pared with appropriate letters and columns, so that the entry shall serve as an alphabetical 
index to the claim. 

The book shall be provided with columns, in which shall be entered, after the claims, the 
date when audited, and the amount, if any, allowed thereon. 

The school commissioners shall annually, at least ten days before the charter election, 
report to the common council an abstract of the claims and accounts presented and allowed 
during the year, as shall appear by such record, classifying the same under appropriate heads. 



WATERFORD. 

[C/iap. 334, Laws of 1857, vol. l,p. 698.] 

Section 1. The board of education of xmion free school district number one, town of 
Waterford. county of Saratoga, shall have power to appoint a clerk, who may or may not be 
one of their number, and hold his office till the first meeting of the board after the annual 
election of trustees, unless removed by them for cause ; his compensation shall be fixed by 
the board, not to exceed thirty dollars per annum. The said clerk shall keep a record of all 
proceedings of the board, and perform such other duties as the board may direct or their 
ny-laws prescribe. The said record, or a transcript thereof, certified by the president and 
clerk, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of facts therein set forth, 
and such records, and all the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of said board, shall be in 
the keeping of the clerk, subject at all times to the inspection of the supervisor of the town 
of Waterford, and school commissioner. 

§ 2. All previous acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. 



WATERLOO. 

[Laws of 1853, chap. 151, p. 279.] 

Section 1. The tnistees of school districts numbers one and fifteen, respectively, in the 
town of Waterloo, in the county of Seneca, shall annually, at least three weeks before 
the annual meeting of the taxable inhabitants of their respective districts, prepare an esti- 
mate of the amount of money which they shall deem necessary to pay all the debts of their 
respective districts, and for the support of common schools therein, for the ensuing year, 
exclusive of the moneys which said districts respectively may be entitled to receive from 
the town superintendents of common schools of said town of Waterloo, and including the 
sums required for the purchase of necessary furniture, apparatus, books, repairs and 
improvements of school-houses, and for contingent expenses, and shall cause written or 
printed notices thereof to be posted up for two weeks thereafter, in five or mOre of the 
most public places in their respective districts ; and said trustees shall present said respect- 
ive estimates at such annual meetings of said inhabitants of their respective districts, 
when the inhabitants of said districts at which such estimate is presented, entitled to vote 
at school district meetings, then present, shall vote thereon ; and the amount of money then 
voted by a majority of such inhabitants, present at said meeting, shall be levied and collected 
by a tax upon the taxable property of said district in which it was voted, in the manner 
now provided by law for levying and collecting taxes for district school purposes. 

§ 2. Whenever the trustees of said respective districts shall have completed their respect- 
ive tax lists, they shall attach thereto and issue their warrant to the collector of the district 
returnable in thirty days, for the collection of the same, and ehall take from the collector of 
their said district approved security for the faithful performance of his duty, and for paying 
over the moneys collected by him tliereon. Such warrants may be renewed from time to 
time, as said trustees may deem proper, as to any tax remaining unpaid at the time of 
renewal. The money so collected shall be paid over to the trustees of the district from 
which the same was collected, and shall be by them expended and appropriated for the pur- 
pose for which the same was voted. 

§ 3. In case any annual school district meeting of said inhabitants, of either of said dis- 
tricts, ehall have passed without such estimate having been presented by the trustees of 
Baid district, then such estimate, upon the notice hereinbefore mentioned, may be presented 

84 



666 ' Wateetown. 

and voted upon at any duly adjourned annual nneeting, or at any special meeting duly called 
for that purpose, and the sura then voted shall be levied and collected upon the taxable 
property of the district in which it is voted in the same manner as if voted at an annual 
meeting ; and for the present year said estimates may be made and presented, after notice 
as aforesaid, to any duly adjourned annual meeting, or to any special meeting duly called 
for that purpose, in either or both of said districts, and may be voted upon at any such 
adjourned or special meeting ; and any tax voted at any such adjourned or special meeting, 
for the purposes aforesaid, shall be levied and collected in the same manner as if voted at 
an annual meeting of said inhabitants of said district. 

§ 4. All taxes imposed under this act shall be a lien upon the lands taxed, and be 
enforced and collected by sale, in the manner that county taxes are, upon a return made by 
said collectors, respectively, to the treasurer of said county of Seneca, of all unpaid taxes 
in said districts respectively. 

§ 5. All statutes inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, so far as they relate to 
said districts. 

[Laws 1855, chap. 238, p. 367.] 

Section 1. The trustees of school district number one, in the town of "Waterloo, in the 
county of Seneca, and their successors in office, are hereby created a body corporate, by 
the name of the "trustees of "Waterloo union school," and empowered to establish and 
organize a classical school in said district and in the village of Waterloo, which school shall 
be subject to the visitation of the Regents of the "University of this State, and to all laws 
and regulations applicable to the incorporated academies thereof, and shall be entitled to 
all the privileges of such academies, and share in the distribution of the moneys of the 
literature fund of this State as the academies thereof; and said trustees shall hav« authority 
to make regulations respecting the attendance of the children of the said district in the 
school-houses thereof, the transfer of them from one room or school-house to another, 
the instruction and studies to be given and pursued in said schools ; provided, however, 
that this act shall not affect the rights and duties of said trustees and district under, the 
statutes of this State relating to common schools, or under any special act relating to said 
district number one. 

[Chap. 15, Laws of 1859, p. 38.] 

Section 1. The provisions of the act entitled "An act to change the school year, and to 
amend the statutes in relation to public instruction," passed April 12, 1858, shall apply to the 
union school and districts number one and fifteen, in the town of "Waterloo, county of 
Seneca, so far as the same relates to the tiine and place of holding the annual meetings 
of the taxable inhabitants and legal voters of said districts and school, and so far as relates 
to the time of making the annual reports of the trustees thereof, and no farther. 

§ 2. All the acts of the trustees of the said school and districts, and the votes, acts and 
doings of the taxable inhabitants and voters in said school and districts, had and done since 
the passage of said act of April 12, 1858, at their district meetings, are hereby declared to 
be valid. 

§ 3. Nothing in this act contained shall affect any action or proceedings, in which said 
trustees, or the collectors of said districts, or school, or either of them, are a party, com- 
menced prior to the passage of this act. . 



WATERTOWN. 

[Chap. 520, Laws of 1865, p. 918, as amended by chap. 153, Laws 0/1867, p. 233,] 

Section 1. There shall be elected at a special election, to be held in the village of Water- 
town, on the first Monday in June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, in the same manner 
and under the same regulations as the water commissioners of said village are elected, nine 
persons to be commissioners of common schools of said village. The persons so elected 
shall, within six days after receiving notice of their election, take the oath of office pre- 
scribed by the Constitution of this State, and file the same with the village clerk. 

§ 2. Within ten days after the election, said commissioners shall meet at the trustees' 
room of said village, and shall determine by lot which three of the nine persons so elected 
shall serve for the term ending on the second Monday of June, eighteen hundi-ed sixty-six, 
and which for the term ending on the second Monday of June, eighteen hundred sixty- 
seven, and which for the term ending the second Monday of June, eighteen hundred 
sixty-eight. 

§ 3. There shall in like manner, on the first Monday of June in each year thereafter, be 
elected three commissioners of schools of said village, to supply the places of those whose 
term of office then expires, who shall hold their office three years and until others are 
elected and have taken the oath of office. The term of the office of all the commissioners 
elected pursuant to this act shall commence on the Monday next after their election. 

§ 4. The board of commissioner*? may make appointments of commissioners of common 
schools to fill vacancies which may occur from any other cause than the expiration of the 
term of office of those elected. The commissioners so appointed shall hold their office 
until the Monday next succeeding the next annual election ; and at each annual election 



"Watertown. 667 

there shall he chosen a commissionei- to siipply the place of any person so appointed, and 
any person thus elected shall serve out tive unexpired term, and the hoard at any time shall 
determine hy a two-third vote what constitutes a vacancy. Any commissioner ol' common 
schools in said village may be removed for official misconduct by a two-third vote of the 
village trustees. 

§ 5. The commissioners of common schools of said village shall constitute a hoard to be 
styled " the board of education of the village of vYatertowu," and shall be a corporate body 
in relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by virtue of this act. A 
majority of the board shall constitute a quorum. The first meeting shall be held on the 
second 'Monday of June, eighteen hundred sixty-five, and the annual meetings each year 
thereafter on the second Monday of June in each year. At the first meeting, and annually 
thereafter at the annual meeting, they shall elect one of their number president, and when 
he shall be absent a president j^ro tempore shall be chosen : but such president shall only 
have a casting vote. The said commissioners shall receive no compensation for their 
services, nor shall they be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract for building or for 
making any improvement or repairs provided for by this act. They shall meet for business 
as often as once each month, and may adjourn for any shorter time. Special meetings may 
be called by the president, or by any two members of the board, as often as necessary, by 
giving personal notice to each member of the board, or by causing a written or printed 
notice to be left at his last place of residence at least twenty-four hours before the hour for 
6uch special meeting. 

§ 6. The said board shall appoint a clerk, who shall hold his oflSce during its pleasure, 
and shall fix his compensation. He shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board, and 
perform such other duties as it may prescribe. The said record, or a transcript thereof, 
certified by the clerk, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the facts 
therein set forth ; and such record, and all the books, accounts, vouchers and papers of 
said board shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the public. 

§ 7. The board of trustees of said village shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to 
raise, from time to time, by tax to be levied upon all the real and personal estate in said 
village which shall be liable to taxation for the ordinary village taxes, or for vTllage and 
county charges, such sums as may be determined and certified by the said board of 
education to'be necessary and proper for any or all the following purposes : 

1. To purchase, lease or improve sites for school-houses ; 

2. To build, purchase, lease, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, and their 
out-houses and appurtenances ; 

3. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, books, mineral and 
geological specimens, furniture and appendages ; but the power herein granted shall not be 
deemed to authorize the furnishing with class or text books any scholar whose parents or 
guardian shall be able to furnish the same ; 

4. To procure fuel, and defray the contingent expenses of the common schools, and the 
expenses of the laboratory, cabinet and school library of said village, and the necessary 
contingent expenses of said board, including the compensation of the clerk of the board ; 

5. To pay teachers' wages after the application of public moneys which may by law be 
appropriated and provided for that purpose ; provided, nevertheless, that the tax to be levied 
as aforesaid, and collected by virtue of this act, shall be collected in the same manner and 
at the same time as the other village taxes ; 

6. The amount per year raised for teachers' wages and contingent expenses shall not be 
less than twice nor more than six times the amount appropriated to said village from. the 
common school fund and other public moneys during the previous year ; nor shall the 
amount in any one year for buying sites, renting rooms and repairing school-houses exceed 
two thousand dollars, except as is hereinafter provided. And the board of trustees of the 
village are authorized and directed, when necessary, to borrow in anticipation of the one 
year's amount, or any part thereof, of taxes so to be raised, collected and levied as afore- 
said. 

§ 8. All moneys to be raised pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all school moneys 
by law appropriated to or provided for said village, shall be paid to the treasurer of said 
village, who, together, with the sureties upon his oflicial bond, shall be accountable there- 
for, in the same manner as for other moneys of said village. Said treasurer shall not receive 
to exceed one-half of one per cent for receiving, safe keeping and disbursing said school 
moneys, and shall be liable to the same penalties for official misconduct in relation to said, 
school moneys as for any similar misconduct in relation to other moneys of said village. 

§ 9. All moneys required to be raised by virtue of this act, or received by said village for the 
use of common schools, shall be deposite'd for the safe keeping thereof, with the treasurer of 
said village to the credit of said board of education, to be kept separate and distinct from any 
other funds. The treasurer shall pay out the moneys authorized by this act to be received 
by him, upon drafts drawn by the president and countersigned hy the clerk of said board 
of education : and no such draft shall be drawn, except by virtue of a resolution of the said 
board of education, and shall be made payable to the person or persons entitled to receive 
such moneys, or to their order. 

§ 10. The said board may cause a suit or suits to be prosecuted in the name of the village 
of Watertown, upon the official bond of the treasurer or of any collector of said village, for 
any defjiult, delinquency or official misconduct in relation to the collection, safe keeping or 
payment of any moneys in this act mentioned. 

§ 11. The said board shall have power, and it shall be their duty: 

1. To establish and organize such and so many schools in said village, including the com- 
mon schools now established therein, as they shall deem requisite and expedient, and to 
alter and discontinue the same ; 



f 
668 Watertown. 

2. To purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to fenco 
and improve them as they may deem proper, with money provided in section seven of thia 
act; 

3. Upon such lots and upon any sites now owned by said village to build, enlarge, alter, 
improve and repair school-houses, out-hoases and appurtenances as they may deem advis- 
able : 

4. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, cabinet specimens, 
books for indigent pupils, furniture and appendages, and to provide fuel for the schools 
and to defray their contingent expenses, and the expenses of the school library; 

5. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses, books, furni- 
ture, apparatus, cabinets and appendages, and to see that the ordinances of the board of 
village trustees, in relation thereto, be observed ; 

6. To contract with and employ all teachers of the schools under their charge, and at 
their pleasure remove them ; 

7. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the school moneys, literature and other 
funds which shall be appropriated and provided in the said village, so far as the same shall 
be sufficient, and the residue thereof from the money authorized to be raised for that pur- 
pose by section seven of this act, by tax on said village ; 

8. To defray the necessary contingent expenses of the board, including the compensation 
of the clerk : 

9. To have the superintendence, supervision and management of the public schools oi' 
said village, and from time to time, to adopt, alter and modify and repeal, as they may deem 
expedient, rules and regulations for their organization, government and instruction, for 
the reception of pupils and their transfer from one school to another, and generally for the 
promotion of their good order, prosperity and public utility _; 

10. Whenever in the opinion of the board, it may be advisable to sell any of the school- 
bouses, lots or sites, or any of the school property now or hereafter belonging to the village, 
to report the same to the board of village trustees ; 

11. To prepare and report to the village trustees such ordinances and regulations as may 
be necessary and proper for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school- 
houses, lots and sites and appurtenances, and all the property belonging to the village, 
connected with or appertaining to the schools, and to suggest proper penalties for the 
violation of such ordinances and regulations, and annually, on or before the second Monday 
of June of each year, to determine and certify to said board of village trustees, the sums, in 
their opinion, necessary or proper to be raised, under the seventh section of this act, specify- 
ing the sums required for each of the purposes therein mentioned, and the reasons therefor; 

12. Between the first day of October and the first day of November in each year, to make 
and transmit to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction a report in writing, bearing 
date the first day of October in the year of its transmission, and stating: 

I. An account and description of all the public schools kept in said village during the 
preceding year, and the time they have been severally taught ; 

II. The number of resident children taught in such schools respectively, and the sum 
of the days' attendance of all such children in the schools. The number of children over 
the age of five and under the age of twenty-one years, residing in said village on the last 
day oT September of that year;"" 

III. The whole amount of school moneys received by the treasurer of said village during 
the preceding year, distinguishing the amount received from the county treasurer, the village 
collector, and from any other source ; 

IV. The manner in which such moneys have been expended, and whether any and what 
part remains unexpended, and for what cause ; 

V. The amount of moneys received for tuition fees from foreign pupils during the year, 
and the amount paid for teachers' wages, in addition to the public moneys, with such oUier 
information relating to the public schools of said village as may, from time to time, be 
required by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction ; 

13. To examine persons proposing to teach schools within its jurisdiction, and to inquire 
into their moral fitness and capacity, and if found to be qualified, to grant them certificates 
of qualification, of the same force and effect as certificates or licenses granted by school 
commissioners under the provisions of chapter five hundred and fifty-five of the Laws of 
eighteen hundred and sixty-four, but to be used only within the jurisdiction of said board 
{Added hy chapter 153, Laws of 1867, p. 233.] 

§ 12. Each school commissioner shall visit all the schools in said village at least twice in 
each year of his official term ; and said board of education shall provide that each of said 
schools shall be visited by a committee of three or more of their number at least once in 
each term. 

§ 13. The said board of education shall have power to allow the children of persons not 
residents in said village to attend the schools of said village, under the control and care of 
gaid board, upon such terms as said board shaU by resolution prescribe, fixing the tuition 
which shall be paid therefor. 

§ 14. It shall be the duty of said board, in all their expenditures and contracts, to have 
reference to the amount of moneys which shall be subject to their order during the current 
year, for the particular expenditures in question, and not to exceed that amount. 

§ 15. The said board of education shall be trustees of the school libraries in said village ; 
and all the provisions of law which now are or hereafter may be passed, relative to school 
district libraries, shall apply to said board of education in the same manner as if they were 
trustees of a school district comprehending said village. They shall also be vested with the 
same discretion as to the disposition of moneys appropriated by the laws of this state for 
the purchase of libraries which is therein conferred on the inhabitants of school districts. It 



Watertown. 6&9 

shall be their duty to provide a room or rooms for the library or libraries and the necessary 
furniture therefor. The librarian shall report to the board of education the condition of the 
library or libraries under their charge ; and the said board, or clerk thereof, under the direc- 
tion and by the resolution of said beard, may make all purchases of books for said library 
or libraries, and may direct the mode of their distribution, and may cause to be repaired 
dama<j;ed books belonging thereto, and may sell any book in said library or libraries that 
may be deemed useless, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of other books for said 
library or libraries. 

§ 16. The title of the school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, apparatus, and appurtenances, 
and all other school property in this act mentioned, shall be vested in the village of Water- 
town, and the same, while used or appropriated for school imrposes, shall not be levied upon 
or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution, nor be subject to taxation for any purpose 
whatever; and the said village, in its corporate capacity, shall be able to take, hold, and 
dispose of any personal or real estate transferred to it by grant, gilt, bequest, or devise, for 
the use of the public schools of said village, whether the same be transferred in terms to 
said village, by its proper style, or by any other designation, or to any person or persons, or 
body, for the benefit or use of said schools. 

§ 17. The trustees of said village shall, upon the recommendation of said board of edu- 
cation, sell any of the school-houses, sites, lots, or any of the school property now or 
hereafter belonging to said village, upon such terms as the board of education shall deem 
reasonable ; the proceeds of such sale shall be paid to the treasurer of said village, and 
t;hall be by said board expended in the purchase, repairs or improvement of school-houses, 
lots, sites, or school furniture, apparatus or appurtenances. 

§ 18. It shall be the duty of said board, at least fifteen daj's before the annual election for 
commissioners in each year, to prepare and report to the village trustees true and correct 
statements of the receipts and disbursements of moneys, under and in pursuance of the 
provisions of thisi act, during the preceding year, in which account shall be stated under 
appropriate heads : 

1. The moneys raised by the trustees, under the seventh section of this act ; 

2. The school moneys received by the treasurer of the village from the county treasurer ; 

3. The moneys received by the treasurer of the villacje under any provisions of this act ; 

4. All other moneys received hy the treasurer of said village, subject to the order of the 
board, specifying the sources from which they shall have been derived ; 

5. The manner in which such sums of money shall have been expended, specifying the 
amount under each head of expenditure ; and the board of education shall, ten days before 
such election, cause the same to be published in at least two of the newspapers of said 
village. 

§ 19. The board of trustees shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to pass such ordi- 
nances and regulations as the said board of education may report as necessaiy for the pro- 
tection, preservation, safe keeping and care of the school-houses, lots, sites, appurte- 
nances and appendages, libraries and all necessary property belongiug to or connected with 
the schools of said village, and to impose proper penalties for the violation thereof, subject 
to the restrictions and limitations contained in the act to incorporate the said village ; and 
all such penalties shall be collected in the same manner as the penalties for the violations of 
the village ordinances are by law collected: and when collected shall be paid to the treasurer 
of the village, to the credit of the said board of education, and shall be subject to their 
order, in the same manner as other moneys raised, pursuant to the provisions of this act. 

§ 20. It shall be the duty of the clerk of said village, immediately alter the election of any 
person as commissioner of common schools, personally or in writing, to notify him of his 
election; and if any such person shall not, within six days after receiving such notice of 
his election, take and subscribe the constitutional oath, and file the same with the clerk of 
said village, the board of education may consider it as a refusal to serve, and proceed to fill 
the vacancy occasioned by such refusal; and the person so refusing shall forfeit and pay to 
the village "treasurer, for the benefit of the schools of said village, a penalty of ten dollars. 
Said clerk shall notify the board of education, and the board of education shall proceed lo 
fill the vacancy. 

§ 21. The trustees of the Jefferson county institute are hereby authorized to lease for a 
term of years, or to transfer by proper deeds of conveyance to the village of Watertown, 
the institute property, real and personal, its appurtenances and hereditaments thereto 
belonging, in trust for school purposes ; and the high schools under the supervision of the 
board of education shall be entitled to participate in the literature, academic and other funds 
appropriated for classical scholarships and for the instruction of common school teachers, 
upon making proper applic.ition therefor; and the usual reports for such purposes shall 
be made to the Regents of the Universit}', and shall be subject to their visitation. 

§ 22. So long as the said institute shall be leased to the village of Watertown for school 
purposes, the'board of education may consist of two members', additional to those desig- 
nated in section one, to be elected annually from and by the board of trustees of said insti- 
tute, who shall qualify in the same manner as those mentioned in section one of this act. 

§ 23. In case any school-house shall be destroyed by fire or otherwise than from usual wear 
and deterioration, so that in the opinion of the said board of education it shall be considered 
necessary to build another to supply its place, or to expend over five hundred dollars ($500) 
for its repair, then, in order and for the purpose of rebuilding or repairing the same, a suffi- 
cient amount therefor may be raised by tax, additional to that authorized by section seven 
of this act to be levied and collected in the next following annual tax ; but said additional 
amount shall not exceed six thousand dollars i.$(>000) in any one year; and such tax shall 
not be imposed except it be authorized by a vote of two-thirds of all the members of the 
said board of education. 



670 Watkins. 

§ 24. At any time, when by vote at a regular meeting of the hoard of education, four-fifths 
of the whole number of said board being in favor of the same, and the same being certified 
by said board to the board of trustees of said village, the said board of trustees shall have 
the power, and it shall be their duty, to raise by tax, in the manner' other taxes mentioned 
in this act are to be raised, such further amount of money as is determined by said four- 
fifths vote, in addition to the amount authorized to be raised by section seven of this act 
(but not in addition to the amount authorized to be raised by section twenty-three, in 
reference to destruction and damage by fire, and so forth), for the purpose of buying a site 
or sites, for building or buying a school-house or houses, or for either of these purposes ; 
but the amount authorized by this section to be raised shall not exceed six thousand dollars 
in any one year. 

§ 25. In case the village of Watertown should be incorporated as a city, with or without 
addition of territory, then this act shall apply to that incorporation the same as now to the 
village corporation, and the common council of said city shall take the place of the board 
of trustees, and shall be charged with all the responsibility and duties and privileges 
devolving upon said board of trustees by this act. 

§ 26. The present school officers of the school districts of the territory embraced in this 
act shall continue in office until the unfinished business of said districts shall have been 
finally closed and settled, with all the powers and duties now imposed by law upon them, 
for the purpose of closing up such unfijiished business. 



WATKINS. 
[ Chap. -69, Laws of 1863, p. 93.] 

Section 1. All that part of the county of Schuyler, including the village of Watklns, 
comprised within and embracing the territory known as school district number one of Dix 
and Reading, in said county, shall hereafter, for the purposes named in this act, form a 
school district which shall be called " the Watkins union school district." 

§ 2. The board of education hereinafter created shall have power, by resolution of said 
board, to alter and change the boundaries of said district by and with the written consent 
of the school commissioner of Schtiyler county. 

§3. The following named persons, to wit: Simeon L. Rood, Duncan S. Magee, Daniel 
Howard, Rev. F. S. Howe, Frederick Davis, Jr., and Tyler H. Abbey, together with George 
G. Freer, Orlando Hurd, and Marcus M. Cass (the three persons last named being the 
trustees of the existing Watkins academy fund, so called, left by bequest of Mrs. C. A. 
Freer, deceased), so long as they may respectively choose to act, and their successors to be 
chosen as hereinafter provided, are hereby constituted a corporation by the name of " the 
board of education for the village of Watkins." The three persons first named in this 
section shall hold their office until the first Monday of Januaiy, one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty- four ; the three persons next named shall hold their office until the first Monday 
of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five : and whenever a vacancy or vacancies 
shall occur in the case of one or more of the third class, or remaining three persons last 
named in this section, their place or places shall be filled in the same manner as is provided 
in the last will and testament of Mrs. C. A. Freer, deceased, or according to law in the cases 
contemplated by said will. 

§ 4. The term of office of the trustees to be elected under the provisions of this act shall 
be three years from the first Monday of January next succeeding their election, and until 
their successors shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their offices respectively. 
The annual meeting of the electors of said district shall be held on the first Monday of 
October in each year, at such time and place in said district as the board of education shall 
previously appoint. The president of the board, or in his absence the president for the 
time being, shall preside, and the district clerk, or in his absence the clerk for the time 
being, shall act as secretary thereof. 

§ 5. At the annual meeting, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, three 
trustees shall be elected to fill the places of the three persons first named in the third sec- 
tion of this act. The places of the next three shall be filled at the annual meeting in the 
year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and annually thereafter, on the day above 
specified for the first election, there shall in like manner be elected three trustees, to fill the 
places of those whose terms of office shall next thereafter expire, as herein provided. Every 
officer elected under this act shall enter on the duties of his office on the first Monday of 
January next succeeding his election. Within ten days after any such election, the clerk 
shall certify to the board of education the names of the officers so elected. 

§ 6. Said board of education and their successors in office, shall be a corporate body in 
relation to all the powers and duties conferred upon them by \irtue of this act, or of any 
law, and a majority of the board shall form a quorum. 

§ T. There shall annually be appointed by said board of education, a clerk, collector, libra- 
rian and treasurer of said union district, who shall each, within ten days after receiving 
notice in writinsr of his appointment, and belore entering upon the duties of his office, exe- 
cute and deliver'to said board of education a bond in such penalty and with such sureties 
as said board may require, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. 
In case such bond shall not be given within ten days after "receiving such notice, such 
office shall thereby become vacated, and said board of education shall thereupon make an 
appointment to supply such vacancy. 

§ h. Notices for annual elections and all other meetings of said district shall be given by 
said board of education at least ten days before such election or meeting, by publishing such 



W ATKINS. 671 

notice once in each of the newspapers printed in the village of Watkins, and by posting the 
game on the door of each school-house m said district. 

§ ^. In case any member of said board of education shall neglect or refuse to perform the 
duties of his office, or shall remove his residence beyond the boundaries of said district, or 
his place become vacant by any other incapacity, or by his resignation, or by death before 
the expiration of his term of office, said board shall make an appointment to All such 
vacancy for the unexpired term, except as to the three trustees named in the said will. 

§ 10. 'Said board of education shall possess all the powers and rights and be subject to all 
the duties in respect to said district, and all the schools under their charge, that the trustees 
of common schools now have or may possess or be subject to, and such other powers and 
duties as are given or imposed by law. The clerk, collector and librarian of said district 
ehall possess all the powers and be subject to all the duties in respect to said district that 
like officers of common schools now have or may possess or be subject to, and such other 
powers and duties as are or may be given or imposed by law. 

§ 11. From and after the first meetmg of the board of education under this act, the office 
of trustee, librarian and collector in each of the school districts included within the limits 
of the said union school district shall be abolished, and the title of the property of the said 
school district, and of the said union district, real and personal, shall from thenceforth 
become the property of and be vested in the said board of education in its corporate capac- 
ity, as created by this act ; and said board shall settle all business of the several school 
districts and parts of districts in said union district, then remaining unsettled. 

§ 12. The said board of education shall, at its said first meeting, and annually thereafter at 
their meeting held next after the first Monday of January in each year, appoint one of their 
number president. The clerk of said union district shall act as secretary to said board. In 
the absence of either of said officers at any regular meeting of the board, a president and 
secretary may be appointed for the time being. 

§ 13. The said clerk, in addition to such other duties as are or may be imposed on him by 
law or required of him by the board, shall keep a record of the proceedings of said board 
of education, which record, or a transcript thereof^ certified by the president and secretary, 
shall be received in all courts and for all purposes as a presumptive evidence of the facts 
therein set forth. 

§ 14. The said board of education shall have power and it shall be their duty : 

1. To establish and organize a classical school in the village of Watkins to be known by 
the name of " the Watkins academy," which school shall be subject to the visitation of the 
Regents of the University of this State, and to all laws and regulations applicable to 
the incorporated academies thereof, and shall be entitled to all the privileges of such acade- 
mies, and to share in the distribution of the moneys of the literature fund of this State as 
the academies thereof ; 

2. To establish and organize such and so many primary schools in said district, including 
for that purpose the common schools therein, as they shall deem requisite and expedient ; 
and to alter and discontinue, or change and consolidate, the same ; 

3. To build, purchase or hire school-houses, rooms, lots or sites for school-houses, and to 
fence, improve, adorn and repair the same, as they may think proper. And the said board 
of education may by consent' of the said trustees of the said will of Mrs. C. A. Freer, 
occupy and use for the purposes of this act, the building and lands and school apparatus and 
fixtures provided by the said trustees under the said will, in the academy now existing 
in the said village of Watkins ; 

4. Upon such lots or sites, and upon any lot or sites now owned by any school district 
within the limits of said union district erected by this act, to build, enlarge, alter, improve, 
adorn and repair school-houses, out-houses, and appurtenances, as they may deem advisable ; 

5. And the said board of education may take from the said trustees of the said will, a 
lease or conveyance of the said building and lands and apparatus and fixtures, and may 
enlarge, alter, improve, adorn, add to, and repair, the same. And they may take and 
receive Irom the trustees of the said will an assignment or transfer of any or all the funds 
and property resulting from said bequest, which when received they shall apply to the pur- 
poses of this act. either directly or by investing the same and using the income thereof for 
such purposes. But the power conferred by this section shall not be used or exercised in 
any manner inconsistent with the provisions of said will ; 

6. To purchase, exchange, improve and repair school apparatus, globes, maps, furniture 
and appendages, books for indigent pupils and for the school library, to provide fuel and 
lights and defray the contingent expenses of the schools of the board, the library, and the 
salary of the librarian and clerk ; 

7. To have the custody and safe keeping of the school-houses, out-houses and all the real 
and personal property of the said union school district and primary schools, and see that 
the ordinances and by-laws of said board in relation thereto be observed ; 

8. To contract with and employ all teachers in any of the schools under their charge, and 
in all branches and departments thereof, and at their pleasure to remove them ; 

9. To pay the wages of such teachers out of the public moneys and tuition fees received 
by them, and the deficiency, if any, out of the moneys to be raised by tax for general pur- 
poses of education under this act ; 

10. To fix the ratio of tuition fees in said academy, if any shall be charged, and to desig- 
nate some person or persons to whom the same may be paid previous to issuing the warrant 
for the collection thereof, and, by a resolution of said board, to be recorded by the secretary, 
to exempt from the whole or any part of the tuition fees such persons as they may deem 
entitled to such exemption frorn indigence or any other sufficient cause, and to graduate 
such tuition fees according to the branches of instruction pursued ; 



672 Watkins. 

11. To make out a rate bill as often as they shall deem proper, containing the name of 
each person liable to pay tuition fees for tuition in said academy, who shall not have paid 
the same prior to making out such rate bill, and the amount for which such person is 
liable, adding thereto a sum not exceeding five cents on each dollar for collector's fees 
(which fees shall be fixed by said board at the time of making out every rate bill), to annex 
thereto a warrant for the collection thereof, to be signed by the president of said board or 
a majority of the members thereof, and deliver the same to the collector, who shall collect 
the same in the same manner as collectors of school districts are by law authorized and 
required to execute like warrants issued by the trustees of common school districts, 
and who in the execution of the same shall be under the same protection, possess all the 
powers, and be subject to all the duties as such collectors may have or possess and be 
subject to, in respect to like warrants ; 

12. To have in all respects the superintendence, supei'vision, management and control 
of all the schools mentioned or contemplated in and by the provisions of this act, to 
prescribe the course of studies therein, the books to be used, and establish a uniformity in 
respect to such course of study and books ; from time to time to adopt, alter, modify and 
repeal, as they may deem expedient, rules, regulations and ordinances for the organization, 
government and instruction of such schools ; for the reception of pupils and their transfer 
from one school to another; for the expulsion of any pupil from any of said schools for 
misconduct ; for the promotion of morals and good order in said schools, their prosperity 
and public utility; for the protection, safe keeping, care and preservation of school-houses, 
lots, sites, fences, ornamental trees and shmbbery, and appurtenances, and all other prop- 
erty connected with or appertaining to such schools ; and to cause such rules, regulations, 
ordinances and by-laws to be printed and published, in such manner as they may deem best 
calculated to give general information. 

§ 15. The said board of education shall forthwith employ a suflicient number of teachers, 
who shall be well qualified, and cause a school to be commenced called " the Watkins 
academy," in which shall be taught the higher branches of education ; and when, in their 
opinion, the welfare of said academy shall rectuire it, shall procure a suitable lot, so situated 
as best to accommodate the whole of said union district, so far as practicable, and procure a 
clear title thereof, to be vested by deed in said board of education : to cause said lot to be 
properly graded, fenced, planted with trees, and otherwise properly improved ; to erect 
thereon a suitable and proper building or buildings and necessary out-houses ; to fiimish 
the same with all proper, useful and necessary furniture, apparatus and appendages. All 
the other schools, excepting private schools in said union district, including the common 
schools therein, and which shall be under the charge of the board of education, shall be 
known as primary schools, in which no tuition fee shall be charged, nor any rate bill made 
out ; but the same shall be free schools. The said primaiy schools shall be used as prepar- 
atory schools for the instruction of children until they arrive at a certain age, or attain a 
certain proficiency in learning, who shall then be transferred, upon proper testimonials, 
into the academy aforesaid, the age, qualifications and testimonials to be prescribed by the 
by-laws, rules and regulations of the board of education. 

§ 16. The said boaVd of education shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, 
from time to time, by tax upon all the real and personal estate within the bounds of said 
union district, which shall be liabie to taxation for town and county charges, such sums of 
money as may be determined by resolution of said board to be necessary for any and all the 
purposes mentioned in this act, or to meet any deficiency connected with the subject of 
education in said district ; to provide for which, power shall be given to the said board by 
the provisions of this act, or any law relating to common schools, or the rules and regu- 
lations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Said board of education shall, at the 
commencement of each year, make an estimate by the best means in their power of the 
amount of money which will be needed for all the purposes of education, and other purposes 
provided for by this act, over and above the public money and monej^s to be received from 
the other sources, if any, and shall cause the same to be raised by one assessment or warrant, 
and not more than two taxes for such purposes shall ever be raised in one year. For the 
collection of such taxes, the board of education may employ the village or town collector, 
at their discretion. The said board of education shall not have power to raise by tax, in 
any one year, for the purpose of this act, any further or greater sum than one thousand 
dollars, unless they shall be authorized to do so by a vote of a meeting of the persons 
qualified to vote in said union district for school district taxes, at an annual meeting of the 
said district, or at a special meeting of the inhabitants, to be called by the board of 
education for that purpose. 

§ 17. For the purpose of carrying into efi"ect the provisions of section fifteen of this act, 
the said board of education shall, as soon as practicable, make an estimate of the money 
which will, in their opinion, be necessary therefor, and shall assess, levy and collect the 
same, by tax upon the real and personal estate, as specified in section sixteen of this act ; 
and no such tax shall be laid unless by a vote of the tax payers of the district, at a meeting 
duly notified for that purpose. They shall, for this and all other taxes raised by them, make 
out a list, in the manner and form in which tax lists are required to be made by trustees of 
school districts, so far as such form is applicable, annex thereto a warrant in like form, 
signed by the president or a majority of the members of the said board, and deliver the same 
to the collector, which, when so made and signed, shall be as eftectual, to all intents and 
purposes, as like tax lists and warrants when made by the trustees of the common school 
districts. Said board may, in respect to the collection Of taxes, conform to the provisions 
of the twenty-ninth, thirtieth and thirty-first sections of chapter one hundred and eighty 
of Session Laws of one thousand eight hundred and forty-five, and require the collector to 
comply with the provisions of said section so far as the same are applicable. Said board 



Watkins. 673 

may make their warrants returnable at discretion, not less than thirty days nor more than 
ninety days from the issuing thereof. The said board may assess, levy and collect the amount 
of taxes to be raised uuder this section, in not less than three annual installments. 

§ 18. All moneys to be raised by virtue of this act, and all moneys by law appropriated to 
or provided lor said district, shall be paid to the treasurer of said board, who, together with 
the sureties on his official bond, shall be accountable therefor to the said board of education : 
paid treasurer shall not pay out any of such moneys except by resolution of said board, and 
upon an order drawn by the president and certified by the secretary, to be so drawn in pur- 
suance of such resolution. 

§ 19. Special meetings of the board of education may be called by the president, or, in 
his absence or inability to act, by the secretary or any member of said board, as often as 
necessary, by giving personal notice to each member of the board, or causing a written or 
printed notice to be left at his place of residence at least twenty-four hours before the hour 
for such special meeting. No member of said board shall receive any pay or compensation 
for his services. 

§ 20. The said board of education shall annually make a like report in all respects as required 
from trustees of common school districts to the school commissioner. Such report shall be 
received by the school commissioner instead of the reports now made by trustees of the 
school districts included in said union district. The supervisors of the several towns from 
which the said union district is taken, shall, in making their apportionment of school or 
library moneys, allot to said union district its proportion of said moneys according to law, 
regulating its apportionment to districts formed out of two or more towns, and the report 
of its board of education shall be regarded as the reports of its trustees. All such sums 
shall be paid by said supervisors to the treasurer of said board of education at the same 
time and in the' same manner as to trustees of school districts. A copy of the reports of 
said board of education shall be filed with the clerk or seci-etaryof the board. The board 
of education shall, at the close of each year, publish, in one or more of the village newspapers, 
a report of the moneys received and expended by them during the year, showing the sources 
front whence received and the objects of expenditure. 

§ 21. Whenever, in the opinion of said board, a sale or exchange of any primary school- 
house or house and lot would be proper, said board may cause such sale or exchange to be 
made, and may buy a new site or may at any time build a new house for the accommodation 
of any portion of said district, when authorized thereto by a vote of the tax payers of said 
union district, to be called together as herein provided. 

§ 22. All the school property of said board of education, real and personal, while used for 
and appropriated to school purposes, shall be exempt from all taxes and assessments, and 
shall not be liable to be levied upon or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution. Said 
board of education, in their corporate capacity, shall be able to take, hold and dispose of 
any real or personal estate, transferred to it by gift, grant, bequest or devise, for the use 
of said district or any schools under their charge. Said board shall not have power to sell, 
grant, dispose of or incumber said academy school lots. No portion of the library money 
paid to said board of education shall be expended for teachers' wages, but shall be appro- 
priated exclusively for the increase and benefit of the library. 

§ 23. All the lands included in the bounds of said union district shall be subject to taxa- 
tion therein under this act, without regard to the residence of the owners thereof, and the 
board of education may cause them to be returned to the county treasurer in the same 
manner as trustees of common schools are authorized to return unoccupied and unimproved 
real esiate of non-residents of their districts for unpaid taxes assessed thereon. Said 
county treasurer shall pay to said board the amount of such taxes out of any moneys in the 
county treasury not otherwise specifically appropriated, and such proceedinirs in all "respects 
shall thereupon be had in relation to such taxes and lands as required by law in relation to 
such lands, when so returned by trustees of common school districts. 

§ 24. The said board of education may permit children of persons not resident within said 
union district, to attend any school in said union district on such terms as they may pre- 
scribe ; and said board may, in their corporate name, sue for and recover of the persons 
liable therefor, all such .sums as shall be prescribed, with costs of suit. 

§ 25. The taxes imposed by the prnvisiojis of this act, shall be a lien upon the lands taxed, 
to be enforced and collected by sale in the manner that ccmnty taxes are upon a return to 
be made by the collector to the treasurer of the county of all unpaid taxes in said district. 

§ 26. Whenever any officer of the said union district, or of the said board of education, shall 
have paid any moneys in or about the prosecution or defense of any suit commenced by or 
against him, in the discharge of the duties of his office, or for acts done by color thereof, it 
shall be the duty of said board of education, unless it shall appear to them that the same 
were paid in consequence of the willful neglect or misconduct of the claimant, to ascertain 
the amount thereof by the best means in their power, and to cause the same to be assessed 
upon and collected of the taxable inhabitants of said district, in addition to the sums 
authorized to be raised for school purposes in said district by this act, and when so collec- 
ted to pay over the same to the person entitled thereto by virtue of this act. 

§ 27. The provisions of sections twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five and 
twenty-eight, of chapter one hundred and twenty-nine, and of section three, chapter one 
hundred and eighty, Laws of eighteen hundred and fifty-six, shall apply to and form a part 
of this act. 

85 



674 Weedsport. 

vteedsport. 

[ Chap. 212, Laws of 1858, p. 534.] 

Section 1. School district number eight, in the town of Brutus, Cayuga county, shall be 
hereafter known as "the Weedsport union school." and that shall be its corporate title, in 
which name all returns shall be made, contracts entered into, and its trustees and other 
officers shall be known as officers of "the Weedsport union school/' 

§ 2. There shall continue to be the same officers of the said district as of other common 
Bchool districts, and with the same rights, privileges, powers and duties, except as herein- 
after provided. 

§ 3. In addition to the officers now provided by law. there shall be in said district, not lesa 
than three nor more than nine officers, which number shall be determined by the legal voters 
of the district, at their next annual meeting, who shall be known as "the board of educa- 
tion " of said district, with such powers and duties as are herein provided, to be elected at 
the same time and in the same manner as the trustees of said district are elected, and to 
hold their offices, after the first election, for three years. 

§ A. The proceedings of the annual meeting in said district, in October, eighteen hundred 
and fifty-seven, in the election of a board of education, are hereby confirmed, and the persons 
then elected as such board shall continue to hold those offices for the time at that meeting 
designated for each, and at each annual meeting in said district hereafter, one-third of the 
members of s.aid board shall be elected in place of such of them whose term of office shall 
then expire, and, in case of an increase of their nttmber at the next annual meeting, the 
number added shall be then elected, and lots drawn by the other members, to determine the 
length of time which each shall hold, so as to have one-third of them go out of office each 
ye<ir, and a majority of them shall, for all purposes, constitute a qtiorum for the transaction 
of business. 

§ 5. The board of education, by this act established, shall have power: 

1. To pass such by-laws as they shall deem proper for the regulation and exercise of their 
lawful business and'powers, and'for the regulation of the school ; 

2. To fill any vacancy which may happen in said board, until the next annual meeting; 

3. To have in all respects the superintendence, management and control of said union 
school : to establish in the same an academic department whenever in their judgment the 
same is warranted by the demand for such instruction; to receive into said district any 
pupils residing out of the district, and to regulate and establish the tuition fees of such non- 
resident pupils in the several departments of the school; to regulate the transfer of scholars 
from one department to another, and from class to class, as their degree of scholarship may 
warrant, and to direct what text books shall be used therein ; 

4. To graduate the amoitnt of the rate bill in said district, upon the scholars attending 
the several departments of said school, in proportion to the amount of wa^es paid to the 
teacher of each department, making all proper allowance for the superintending charge of 
the principal of the school over the whole; 

5. To contract with and employ such teachers, and such numbers of teachers, as they 
ehall deem necessary and competent, in the several departments of instruction in saicl 
school ; to remove them at any time for incompetency, neglect of duty, immoral conduct, or 
want of adaptation to their position, and to require them to conform to such rules and regu- 
lations as they shall make in reference to the school ; 

(5. To expend the library money of the district in the purchase of such books as they may 
deem best, and to appoint a suitable person as librarian and make such rules and regula- 
tions for his goverament, and the control and management of the library and apparatus of 
the school as they shall think proper. 

§ (5. It shall be the duty of each member of the board of education to visit every depart- 
ment of the school at least twice during each term, and for the board to meet from time to 
time, as occasion may require, during each term, to attend to the interests of the school. 

§ 7. The academical department, established under the provisions of this act, shall be 
subject to the visitation of the Regents of the University, and shall be subject, in its course 
of education and matters pertaining thereto (but not in reference to its buildings), to all the 
regulations made in regard to academies by the said Regents. In such department, the quali- 
fications for the entrance of any pupil shall be the same as those established by the said 
Regents for the admission into any academy of the State under their supervision. 

§ 8. Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to afi'ect the supervision of said 
school by the commissioners of common schools of the commissioner's district in which it 
is located, but the same shall, for all purposes, except as herein expressed^ be and remain as 
one of the common school districts of the said town of Brutus. 

§ 9. All contracts made by the trustees and by the board of education shall be made in 
the name of " the Weedsport union school," in which name shall all suits be prosecuted and 
defended, and the trustees shall represtiit the body corporate, in all suits and legal proceed- 
ings, and the service of process upon either one of them shall be sufficient to commence an 
action against the corporation. 

§ 10. All the real estate and personal property, rights, privileges and powers of the said 
bchool district number eight, are hereby vested in and shall belong to the said "the Weeds- 
port union school." 

§ 11. All the powers, duties and obligations not herein expressly conferred upon the board 
of education shall remain with the trustees of the district, the same as though this act had 
not been passed. 



West Farms. 675 



WEST FARMS. 
{Chap. 407, Laws of 1864, p. 978.] 

Sectiox 1. The town of Morrisauia shall constitute a separate and entire school district, 
and as snch be subject to the provisions of chapter three hundred and sixty-five of tlie Laws 
of eighteen hundred and fifty-three, and of any amendments of such act, and the board of 
education in such district shall be known as the board of education of the school district 
of the town of Morrisania. 

§ 2. All that part of the town of West Farms which is not included within the limits of 
school district number two of said town is hereby created a school district, which shall bO 
known as scho:)l district number one of the town of West Farms. 

§ 3. The district meniioned in the second section of this act, shall be under the direction 
of a board of officers to be styled the board of education of school district number one of 
the town of West Farms, and they are hereby constituted a body corporate, in relation to 
the powers and duties conferred by this act, and shall possess the general powers, and bo 
subject to the liabilities and restrictions imposed by the eighteenth chapter of part first of 
the Revised Statutes. They shall posse-s the general powers and be subject to the duties in 
respect to said district that the trustees and boards of education of free schools now possess, 
or are subject to, together with such other powers and duties as are given and imposed by 
this act. 

§ 4. The said board shall consist of six members, a majority of whom shall constitute a 
quorum to do business, and John B. Haskin, Matthew McKeon, Frederick W. Devoe, Henry 
T. Mali, Jolin Bvirrian, and Ralph L. Anderton shall constitute the first board of education 
of school district number one, of the town of West, Farms, and shall hold office, the first 
two named for throe years, the seconil two named for two years, and the last two named for 
one year, from the first day of May eighteen hundred and sixty-four ; and as their terms of 
olfice shall severally expire, the vacancies therein shall be filled for a term of three years, 
at a special mei.:tiiig of qualified voters of the said district, which shall be held on tho 
second Tuesday of April immediately preceding the expiration of term: and vacancies, 
happening otherwise than by expiration of term, "shall be tilled by the board until the period 
shall arrive for filling the vacancy by election, and such special meeting shall be held in 
manner provided by law for meetings of school districts. 

§ 5. The board shall meet for the transaction of business once in each month, and special 
meetings may be called by the president, or a majority of the board, written notice of 
which special meeting shall be left at the residence of each member at least forty-eight 
hours before the time of meeting. If any member of the board shall fail to attend for threo 
successive stated meetings, the board may declare his office vacant. No member of the 
board shall receive any compensation, nor shall any member be in any way directly or 
indirectly interested in any contract, or in any appropriation or expenditure for repairs, 
improvements or supplies for the schools of the districts ; and any member or other person 
violating this provision, shall forfeit five hundred dollars to the board of education, to bo 
prosecuted for by said board, and to be recovered for and applied to school purposes. 

§ 6. The said board of education, at their first meeting, shall select one of their number 
as president of the board, one for secretary, and one for treasurer: they shall sevcmlly hold 
office for one year, and until their successors shall be appointed, and the treasurer shall 
give se:;iirity by bond, in such amount, and with such sureties as the board may, from 
time to time, by resolution, direct, which bond shall be conditioned for the faithful per- 
formance, by the treasurer, of the duties of his office, for the faithful application of all 
moneys which may come to his hands, and shall be filed with the clerk of the county, and 
the receiver of taxes of the town of West Farms shall pay all school taxes collected by him 
to such treasurer. In the absence of the president or secretaiy from any meeting, the 
board may select such officers pro tern., and a record or transcript of the proceedings of 
the board, by the president and clerk, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidenco 
of the facts therein set forth. 

§ 7. The said board of education shall, at each annual meeting of the board of town 
auditors, submit a report of the doings of the board for the year preceding, including tho 
number and condition of the schools under their charge, the number of scholars, and the 
receipts and expenditures in detail, and may cause such statement to be published in a 
newspaper printed in the district, or, if none be published therein, then in a newspaper 
printed in any adjoining district. 

§ 8. The said board of education are hereby authorized and directed to prepare, on or 
before the first day of November in each year, an estimate of the amount of money required 
for the yearly expense of maintaining, repairing and establishing free schools in the 
district, and to deliver such estimate to the supervisor of the town, who shall place the 
same before the board of supervisors of the county at their meeting following the preparation 
and delivery of such estimate, and the amount thereof shall be subject to revision by said 
board, and upon revision or confirmation shall be levied and assessed by said board of 
supervisors upon the taxable property of said town comprising such school district, in the 
same manner as other annual taxes are levied and assessed : an^d such moneys, to be denom- 
inated the annual school tax of said district, shall be collected and paid as hereinbefore 
directed in section five. 

§ 9. Upon the organization of said board of education, and the appointment and qualifl- 
caiion of the treasurer, the trustees, officers and treasurer of school districts, or of the 
board of education of the school districts within the boundaries of the district hereby 
formed, shall transfer and deliver to such board of education all books, papeis and propei-ty 



676 YONKERS. 

of the schools in their custody or within their control, and shall pay over to the ti-easurer 
of the board all moneys unexpended, and the title, control and management of all school- 
houses, lots and school property within the said district hereby formed, is vested in the 
said board of education established by this act ; and the said board, in its corporate capacity 
may take and hold and dispose of any property, real or personal, transferred to it by gift, 
grant or bequest, for the use of the schools of said district. 

§ 10. The said board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their own govern- 
ment, and by resolution, certified by the secretary or president, and shall direct the treasurer 
as to all expenditures, and the disposition of all moneys of the district, and may make a 
proper compensation for the trea^urer''s service. 

§ 11. Any act, or part of act, which may not be consistent with the provisions of this act, 
shall not apply to the board of education hereby formed, and the provisions of this act shall 
not apply to school district number two of said town of West Farms. 



YONKERS, DISTRICT NO. 2. 
{Chap. 2S4, Laws of 1861, p. 654.] 

Section 1. That school district number two, in the town of Yonkers, Westchester county, 
with the boundaries as established by law in eighteen hundred and fourteen, with all sub- 
sequent alterations as now recognized, up to the passage of this act, shall be, and the same 
is hereby divided as follows : Beginning on the Hudson river, at a point opposite the mouth 
of the Nepperham river, and running thence easterly along the center line of said Nepper- 
ham river, to the middle of the extension of Warburton avenne ; thence along the middle 
of said extension, northerly two hundred and fifty feet, to the middle of Dock street \ thence 
along the middle of Dock street, easterly, and crossing Broadway, about two hundred feet, 
to the south-easterly corner of a brick building belonging to Robert P. Getty ; thence along 
the southerly end of said building, and along land of Ralph Shipman, easterly four hundred 
and seventy-five feet, to the middle of Locust Hill avv^nue; thence along the middle of 
Locust Hill avenue, northerly four hundred and fifteen feet, to a point in a line, continuous 
with the boundary line between lands of John T. Warring and William C. M^arring ; thence 
along said boundary line, and on a line continuous therewith, easterly six hundred and fifty 
feet to the middle of said Nepperham river ; thence along the middle of the said Nepper- 
ham, as it winds and turns, northerly and easterly, about three thousand feet, to the centre 
line of the Croton aqueduct property ; thence along said centre line easterly, to the westerly 
boundary of district number four. 

§ 2. All the present district number two, north of said division line, shall be a separate 
district, known as district number six, and shall be subject to the laws establishing union 
free schools, with the amendments now in force, and all that part of said district south of 
said division line, shall continue, and be known as district number two, as formerly created 
and established by law, and shall also be subject to the laws in relation to union free 
schools. 

§ 3. The names of the persons who shall and do hereby constitute the board of education 
for said district number six, are John M. Mason, George B. Upham, Isaac H. Knox, Ethan 
Flagg, Justus Lawrence and Peter F. Peek, who shall take possession and charge of all 
school-houses, sites, lots, furniture, books, apparatus and all school property within the said 
school district, and in whom, by this act. the title to all school property, of whatever name 
or nature, within the said district number six, shall be vested, and who shall possess and 
exercise all the powers conferred upon said board, under the union free school act, and who 
shall continue in ofl&ce until the second Tuesday of October next, or until their successors 
are appointed. 

§ 4. The board of education of school district number six, as constituted by this act, is 
hereby authorized and empowered to purchase a site, or sites, and erect a new school-house 
or houses, to sell or exchange and convey the school-houses, lots or sites, or either or any of 
them, now belonging to, or that may hereafter be vested in the said board, whenever the said 
board, or a majority of them shall deem such purchase, sale or exchange advisable. All moneys 
arising from such sale or sales, or from such exchange, shall be appropriated by said board, 
to the purchase of another site or sites, or the building, furnishing or improvement of sites 
or school-houses now existing. 

§ 5. The said school district number six, as established by this act, shall be entitled to 
receive its full share of school moneys derived from the distribution made by the Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, and the said board of education shall appoint a treasurer for 
said district number six, whose duty it shall be to demand, receive and disburse, when 
legally called upon, all the funds to which said district shall be entitled. The board of edu- 
cation of said school district number two, shall pay over to said board of education of 
school district number six, all moneys now raised or received, or hereafter to be raised or 
received, which have been directed by the last regular meeting of the taxable inhabitants 
of said district, to be expended within the boundaries of district number six, as hereby 
constituted, for the building of a school-house or houses, upon an order signed by the pres- 
ident, and countersigned by the clerk of the board of education of said district number six. 
Said board of education, of said district number two. shall, in like manner, pay over to said 
board of education, of district number six, one-third of all such moneys as shall have been 
collected in said district number two, for defraying the general expenses of the union free 
school or schools, during the unexpired portion of the current year, after the passage of 
this act, which last mentioned moneys, shall be appropriated and expended for the main- 



YONKERS. 677 

tenance of a school or schools in said district number six, during the residue of the present 
school year. 

§ 6. All the provisions of law, now applicable to the said school district number two. as 
hereby proposed, and the officers thereof, sliall remain as at present existing, except when 
the same are repealed, changed or modified by this act. 



YONKERS, DISTRICT No. 6. 

[Chap. 75, Lmvs of 1862,^. 222.] 

Section 1. George B. Upham, Isaac H. Kuox, Ethan Flagg, Justus Lawrence, Peter F. 
Peck, and John M. Mason, are herel)y appointed and declaretl to be trustees of school dis- 
trict No. six, in the town of Yonkers. and to constitute the board of education of said school 
district. The said board shall, at its first stated meering after the passage of this act, divide 
the said trustees by lot into three classes, each class to consist of two trustees, and to be 
denominated, respectively, class No. one, No. two, and No. three. The term of otlice of the 
trustees forming such classes shall expire respectively in the order of the number of such 
classes, on the third Tuesday of October, in each of the years eighteen hundred and sixty- 
two, eighteen hundred and sixty-three and eighteen htindred and sixty-four, or as soon 
thereafter as their successors are elected. 

§ 2. At the annual meeting of the taxable inhabitants and legal voters of said school dis- 
trict No. SIX, there shall be elected two trustees of such district, who shall be members of 
said board of education, and who shall enter upon the duties of their office on the Tuesday 
succeeding their election, and shall hold their respective offices until the third Tuesday of 
October, in the third year after their election, or until their successors are elected. In case 
any vacancy shall occur in said board by reason of death, resignation, removal, refusal to 
serve, or from any other cause, the remaining members of said board shall be authorized to 
fill such vacancy, and the persons so elected to fill such vacancy shall hold his office until the 
next annual meeting of such district, at which meeting there shall be elected a trustee or 
trustees for the unexpired term or terms to which the party or parties whose office or offices 
had become vacant would have been entitled. 

§ 3. The board of education in said district shall call special meetings of said district 
whenever they may deem it necessarJ^ or whenever petitioned therefor by twenty-five taxa- 
ble inhabitants of said district, by a petition in writing, stating the object of such meeting. 
Notice of such special meetings, stating the time and place and object thereof, shall be 
given by posting such notice in at least five public places in said district, two weeks before 
the time appointed therefor, and by publishing the same once in each week, for two weeks 
successively, prior to the time fixed therefor, in all the public newspapers published in said 
district. 

§ 4. The annual meeting of the taxable inhabitants and legal voters of said district, shall 
be held on the second Tuesday of October, in each year, and unless the time and place of 
such meeting shall have been' fixed by vote of a previous meeting, the same shall be held 
at eight o'clock, in the evening, at some piiblic place in the district, to be designated by the 
board of education. 

§ 5. The said board of education may make all necessary by-laws for their own govern- 
ment. They shall hold their annual meeting on the third Tuesday of October, in each year; 
they shall appoint their own officers, and also a collector and treasurer for the said district; 
they shall hold stated meetings for the transaction of business at least once in each month, 
and at such meetings appoint a committee of not less than two of their own number, to 
visit the schools of the district, and such committee shall visit all such schools at least once 
in each month, and report at the next stated meeting of the board, on the condition and 
prospects thereof. No member of said board shall receive any pay or compensatfon for his 
services as such member, nor shall he become a contractor for making any improvements 
or repairs in or about school property of the district, or furnishing any supplies therefor, 
nor shall he be directly or indirectly interested in any such contract. All contracts made in 
violati(m of this provision shall be absolutely void. 

§ 6. The fourth section of the act entitled " An act to divide school district number two of 
the town of Yonkers into separate districts, and to constitute and define the powers of the 
board of education in the new district," passed April seventeenth, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one, is hereby amended so as to read as follows : 

§ 4. Whenever, in the opinion of the board of education of school district number six, it 
may be advisable to sell or exchange any of the school-houses, lots or sites, now or here- 
after belonging to or vested in said board, they shall report a proposition therefor to an 
annual or special meeting of the district. The said board shall have power, with the 
consent of a majority of the taxable inhabitants present at such meeting, to sell, convey or 
exchange any of the said school-houses, lots or sites, in the manner that such meeting may 
approve ; but no such sale shall be made without the concurrence of a majority of the 
taxable inhabitants present and voting at such meeting, and a majority of all the member;} 
of ibe said board of education. All moneys derived from any such s.<^le or exchange shall be 
appropriated by the said board to the purchase of another site or sites, or the building or 
improvement of school-houses, or the payment of any debt or debts incurred for the pur- 
chase, building or improvement of sites or school-house existing at the time of such sale 
or sales. 



678 YONKERS. 

§ 7. The taxable inhabitants of said district, at any annual, special or adjourned meeting 
may vote to authoiize such act or acts, and raise such sum or sums of money as they may 
deem expedient for the purpose of purchasing a site or sites and building a school-house o» 
houses, and purchasing and leasing any suitable lot or lots and building or buildings fo» 
echool purposes, and of making alterations and improvements with reference to site oi 
structure, and for buying apparatus, furniture, fixtures, school books and stationery, and 
for contingent expenses of the said schools, and for such other purpose as they may, by 9 
vote of the majority of the tcixable inhabitants present at such meeting, approve, and to 
direct the trustees to cause the sums voted to be levied and raised by installments, or 
directly by tax ; and such trustees shall make out a tax list, in the manner prescribed by 
law, in case of school district taxes, and direct such taxes and such installments ro be levied 
and raised as directed by such meeting. And tlie taxable inhabitants of such district shall 
have no power to rescind the vote to raise sucli money, or to reduce the amount at any 
subsequent meeting, unless the same be done within thirty days after the same shall have 
been first voted. 

§ 8. In case the taxable inhabitants of the said district shall not at their annual meeting 
vote to raise a sum of money for the payment of teachers' wages, and for procuring the 
necessary books and stationery, apparatus, fuel and furniture for the schools then in the 
district, and carrying on the same until the second Tuesday of October then next ensuing, 
and for the payment and interest on loans to become due prior to such time, which shall, in 
the judgment of the said board of education, be sufllicient for si;ch purposes, the said board 
are hereby authorized and required to levy and raise by tax sucn sums as maybe necessary 
for such purposes or JUiy of them, durinfj the then current school year, in the same manner 
as if such sum or sums had been authorized by the said taxable 'inhabitants, to be raised 
according to the then existing provisions of law. 

§ 9. The title to the sites, 'buildings, furniture, apparatus, and all other district school 
property in the said district, is hereby vested in the said board of education, and The same, 
while used for and appropriated to school purposes, shall be exempt from all taxes and 
assessments of every nature and kind whatsoever, and shall not be liable to be levied upon 
or sold by virtue of any warrant or execution. 

§ 10. The said board of education are hereby authorized and empowered to borrow the 
eum of four thousand dollars for the purpose of anticipating the collection of the tax of 
four thousand dollars, authorized by the last annual meeting of said district, to be raised 
for the completion of the school building now in process of erection therein, and of grading, 
fencing, flagging and improving the scti'ool site, and paying off the mortgage now existing 
thereon, and to give their corporate bond for the payment of the said sum, and the interest 
thereon, at the time and times authorized by such meeting, and to mortgage the whole or 
any part of the school propei'ty of the district to secure the payment of the said bond ; 
such mortgage to be executed under the corporate seal of the said board, and to be signed 
by their president and clerk, and such moneys so borrowed shall be appropriated iiT the 
manner directed by the said last annual meeting of the said school district. 

§ 11. All the provisions of law now applicable to the said school district and the officers 
thereof, shall remain as at present existing, except as the same are changed, repealed, or 
modified by this act. 



Brooklyn — Cornell University. 679 



BROOKLYN. 

Chap. 279, Laws of 1^1, p. 569, vol. 1. 
Section 11. The board of education of the city of Brooklyn shall have power to or:anize 
and establish a I^Tormal School for the training and instruction of teachers. The >aid board 
xnay make use of the public school-hout^es under their charge for such school, and the expense 
thereof shall be defrayed out of the general school fund of said city. 



THE CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 

Chapter 585, Laws of 1865, establishing the Cornell university, contains a 

section which is intimately connected with popular education and the common 

schools. This section is as follows : 

§ 9. The said departments of study in the said university shall be open to applicants for 
admission thereto at the lowest rates of expense consistent with its welfare and ethciency, 
and without distinction as to rank, class, previous occupation or locality. But, with a view- 
to equalize its advantages to all parts of the State, the institution shall annually receive 
eiucients, one from each Assembly district in the State, to be selected as hereinafter provided, 
and shall give them instruction in any or in all the prescribed branches of study in any 
department of said institution, free of any tuition fee, or of any incidental charges, to be 
paid to said university, unless such incidental charges jhall have been made to compenr^ate 
for damages needlessly or purposely done by the students to the property of said university. 
Tlie said free instruction shall, moreover, be accorded to said students in consideration of 
their superior ability, and as a reward lor superior scholarship in the academies and public 
schools of this State. Said students shall be selected as the Legislature may. from time to 
time, direct, and until otherwise ordered, as follows: The school commissioner or commis- 
eioners of each county, and the board of education of each city, or those performing the 
duties of such a board, shall select annually the best scholar Irom each academy and each 
public school of their respective counties or cities as candidates for the university scholar- 
ehip. The candidates thus selected in each county or city shall meet at such time and place 
in the j^ear as the board of supervisors of tiie county shall appoint, to be examined by a 
board consisting of the school commissioner or commissioners of the county, or by the 
said board of education of the cities, with such other persons as the supervisors shall appoint, 
who shall examine said candidates and determine which of them are the best scholars; 
and the board of supervisors shall then select therefrom to the number of one for each 
assembly district in said county or city, and furnish the candidates thus selected with a 
certificate of such selection, which certificate shall entitle said student to admission to said 
university, subject to the examination and approval of the faculty of said university. In 
making these selections, preference shall be given (where other qualilications are equal) to 
the sons of those who have died in the military or naval service of the United States ; con- 
sideration shall be had, also, of the physical ability of the candidate. Whenever any stu- 
dent, selected as above described, shall have been, from any cause, removed from the 
nuiversity hefore the expiration of the time for which he was selected, then one of the com- 
petitors to his place in the university from his district may be elected to succeed him 
therein, as the school commissioner or commissioners of the county of his residence, or 
the board of education of the city of his residence, may direct. 

In reference to the duties of school commissioners and supervisors, the 
Superintendent issued the following circular : 

State op New York, 1 

Department of Public Instrx:ction, }- 

Albany, Dec. 20, 1867. \ 

1 call the attention of school commissioners and supervisors to the act relating to the 
Cornell university. 'I'he plans proposed for its management, while they omit nothing 
which is essential to a good education, include all the practical sciences, some of which 
have had no place as yet in any considerable number of modern colleges. That of agricul- 
ture will be a specialty. Students will be taught geoloi/y, mineralogy and chemistry with 
direct reference to their connection with the cultivation of the soil. The large hirm 
attached to the university will afford visible illustration of the manner of conducting opera- 
tions throughout the year, and from one year to another. 

The study of mechanics will also be aided by extensive workshops, in which pupils may 
become skilled in the use of the tools and implements employed in various handicrafts. It 
will be one of its chief aims to turn out young men fitted to take charge of manufactories, 
macliine shops, mills, mines — thus to aid in developing the industrial resources of the 
cation. 



680 Cornell University. 

The great feature of the university will be, however, itp optional course of study. "We 
are assured that it will not be a tread-mill in which every pupil will be required to take the 
same steps. Young men will be permitted to select from the general course such studies 
as may suit their tastes and desires, or as may be adapted to fit them for the pursuits or 
vocation which they design to follow. They will be advised and directed in the choice of 
studies, and not compelled to waste time and labor upon those not essential to the calling 
of their inclination ; nor be left to wander, unguided, in uncongenial paths. If a desire for 
military acquirements assumes control of the student's mind, by his side will be a master 
of military tactics ; if a knowledge of political philosophy be his ambition, superior intelli- 
gence will direct him in its acquisition ; if he would be a successful tiller of the soil, by 
making " the good seed yield, some fifty and some an hundred fold," competent professors 
will encourage and assist him in his preparation ; if he aspires to be an accomplished work- 
man in wood or iron, he will be aided by experienced and skillful artisans, from Avhom he 
may learn how to compete successfully with the mechanical skill of the world ; or. if he would 
follow any of the "learned professions," departments will be provided in which he may lay 
broad and deep those foundations of knowledge upon which in the future he may build aa 
high as human ambition can hopefully aspire. 

The Corneil university is not founded mainly, nor in any sense, to give theological 
instruction. There will be no rule excluding from its faculty and classes men and pupils 
of any creed or taith. It will be the duty of the faculty to instruct students in the great and 
simple principles of morality as taught by nature and revelation, and in the secular knowl- 
edge proper to each department, but theological tenets will not be intruded upon their 
minds. Their instruction in these matters will be left to their parents and such other 
persons as may be chosen for their spiritual advisers. It must be decidedly understood 
that the pupils at the university will be subject to the watchful care and stiperintendence 
of the faculty, which will be composed of men of unexceptionable character ; that vicious 
and mischievous young men will not be suffered to remain in the institution, and that, as it 
will not depend for its existence upon tuition fees, there will be no hesitation in expelling 
unruly and immoral students. 

The endowment of the university will be ample. It will start with an annual income 
sufhcient to defray all ot its expenses. The unprecedented liberality of Mr. Cornell places 
it on a secure foundation, and the State, by bestowing upon it the magnificent land grant 
of Congress, has put it beyond the danger of vi'ant or failure. 

It will be seen by reference to the law that from the number of candidates may be 
appointed annually in eacli county as many as there are Assembly districts ; that those so 
appointed will be entitled to admittance into the institution as State pupils, without charge 
for tuition ; that they may enjoy all its privileges, and if need be share in the degree of aid 
that will be given to those unable to provide for their neces.sary expenses. Labor on the 
farms or in the workshops will yield a partial support, and diligence in study and good con- 
duct will secure substantial assistance. 

If any one thinks the number to be appointed small, and hardly deserving the consideration 
of the scliool commissioners and supervisors, let him remember that there are 128 Assem- 
bly districts in the State, and that the number in the university as State pupils, if they 
should only remain for a three years' course, would be 384. If, however, some should 
remain four years and longer, in "order to perfect themselves in particular studies, it may 
well be presumed that the State pupils will in tim.e number at least five hundred in constant 
attendance. Very few colleges in this country have five hundred students. A tuition fee 
of fifty dollars a year for such pupils is a moderate estimate. The Cornell university, 
therefore, is required by law to give gratuitous instruction to not less than five hundred 
students, at an annual expense of $2.5,000. But it proposes to do more, by way of loan, to 
enable worthy and diligent youths to pursue their studies without interruption, upon their 
promise to pay after they shall be established in business. The endowment of the univer- 
Bity will soon warrant the use of a large sum of money annually in such loans, and the 
belief is entertained that the losses of money thus advanced would be comparatively small, 
for the debt incurred would be regarded as a debt of honor, to be paid out of the first fruita 
of the education so obtained. It may also be mentioned that, by private donations, pre- 
miums will be offered to students making the best progress in various studies according to 
a plan detailed in the university circular of announcement, varying from ten to fifty dol- 
lars each, and amounting in all to over seven hundred dollars. 

This university will be liberal in its encouragement to students, and the supervisors and 
commissioners should not stop with the appointment of the quota of pupils to which their 
respective counties may be entitled. They should use their influence to induce other 
meritorious and promising young lads who may be candidates at the examination to become 
Btudents at this or some other university. An earnest and encouraging word or sugges- 
tion from them may lead many of the unsuccessful but meritorious applicants to share in a 
liberal culture. The competition for appointment was not devised merely nor chiefly for 
the benefit of the appointees, but for the benefit of a great multitude of young persons 
whose minas will be inspired to nobler efforts and awakened to higher aspirations by the 
preparations which will be going on in the schools for months previous to each examina- 
tion, by the inquiry itself, and by the honors and superior privileges conferred upon those 
who are successful. 

The commissioners are advised to send a circular to the trustees of all the common 
schools and academies in their respective districts, notifying them of this prospective 
examination, and urging them to call the attention of their teachers and schools to it. 
They are also directed, in their annual round of visits to schools, to call the attention of 
local school officers, parents, teachers and pupils, to the facilities which this university 
wili ofier for the acquisition of a sound and useful education. Let no school be overlooked. 



Edgewater — Town Taxation. 681 

Each worthy young larl has a right to know that he may compete for the honor of repre- 
senting his Assembly dii^trict in the Cornell university. 

It is suggested that the steps of the commissioners, to give full effect to the law, be sub- 
stantially in the followiusr order: 

1. To prepare and send forthwith to the sole trustees, and all the boards of trustees of 
common schools and academies, within their respective commissioner districts, a circular 
letter, with the announcement of the trustees of the university, informing them of the 
examination and its purposes, and soliciting their generous co-operation in directing the 
attention of teachers, pupils and parents to the university, and to the steps necessary for 
the preparation of students for participation in its superior privileges. 

2. In their round of personal visitation of the schools to repeat viva voce to the trustees 
the purpose of the circular, to urge upon parents, teachers and schools the importance of 
early and continued preparation/not for the sake merely of a hoped for success, but for the 
sake of the healthful influence of the effort upon both people and schools. At the sarne 
time, the commissioners may deem it best to notify the schools that they will, on some 
future day, select candidates for the examination, upon evidence of their qualifications 
shown by'a personal inquiry; or, if this be impracticable, upon the recommendation of the 
teachers and trustees. The choice of candidates may be deferred till after the appointment 
of examiners by the board of supervisors ; but when made the commissioners should 
notify each candidate thereof iu writing, and also of the time and place chosen for the exam- 
ination. 

3. To see to it that the supervisors, at their next meeting, do appoint proper persons to 
assist in the examination, and that at the earliest day practicable iu the ensuing lall they 
name the time and place for it to be held. 

4. To invite the persons appointed by the board of supervisors to meet for the purpose 
of organization, consultation and agreement upon the character and manner of the examina- 
tion, 'keeping in view the requirements for admission into the university as set forth in the 
announcement of its trustees. 

The number to be selected by the commissioners for the competition is not limited, but 
it is believed that the board of examiners should recommend to the board of supervisors 
for appointment those only who shall have passed a thorough examination and shall possess 
not merely the qualifications of good scholarship and good morals, but also the physical 
health and robustness of constitution which will enable them to pursue, steadily and to the 
end, the course of study prescribed or selected. 

V. M. RICE, 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



EDGEWATER. 

Laws of 1866, chap. 214, title 3, § 1, subd. 16. p. 441, as amended by Laws of 1867, chap. 517, p. 
1400, vol. 2. title 3, § 1, subd. 16. 

Section 16. The board of trustees of the village of Edgewater shall be trustees of the pub- 
lic and district schools within the limits of said village; shall have the sole control and 
management of the same, and of all the finances and real estate belonging to said schools; 
shall regulate the districts attached to said schools, appoint and cause to be examined the 
several teachers, and regulate all matters connected therewith ; and the trustees superseded 
by this act shall immediately give up all books and funds in their custody, and render their 
accounts to the said trustees of the village of Edgewater. All the public and district schools 
in said village are hereby created free schools, and the board of trustees of said village 
shall have the same powers as the board of education had in the act to establish free schools 
in district No. 1 of the towns of Castleton and Southfield, in the county of Richmond, 
passed April 10, 1855. 

Sec. 29. The official acts of the trustees of common schools within the limits of the said 
village are hereby legalized. 

The statute does not, in terms, make the village of Edgewater a separate school district, 
but it does so by implication. The village trustees are also charged with all the duties, and 
are subject to all the responsibilities of school district trustees. It will, therefore, be their 
duty to make the reports annually required of trustees of school districts. 



TOWN TAXATION. 

TOWNS MAT RAISE MONET FOR THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOL ET VOTE IN TOWN MEBTINO. 

1. By sections 16, 17 and 18, Rev. Stat., chap. 15, art. 2, title 2, part 1 (see 3d ed., pp. 529, 
530). the boards of supervisors were required to raise annually, by tax upon each town, a 
pum of money equal to the school moneys apportioned to such town. The school moneys 
apportioned prior to 1851 were the revenues of the common school fund and United States 
deposit fund, appropriated annually for the support of common schools. 

8(j 



682 Town Taxation. 

2. By siibd. 3. § 9. of chap. 9, title 2, part 1. Rev. Stat, (see p. 388. 3d ed. Rev. Stat ), the 
electors of every town in town meetinjj;- had power " to direct such sum to be raised in such 
lown, for the support of common schools for the then ensuing year, as they may deem 
necessary, but not exceeding a sum equal to the amount required by law to be raised 
therein for that purpose." 

3. By section 9, chap. 151, Laws of 1851, p. 292, Sess. Laws, sections 16, 17 and 18, Rev. 
Stat, (nbove mentioned), were repealed. 

Did this repeal take from the towns the power to raise money for schools ? Wasnot the 
rule governing the amount to be raised changed and the power to raise the money left intact 
to be governed by a new rule? Chap. 151. Laws of 1853. required a State tax to be levied 
of $800,000. A subsequent act, chap. 180, Sess. Laws of 1856, p. 296. made the tax three- 
quartei's of a mill on everj"^ dollar of valuation. Chap. 406, Laws of 1867, § 3, makes this tax 
one and a quarter mills upon the dollar. 

Have not the towns severally power to raise, for the support of schools, an amount equal 
to the State school tax levied upon them ? 

Banks' ed. of the Revised Statutes, vol. 1, p. 817, omits subd. 3 above mentioned, giving 
towns the power of taxation, and a note appended states that it was repealed by chap. 1.51, 
Laws of 1851, above mentioned. The omission was an error. The law authorizing towns 
to raise money for the support of schools by a vote in town meeting is not repealed directly, 
nor by implication. " The amount required by law to be raised therein for that purpose " 
is one and one-fourth mills on each dollar of valuation, aud they may now raise any sum 
not exceeding that amount. A vote of the people in town meeting would authorize and 
require the board of supervisors to levy on the properly of the town, as assessed, the sum 
voted, not exceeding the amount of the State tax for schools as apportioned by the Comp- 
troller. 



INDEX 



A. 

Academies. 

PAGE. 

Appropriations to, for the education of common school teachers, 463, 464 

Actions against School Officers. 
Costs, when allowed, 235 

Acts. 
Titles of school acts, 454 

Adjournment. 
Power of district meetings, 107 

Adverse Possession. 

Sites ma}"^ be held by 110 

What constitutes, 110 

Albany. 

Normal school act 266 

Supervi«;ion of normal school,... 4 

Special school act, 495 

Allodial. 

What are allodial lands, 253 

The term defined, 253 



Annulment of Teacher's Certificate. 

By State Superintendent 16 

By school commissioners, 23 

Appeals to State Superintendent. 

When and how to be brouijht 229 

Testimony taken by school commissioners, 



Digest of decisions, 293 

Appeals. 
[T he folloiving references are to the Digest.'] 

Jurisdiction of Superintendent, 446,452 

It is a rule of this department that all acts of school district officers will be regarded 
as resrular unless duly appealed from .. 293 

It is the policy of the department to discourage the bringing of appeals for light and 
trifling causes . 293 

The Superintendent of Public Instniction will not entertain appeals in relation to fines 
and penalties. The imposition of fini^s and penalties belongs to the courts of law, 293 

Appeals from tax li-^ts must be brought by the party considering himself aggrieved, 
immediately upon becomins' apprised of the existence of such tax list. A delay 
until collection is enforced by levy and sale will be fatal, 294 

Appeal disregarded for vaguenes's of Statement 294 

Appeals to this department will not be considered unless they are legible and intel- 
ligible in statement, 294 



684 Index. 

PAGK. 

The department will not entertain questions of controversy that are at issue before the 

civil courts. . 294 

Equitable relief cannot be afforded where the same is contrary to law 295 

If commissioners withhold assent to raise a tax for building a school-house larger than 

$400 ($1000), their refusal is subject to review upon app"eal, 295 

What questions are to be decided by the dei)artment in reviewing the action of local 

boards altering the boundaries of districts 297 

An appeal from corrections in a tax list made at the suggestion and desire of the appel- 
lant will not be sustained. Tax lists must be made out from the last assessment 

roll, otherwise they are not valid, 297 

Appeals should De brought promptly, or it may be too late to apply a remedy, 298 

Appeal dismissed on account of defective affidavit 298 

Appeal dismissed on ground of vagueness of statement, 298 

An appeal from a tax list, on whatever grounds, must be brought before a levy and sale 

is made, to jusrify interference of this department, 298 

Real parties in interest will be heard upon appeal 299 

Appellants must state their case clearly and prove it conclusively in order to justify 

interference 299 

An appeal will be dismissed for obscurity of statement, 299 

Power of the department to grant rehearings in matters of appeal considered, 299 

Apportionment of School Moneys. 

By State Superintendent, 43, 46 

Supplemental 47 

Deficiencies in, how made up, 54 

By school commissioners, 54 

Certificates of, . 55 

Erroneous, how rectified, '46 

Forms and instructions for, 56-61 

Errors, how corrected 62 

Assessment. 

Of property for district taxes, 171 

Of railroads 178 

Of real estate, 178 

Of personal property 179 

Claim for reduction on tax list, 182 

Assessors. 
"Valuation of railroads to be apportioned among districts, 178 

Auburn. 
Special school act, 499 

B. 

Ballston. 
Special school act, 569 

Banking Corporations. 

Taxable, how and when, 169 

Law for the taxation of, 258 

Barr, S. D. 
Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, 3 

Blind, Institution for the. 

Incorporation of, 11 

Under visitation of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 4 

Pupils, how admitted, 5 

Regulations for admission, 6 

Pupils, how supported, • 5 

Benton, N. S. 
Secretary of State and Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

Bonds. 

By supervisors, 262 

By collector,. 127, 193 



Index. 685 

Boundaries of School Districts. 

PAGE. 

Commissioner to define, 22, 75 

Forms and instructions, 75-S4 

Brockpokt. 
Normal school act, 282 

Brooklyn. 

Excise mone3's for sale of liquors, how expended, 261 

Special school act, 507 

Normal school in, 679 

Buffalo. 

Normal school act, 291 

Special school act, 510 

BiNGHAMTON. 

Special school act, 502 

Building Committee. 

No power can be legally vested in (digest), 441 

Not authorized by law, 139 

c. 

Cambria, Town of 
Annexed to first school commissioner's district, Niagara county, 263 

Camillus and Geddes. 
Special school act, 511 

Castleton. 
Special school act, 511 

Castleton and Southfield. 
Special school act, 512 

Certificates. 

Forms of, 34 

Granted by school commissioners, 23 

Granted by Superintendent of Public Instruction, 15 

Of qualified teachers, 132 

Annulment of, 16, 23 

Chairman. 
Of meeting, how^>polnted, 107 

Challenge. 
Of unqualified persons, 103 

Chambers, Jos. J. 
Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction 8 



Cherry Valley 
Special school act, 513 

Chester, Town of. 
Annexed to second school commissioner's district. Orange county, 263 

Cities. 

Apportionment to, from United States deposit fund, 43 

Taxes in, for support of schools, ^42 

Clarkson. 
Special school act, 515 



686 Index. 

Clerk op Board of Supervisoes. 

PAGE. 

Required to raise school tax, 41 

Clerks in superiutendent's office, .'.!!*.!!'.!!',!..!',!![[. 3 

Clerk of School District, 

Must notify person? elected to district offices, 126 

General duties? of, !...129 

Must be present at all meetings, 107 

Vacancy in office, how filled, „ 127 

Cannot be trustee, 125 

Clerk of District. 
\_T he following references are to the Digest.] 

Only two cases in which a district clerk can lawfully call a special meeting except on 
order of trustees : First, where time for annual meeting has passed without anv 
such meeting being held ; and, second, where all the trustees have vacated thefr 
office 304 

Tne clerk should keep a record of every thing that is done by a meeting, and his 
minutes should show what resolutions were rejected, as well as those that were 
carried, 304 

Duty of clerk to notify every person of his election, even though ho were present. 
Collector mast give a bond, however responsible he may be. He cannot enforce 
collection without a bond, 304 

Clyde High School. 
Special school act, 513 

COHOES. 

Special school act, 516 

Collector. 

Cannot be trustee 125 

District meeting may fix bail of, 104, 109 

Vacates office by not giving bonds 127 

To return uncollected non-resident tax 187 

To execute bond, 193 

May receive voluntary payments for two weeks, 194 

Fees of, 194 

To have custody of certain district moneys, 197 

Shall report at annual meeting, 197 

Shall make up for district money lost through his neglect, . . 193, 198 

Form of collector's bond, 193 

How and when to c< lUect taxes, 191 

Not bound to give notice that tax list is in his hands, 193 

Amount of his bail 193 

Where he may execute his warrant, 195 

Renewal of his warrant, 195 

Power to collect expires with return day of warrant, 198 

Collector. 
[These references are to the Digest.] 

Fees, how collected 443 

Jurisdiction and liabilities under warrant, 444, 450 

Liability on warrant, : 444, 450 

Distraining 444 

Clerk may be collector 445 

Collectors bond, by whom sued, 449 

Must hold warran t two weeks, 450 

Row far warrant is protection, 451 

The law has not specified any time within which a warrant for the collection of a tax 

shall be delivered to the collector 301 

A school district collector's bond requires an internal revenue stamp of (me dollar. 
The collector must file this bond and pay the necessary expenses of procuring the 

bond and stamp ' 301 

Jurisdiction of collector 301 

Collector must execute to trustees a bond before he can legally enforce the collection of 
any tax list placed in his hands. He n-ed not give notice to the inhabitants that he 

has received the warrant from the trustees 301 

If a person who is ineliLnble to the office has been appointed collector, and the tax 
payers refuse ro pay him, he cannot, without rendering himself a trespasser, pro- 
ceed to collect of such tax payers by levy and sale. A district collector cannot 
I/crform his official duties by deputy, 302 



Index. 687 

PAGB. 

The collector by law has no right to pay over moneys except upon the order of truetees. 
He is, in fact, the treasurer of the district, 302 

Collector vacates his otlice whenever, by leaving the district, he cannot perform col- 
lector's duties 302 

The collector is not required by law to give any notice whatever that he has a tax list; 
hence, he is entitled to five per cent after he has had the warrant two weeks, though 
no notice has been given, 302 

The statute prescril)es no limit within which the second renewal must be made. 
Hence, though three months have elapsed since the first renewal, the warrant is 
still renewable with the consent of the supervisor, 302 

Collector responsible for losses through neglect, 302 

Trustees not bound to indemnify collector, 302 

The refusal of a district collector to serve vacates his office, 302 

Where a collector cannot perform his duties from sickness or otherwise, trustees must 
appoint 302 

Under no circumstances is a collector authorized to sell real estate. If he cannot levy 
on enough personal property at one time to satisfy the warrant which he holds, he 
can keep on levying till he does obtain property enough to pay the tax, 303 

Collectors the proper custodians of district moneys, and they need not pay them over 
to trustees. They should pay only on the written order of one trustee, or a 
majority of the trustees, which order should state the purpose for which the money 
is to be paid, 303 

Trustees must require a bond of collector for the faithful discharge of his duties, etc., 
before collector receives first warrant for collection of district tax. If they neglect 
such re uirement, said trustees are liable to district for any loss or damage result- 
ing from their neglect, 303 

CoLORBD Schools. 
How established and maintained .224 



COLORBD ChILPREN. 

[TJiese references are to the Digest.'] 

Colored children are entitled to attend the common schools in this State, in all dis- 
tricts, except those in which, by law, provision is made for their education in sepa- 
rate schools, . — 304 

Colored children cannot be excluded from the common schools unless a separate school 
for their education has been organized by the d strict 305 

Negro children should be admitted to district schools, where no separate school for them 
has beun est 'blish.»d by district, 306 

Trustees have no right nor authority by law to exclude colored children from district 
echool, except they maintain a " school for culontd children," 306 

Comptroller. 

Warrant for salaries of school commissioners, 20 

Warrant for moneys raised by tax • 41 

May withhiild incone of school fund and U. S. deposit fund from counties failing to raise 

and pay over school tax, 41 

Expenses of teachers' institutes, 22T 

Commissioners. 

[See School Commissioners. 1 

Common School Fund. 

How apportioned, 43 

First act to create, 462 

Common Schools. 

[See Schools.] 
How supported, 241 

Contingent Fund. 
Apportionment of, 43 

Cornell TJnivirsitt. 

State Superintendent, trustee of, 4 

Law requiring the admission of State pupils, 679 

Cortland. 
Kormal school at, 289 



(?8* Index. 

County Clerks. 

PAGE. 

To certify election of school commissioners, 19 

COVNTT JtTDGE. 

May fill vacancy in office of school commissioners 20 

May appoint some person to disburse school moneys, ... 64 

Costs and expenses of trustees, '.'.'..'.'.'. SSt 



D. 

Deaf and Dumb, Institution fok the 

Under visitation of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 4 

Pupils, how admitted, 5 

Pupils, regulations for admission, '. 6 

Pupils, how supported 5,292 

Pupils under twelve and over six years old, 7,' 292 

When incorporated, , 6 

Decisions. 
Digest of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 



Digest of New York State courts 440 

Dedication. 
Of sites for school-houses, H2 

Deerpark. 
Special school act, 619 

Delhi, Town of 
Annexed to second school commissioner's district, Delaware county, 264 

Deputy State Superintendent 

Appointment of, 2 

Salary of, 3 

Digest. 

Decisions of State Superintendent, 293 

Decisions of New York State courts, 440 

Diplomas. 

Of normal schools, 132 

How annulled, 16, 23 

Districts. 

What are entitled to public moneys, 44 

Joint, must bear same number in (^ach commissioner district, 75 

Formation, alteration and dissolution of, 22,75-92 

Special meetings in, 22 

Annual meetinijs in 97 

Officers of. qualifications and terms of office, 104, 108 

Officers of, may resign, 128 

May unite libraries 203 

Powers of inhabitants at district meetings. (See Meetings.) 

Apportionment to 44, 56 61 

Equitable allowance to 46 

Moneys, how forfeited by. 62 

Joint districts, how formed, 88 

Consolidated districts, property of, 89 

Annulled districts, property of, 89, 91 

Dissolved districts, exist for certain purposes 92 

Dissolved districts, records, etc.. how disposed of, 92 

School commissioner districts, list of, 490 

Districts, School Commissioner. 

Altered only by Legislature, 18 

Chester, part of second district. Orange county, 263 

Cambria, part of first district, Niagara, county 263 



Index. 689 

PAGE. 

Delhi, part of second district, Delaware county, 264 

List of districts in the State, 490 

Dix, John A. 
Secretary of State and Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

Domicile. 
Defined 99 

E. 

East Chester. 
Special school act 520 

Edgewatek. 
Special school act, 681 

Elbbidge. 
Special school act, 520 

Election of Officebs. 

Of district officers, 108 

Notices of, to persons elected, 126 

District officers, when elected, 125 

Of State Superintendent, 1 

Of school commissioners, 18 

Of boards of education, , 203 

Election of Officebs. 

[These references are to the Digest. 1 

An adjourned meeting cannot rescind an election of district officers, 306 

Nor can an officer, once elected, he displaced hy vote of district, 306 

Any district may elect an officer to fill an existing vacancy, although thirty days may 

have elapsed since its occurrence, 306 

The inhabitants, when lawfully assembled at any district meeting, may choose district 

officers to fill vacancies, 306 

School district officers cannot be elected hj & plurality Yote. The statute requires a 

majority to elect, 306 

Evidence of a mere possibility of an election having been carried by illegal votes will 

not vitiate the election, 307 

Legality of proceedings in certain elections for trustees considered and decided,. ..... 307 

Conditions and tenure of office of trustees elected at meetings not called or held accord- 
ing to law, commented upon, ' 308 

Elmira. 
Special school acts, 523 

Eminent Domain. 

Sites acquired by right of, 243 

Defined 249 

Under what limitations exercised, 354 

Equalization. 
Of taxes in districts composed of parts of two or more towns , 183 

Esleeck, Welcome. 
Appointed Superintendent of Common Schools, 1 

Examination. 
Of teachers, 29, 34 

Exemption, 

Property exempt from execution, , 101 

Property exempt from tax list, 102, 191 

Property exempt from taxation, 171, 180, 191 

87 



690 Index. 

PAGE. 

Of minister for $1500, 172, 177 

Of certain military persons, I74 

From tax to build' school-house 186 



F. 

Feudal System. 



The tenure of land under the. 



Fines and Penalties. 

Enumerated, 50 

How paid and apportioned, 50 

Where supervisor refuses to give bonds, 67 

Where embezzles school monej'S, 67 

Where neglects to make certain returns, 68 

Duty of supervisor to sue for, 69 

For refusal to give notice of district meeting, , 95 

For illegal voting, 103 

For refusal to serve in district office, 128 

Where trustee employs unqualiiied teacher, 133 

Where fails to render annual account of moneys, ,. 150 

For making false report 152 

For neglect of library by trustees, . v 203 

For loss of school moneys, through neglect, 2,34 

For neglect to prosecute as required by law, .234 

For disturbing school meeting, 234 

School commissioner, for acting as book agent, 21 

Suits for, in what time to be brought, 52 

District attorneys to report, -.....,-. »..._...,.,. 53 

To whom to be paid, .., 53 

For whose benefit, 53 

Oflacers neglecting to pay over moneys collected, 53 

For unlawful voting, 103 

For refusing to accept office, 128 

When teachers fail to keep lists, etc., 133 

When trustee fails to pay over balance in his hands, 150 

Moneys uncollected by collector, 198 

Under library regulations, 207 

Suits for, by whom to be prosecuted, 50, 234 



Special school act, , 528 

Flags, A. C. 
Secretary of State and Superintendent Common Schools, 2 

Flushing. 

Special school act, district No. 3, . 528 

Special school act, district No. 5, 529 

Special school act, district No. 7, 531 

Formation and Alteration op School Districts. 

School commissioners, full power as to, 22, 75 

Supervisor, when to act in, 69 

Town clerk, when to act in, 73 

Forms and instructions, 75-84 

Order, when trustees do not consent, 84 

Order, when trustees dissent, 84-86 

Formation and Alteration op Districts. 

\_These references are to the Digest.'] 
A conditional consent to the alteration of a district cannot be given. The trustees must 

either give or withhold their consent. They can annex no conditions, 308 

Small and weak districts ought not to be formed, 308 

How long a district established on appeal may remain unchanged, 309 

The dissolution or annulling of a district is not an alteration, 309 

A STipervisor and town clerk cannot act in the formation or alteration of a school district 

without the presence of the town superintendent (school commissioner), 309 



Index. 691 

A school diptrlct cannot be formed ont of the central portion of another dictrict, leaving 
tho territory of the latter disconnected, 309 

It is the settled policv of the Department of Public Instruction to favor the conBolida- 
tion of weak and inefficient districts, 310 

Where intiabitantB have been properly eet off from one district to another, and the town 
clerk has omitted to record the order, they will be regarded as iiihabitants of the 
district to which they have been annexed after it has been acquiesced in for five 



years. 



310 



An order, issued by a commissioner, altering a district, which does not recite the con- 
sent or refusal of the trustees of the affected district, is absolutely void, ad inifio, . . . 310 

Town superintendents (school commissioners) should always give notice to the trus- 
tees of their intention to consider any proposed alteration of their district, so that 
they may have an opportunity of associating with them the siipervisor and town 
clerk, 310 

The statute authorizes the association of the town clerk and supervisor with the town 
superintendent (school commissioner), upon the application of the trustees of any 
district to be affected by their action 311 

Tf only one trustee make such application, such board does not obtain jurisdiction 
of the subject-matter; the application of a majority of all of such trustees is 
necessary, 311 

Town superintendents (school commissioners) have no authority to alter the boundaries 
of a school district, if the same have been established by this department upon 
appeal, until after the lapse of three years from the time they were so established, 
without express permission of the State Superintendent, 312 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction will reverse an order of a town superintend- 
ent (school commissioner) annexing one district to another, where the inhabitants 
of either are opposed to the union, and have sufficient means for the support of a 
school, it being an abuse of his discretion, 313 

Trustees cannot give notice for themselves, and receive it for the district as trustees, of 
an application to be set off to another district, and assent to being set off in their 
official capacity. They cannot act in a two-fold capacity 313 

The town clerk and supervisor have no power to revievv an order to alter a school 
district, 313 

A commissioner having made an order altering a district, and the trustees dissenting, 
and asking the town clerk and supervisor to be associated with the commissioner, 
in a review of the case two adjournments were had, and the commissioner made an 
order confirming his first order, without waiting for the second meeting : held, that 
his order was void 314 

A commissioner having fixed the date when an order for the alteration of a district 
shall take effect, cannot, by a subsequent order, extend the time, 315 

A commissioner cannot appoint a day for hearing objections to an order for the alter- 
ation of a district subsequent to the date fixed for it to take effect. A confirmatory- 
order made on such subsequent day is void, 316 

A school commissioner has no power to declare illegal a meeting held to decide upon 
the formation of a union free school district, and to authorize another meeting, 317 

A district is not annulled unless all its parts are annexed to adjoining districts, so that 
nothing of the original district remains, 318 

Unless the commissioner's order for the alteration of a district recites the refusal or 
consent of the trustees, it is null and void 318 

It is only after a school commissioner has granted an order for the alteration of a school 
district, that the supervisor and town clerk can be associated with him to review 
his proceedings 318 

A school commissioner has no jurisdiction to alter a school district until the trustees 
thereof have been asked and have given or refused to give their consent, 319 

The order for the formation of a district must contain a recital of such consent or 
refusal, 319 

A district cannot be compelled to rebuild where school-house has been destroyed ; but, 
where it for a long time refuses to do so, may be annulled and attached to others 
adjoining 319 

School commissioners not to form new districts until boundaries are defined by inhabit- 
ants, 319 

School commissioners may, at any time, amend the records of district boundaries, 319 

Commissioners only have power to form and alter school districts 319 

Boards of supervisors have no power to alter school commissioner districts, 320 

Apportionment of property of dissolved district, 320 

Districts, how consolidated or annulled, 320 

Annulment of a district rests with school commissioner, 320 

The personal convenience of one or two inhabitants will not be permitted to control in 
the alteration of districts, where such alteration would detach property from a weak 
district and attach it to one much stronger, 320 

Where an order for the alteration of a district is alleged to have been made, but no such 
order is found to be recorded by the town clerk, other evidence in proof of the fact 
of such order being made will be received, 320 

A school commissioner has no power to adjudicate upon the validity of an order made 
by his predecessor, 320 



692 Index. 

PAGE. 

The department will not sanction the setting off of a person from a weak district to a 
strong one, on account of a difficulty which he may have in the district where he 
resides,. ■ 321 

An alteration of a school district, lying partly in the districts of two commissioners, 
cannot he effected without the joint action of the commissioners. Consent of 
trustees to an alteration of district should recite the fact of a meeting and consulta- 
tion, 321 

Where a new district has been erected to settle a controversy, the inhabitants of such 
district protesting that they were able to maintain a school, it should not subse- 
quently be enlarged at the expense of surrounding districts, 321 

Local boards for the alteration of distilcxs caimot act npon districts lying outside their 
own town, 321 

A commissioner has no power to divide a union free school district, 322 

The department will not set aside a consolidation proper in itself, because of the exist- 
ence of new elements of opposition that have arisen since the consolidation wae 
effected 322 

The supervLeor and town clerk cannot act with the commissioner in altering the bound- 
aries of districts unless so requested, 322 

The consent of trustees to an alteration of their district requires a meeting, and the 
fact of a meeting should be set forth in the written consent given, 322 

Order altering district boundaries will be set aside when the new boundaries are not 
defined by other lines than farms described by the names of the occupants, 323 

An order, denning the boundaries of a district, not intended as an alteration, and made 
under an evident or pro])able misapprehension of facts, will be vacated, 328 

Where it is proved that notice of an alteration has not been given, and the same has 
not been recognized or acted upon, the order for such alteration will be vacated, 323 

Commissioner justified in offering the alternative to a district, to build a new school- 
house or be annulled, 324 

Absence of the record of the formation of a district is not material when such formation' 
is otherwise conclusively established 324 

An order consolidating districts will not be set aside on the ground that the inhabitants 
of one of the districts are nearly unanimously opposed to it, 324 

AVhere certain duties are required of public officers, their performance will be presumed, 
tinless tho contrary is shown, 325 

Where the trustees have given their consent to an order annulling a district, there is 
nothing in the proceedings which can be stayed by an appeal, 325 

Where an order has once been made by a town superintendent annulling a certain 
school district, which said order has never been enforced, though duly rect-rded, it 
may be enforced upon the demand of competent authority, 325 

Where the presumption is in favor of the regularity of proceedings in the alteration of 
district boundaries, the order making such alterations will be sustained, 326 

Where trustees were misinformed as to the extent of the powers of town officers in a 
proceeding for the alteration of the boundaries of a school district, and, consequently, 
neglected to exercise those poM-ers, the order of the commissioner in the proceed- 
ing will be set aside, 326 

Where a contract has been made, under authority of the district, to build a school-house, 
and a subsequent meeting votes to change and build on a new site, directing the 
trustees to pay any damages claimed by the contractor on accoitnt of the change in 
location, such action confers dangerous powers on the trustees, and is, therefore, 
unlawful 326 

Regularity of notice to trustees of intention to define boundaries of district. Power of 
"arbitrators over alterations of districts 327 

An order for the alteration of a school district, made by a board of local officers^ con- 
vened for that purpose, should be signed by a majority of such board. Otherwise it 
is irregular upon its face, not showing jurisdiction, 327 

Individual opposition to a measure of public utility should be duly considered, but 
should be allowed to have weight only as it has a substantial foundation in reason 
and justice, 327 

When order for alteration takes effect, 440 

Fort Covinoton. 
Special school act, 533 

Fkee School Ftxnd. 
Defined, 44 

Fredonia. 
Normal school at, 288 

Fuel. 
When trustees may provide, 146 



Index. 693 

G. 

Geddes. 

PAGE. 

Special school act, 511 

General School Laws. 

Titles of all acts 461-466 

Geneseo. 

Normal school at, 286 

Glens Falls. 

Special school act, 534 

Gospel and School Lots. 

Supervisors, trustees of, 64 

Eeport of funds, lots and income, 49 

Income, how invested and expended, 65 

Titles of all acts concerning, 466-470 

H. 

Hawlet, Gideon. 
Appointed Superintendent of Common Schools, 1 

Hamilton. 
Special school act, 534 

Hempstead. 
Special school act, 536 

Holidays. 
Included in school year, 44 

Holmes, Samuel L.] 
Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

HOOSICK. 

Special school act, 537 

Hudson. 
Special school act, 537 

Huntington. 
Special school act, 530 

I. 

Idle and Truant Children. 
Act to provide for care of, 264 

Indian Schools. 

Equitable sum to be set apart for, 43 

Appropriation for, 238 

Under charq e of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 4 

Titles of school acts relating to, 471 

Insurance. 

Of district school-houses, 136 

Of library,...: 136 

Money for, how raised, 140 

Installments. 
When tax may be voted by, 121 



694 Index. 

ISLIF. 

PAOB. 

Special school act, ". 540 

Ithaca. 
Special school act 541 

J. 

Jamaica. 
Special school act, 542 

Johnson, A. G. 
Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

Johnson, H. W. 
Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

Joint District. 

Must bear same number in each commissioner's district, 75 

Formation of, 75, 88 

Disgolution of, 89 

Definition of, 75, 78 

Keports of trustees, how made, 165 

K. 

Keyes, E. W. 
Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2, 3 

Kings County. 
Excise moneys, how expended, 261 

Kingston. 
Special school act, 644 

L. 

Lancaster Schools. 
Act to incorporate, 462 

Land, Ownership op 

How it affects population and education, 251 

What is property inland, j^^ 

Set apart for gospel and schools, *67 

Lansingbubgh. 
Special school act, ^47 

Leavenworth, E. W. 
Secretary of State and Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

Levy. 

What property subject to, • 102, 191 

Sale under, notice of, *^^ 

Libbabian. 

Duties of, JJJ 

Regulations for library, • ^ 

Cannot be trustee, '■ ^'*'* 



Apportionment of moneys for. 
Trustee may insure, 



Libraries. 

43 



Index. 695 



When library money amounts to less than $3 it may be applied to payment of teachers' 

wages, 137, 14G, 202 

Tax and State moneys for, 104, 199 

Trustees to have custody of, 202 

Trustees liable for books lost or injured, , 203 

Of two districts may be united, 203 

Rules respecting, 205 

Penalty for neglect of, by trustees, 203 

Selection of books, 200 

When library money may be applied to purchase of apparatus, 201 

Insurance money and fines, how applied, 203 

District libraries may be united, 203 

Library moneys, 45 

Library moneys, how apportioned, 56-61 

Applied to the purchase of books, 200 

LlBRAKT. 

[These references are to the Digest. 1 

That part of the district library purchased with money raised by tax upon the district 

may be sold, 328 

Trustees may exchange old library books for new ones, 328 

In regard to exchanging library books, 328 

A part of a district set off to another is not entitled to a share of the library, 328 

District librarian is, by law, entitled to no compensation for his services, 328 

That part of district library which was purchased by a tax on property of district 
belongs to district, and may be disposed of by its voters, as they shall direct. But 
that part bought with public money belongs to the State, and the district cannot 

Bell it, 328 

Trustees have title of, .446 

License to Teach. 

Examination for, 16, 23 

Annulment of, 16, 23 

List of School Acts. 
Titles of all school acts, • 454 

Liter attjre Fund. 
Act to increase in order to promote the education of teachers 463 

Little Palls and Manheim. 
Special school act, 548 

Lockport. 
Special school act, 548 

Lyons. 
Special school act, 554 

Ltsander and Van Buren. 
Special Bchool act, 558 

M. 

Malonb. 
Special school act, 561 

Manheim. 
Special school act, , 548 

Medina. 
Special school act, 553 

Meetings, School District. 

Notice of, and form of notice m new district, 92 

When commissioner may call, ...*."'.*.,"..'.......'... 95 

Special, how called, . . .".....'...".'.....'.".... 96 

Annual, when to be held, and manner of proceeding wlien* not held, .'.............'. 97 

Duty of inhabitants to attend, 7 .' 98 

Qualification of voters at, ................". 98 



696 Index, 

PAGE. 

Challenge of voters at, 102 

Illegal voting at, 103 

Powers of inhabitants at, ' 104 

After school-house is condemned, 23 

General powers discussed, 105 

Organization of meetings, 107 

Adjournment, 107 

Election of district officers, 108 

Must fix amount of collector's bond, 104, 109 

Designate site of school-house, 104, 110 

Disturbance of meetings, 234 

Notice, in new district, how served, 94 

Penalty for refusing to serve notice, , 95 

Not illegal for want of due notice 96 

Power to alter or repeal proceedings 119 

Sale of site, 123 

Election and eligibility of officers, 125 

Having resolved to have sole trustee, cannot reverse the order, 126 

May accept resignations of district officers 128 

Collector's bail to be fixed at annual meeting 193 

To organize union free schools, .... 211 

Meetings. 
[These references are to the Digest.'] 

Verbal notice to clerk to call a district meeting is stifficient. A trustee who attend? 
cannot object that he did not authorize the call 328 

Notice of meetings should specify the objects for which they are called; but omission 
is not fatal. An aggrieved party may appeal, 328 

A notice given by the district clerk for a meeting is legal, though the directions of the 
trustees to the clerk to give such notice were verbal, 329 

The clerk of a district has no power to authorize any person to give notices for a district, 
or to do any other act 329 

Where there is a deliberate omission to notify any taxable inhabitant of a special dis- 
trict meeting, at which a tax is voted to change site and build a new school-house, 
this department will hold the tax list inoperative as to those so omitted to be notified, 329 

When the inhabitants of a school district, at their annual meeting, elect trustees, their 
proceedings will be held legal, although such election is made by a small minority 
of the inhabitants 330 

It is the duty of the trustees, when requested by a respectable number of the taxable 
inhabitants of their district, to call a special meeting for the transaction of any 
legal and proper business which such petitioners may desire to bring before it, . 331 

Where an adjournment of a special district meeting is had for a period of more than 
one mouth, notice of the object of such adjourned special meeting is necessary, . . . 331 

Notice of the object of an annual meeting is not required by law. Every inhabitant is 
presumed to know that any business affecting the interest of the district may be 
transacted without special notice thereof. 331 

Trustees have no power to set aside or invalidate the proceedings of a district meeting 
upon the assumption that they were illegal, 332 

Though illegal votes are cast at such meeting, the trustees cannot set aside the proceed- 
ings. The remedy is by appeal, 332 

The inhabitants of a district have no power to dissolve or annul the district 333 

It is not in the power of a district meeting to control the trustees in the exercise of their 
duty of prosecuting delinquent predecessors for not rendering an annual account, or 
for not paying o^er a balance of money remaining in their hands. A resolution 
attempting to limit their power in this respect is void, 333 

An estimate of expenditures must be submitted to vote, item by item 333 

An item " for sexton, $50 " held to be illegal, being for an officer and purpose unknown 
to the law 333 

Proceedings of district meeting set aside on account of fraud 334 

Absence from a school meeting, because it was supposed the business of electing a trus- 
tee was of minor importance, will not justify setting aaide the proceedings of such 
meeting in voting a tax 334 

The department will not interfere in a case in which an order of the department could 
have no effect to change the condition of things already established, and will not, 
therefore, interfere 334 

A custom of delaying the organization of school meetings for one or two hours after the 
regular time has no sanction in good usage, 335 

The department will not require trustees to call a special meeting to rescind proceedings 
of an annual meeting, on the ground that the appellants were not present at such, 
annual meetini^, 335 

The proceedings of an annual meeting, organized within half an hour after the time for 
the m<^eting, will not be set aside 336 

Proceedings of an annual meeting where only two persons were present set aside, 336 

The election of a trustee will be set aside when opportunity for a fair expression of the 
voters was not given, whereby the result was uncertain, 336 



Index. 697 

PAGE. 

A meeting of three pcroons, at which it is votod to build a new school-house and levy a 
tax therefor, set aside, 836 

It does not follow of course that a petition to the trustees for a special meeting, how- 
ever numerously signed, is to be granted 337 

Clerk cannot refuse to give notice of a meeting ordered by a majority of trustees, upon 
the ground of protest or refusal of third trustee, 337 

A special meeting will not be ordered to act upon questions that have been deliberated 
and acted upon at successive meetings, 337 

A district meeting is not bound by strict parliamentary rules ; it makes its own, 338 

An annual meeting, not adjourned to any particular time, called by the clerk at six 
o'clock, and organizing and transacting business before seven, is void 338 

A motion to adjourn while another question is pendiuir, and a ballot being taken on it, 
cannot be entertained ; and an adjournment thus effected is void 338 

Proceedings set aside for uncertainty, Avhere, on a vote by ballot, more ballots were 
deposited than there were voters present, 339 

The proceedings of a district meeting will not be set aside because the said meeting 
was organized soon after the hour appointed, when but few of the inhabitants were 
present, 339 

A special meeting for the purpose of directing the application of the public money will 
not be ordered after the trustees have made their arrangements for a school upon 
proper basis of division tixed by themselves, 339 

Trustees will not be directed to call a special meeting to take action upon questions 
which have passed bej'ond the jurisdiction of the inhabitants, 340 

An annual meeting held on the second Tuesday of October, though without notice, is 
legal, that being the day now prescribed by law, 340 

The proceedings of a meeting will not be set a'side because of neglect to administer the 
prescribed form of declaration to persons challenged, when it is shown that such 
persons were in fact legal voters at such meeting 340 

Where three trustees are chosen in a district, and their terms of office are designated 
by lot instead of by vote, as the law directs, the election will be declared void for 
uncertainty, 340 

The department will not set aside the proceedings of a meeting to which a majority of 
the inhabitants of the district are opposed, because such majority, though having 
due notice, neglected to attend the meeting 340 

The proceedings of a school meeting, held at the unusual hour of half past seven 
o'clock in the morning, will be set aside unless there are peculiar conditions in the 
district to justify the call of a meeting at tliat hour, 341 

Where a meeting is called by a single trustee, the others having vacated their offices, 
the call i.s legal, even though it maj" subsequently appear that the trustee was not 
legally elected 341 

Trustees do not exceed their just discretionary powers in refusing to call a meeting to 
reconsider the action of a previous meeting, when the number of voters signing a 
remonstrance against such meeting is greater than the number of those petitioning 
for it 341 

Where the clerk is unable to serve the notices of a special meeting on account of illness, 
the trustees may depute any inhabitant of the district to serve them, 341 

Where the clerk names a wrong hour in his notice of an annual meeting, and part of the 
inhabitants assemble at that hour and transact business, and part assemble at the 
hour of adjournment, and also transact business, both meetings may be set aside, 
and a new one ordered, 342 

Tnistees will not be ordered to call a special meeting upon the application of a respect- 
able number of inhabitants, where successive meetings for the same purpose have 
been called and held, 342 

Under certain circumstances a district meeting may rescind a vote of a previous meet- 
ing, levying a tax, though a portion of that tax be collected at the time of such 
rescinding, 342 

The proceedings of a meeting locating a site, in accordance with an award of arbitra- 
tors, to whom contending parties in a district had agreed to refer their differences, 
will be sustained, 343 

The Superintendent will set aside the proceedings of a meeting voting an exorbitant 
sum to pay in advance the rent of a school-house site for a number of years, 343 

A meeting, called by two trustees without consulting the third, will not be set aside 
when the third trustee attended the meeting and participated in the proceedings,.. 344 

Persons elected at a meeting out of a district aire officers de facto 440 

Notice of annual meeting 440 

Notice of special meeting, 440 

MiDDLETOWN. 

Special school act, 567 

MfLTON AND BALLSTON. 

Special school act, 569 

Minister. 
Exemption of, 172, 177 

88 



698 Index. 

Mentz. 

PAGE. 

Special school act, 585 

Metropolitan Excise Distbict. 
Moneys, how expended in Kinga Queene and Richmond counties 261 

Misdemeanor. 
Defined, 52 

MiTCHTLL, Samuel L. 

President of deaf and dumb institute, assents to visitation of Superintendent Common 
Schools, 6 

Moneys. 
See State school moneys 

Morgan, Christopher 
Secretary of Stat© and Superintendent Common Schools, 2 

MORRISANIA. 

Special school act, 669 

Morris viLLE. 
Special school act, 572 

Mount Morris. 
Special school act, 572 



National Guard. 
Certain persons exempt from taxation 174 

Neighborhoods. 

Apportionment to . 4B 

FoiTtiation and dissolution of, 75 

Annual meetings in, 97 

Powers of meetings in, 104 

Clerk of, , 129 

To report to commissionere, 104 

Number of, 46 

Newbubgh. 
Special school act, 577 

New Rochelle. 
Special school act 680 

Newtown. 
Special school act, 582 

New Utrecht. 
Special school act, 684 

New York Citt. 

Special school act, 585 

Titles of acts relating to schools, 477 

Non-residents. 

Certain debts of, taxable 170-174 

Lands of, how assessed, 176 

Non-resident Land. 
How taxable, •• 186 



Index. 699 

Normal Schools. 

PAGE. 

"Where located 4,260-291 

Diplomas to he certificates of teachers, 132 

Diplomas may be annulled by Superintendent, 16 

Diplomas may be annulled by school commissioner, 23 

Superintendent to keep lists of diplomas, 16 

Albany normal school, 2B6, 268 

Os we,i?o normal school 269-271 

Potsdam normal school, 275-282 

Brockport normal school, 282-285 

Geneseo normal school, 286-288 

Fredonia normal school, 288 

Cortland normal school, ... 289 

Brooklyn normal school. 679 

Buffalo normal school, 291 

General law for establishment of, 272 

Notices. 

How served by district clerk, 130 

Of special meetings, 137 

Of completion of tax list, . 181 

Of Bale of property after levy, 195 



o. 

Oath. 

Of peri3on challenged, 102 

Of teacher verifying list of attendance 148 

Office. 
Acceptance of, 126 

Officers. 

[These references are to the Digest.] 

Neglect to serve, 445 

Neglect to account, 445 

Costs against 446 

Official character, how established, 447 

How far protected by their ministerial character, 447 

Implied power to sue, 448 

Implied liability to be sued, 449 

Officers. [See U lection of.] 

Ogdensburgh. 

Special school act, 596 

Onondaga. 
Special school act, - 600 

Orangetown. 
Special school act, 602 

Orphan Astltjm Societies. 
Right to share in public moneys, 447 

Orphan Asylums. 
Education of children in, 262 

Oswego. 

Normal school at, 269 

Special school act, 605 

Overseers op Poor. 

Certificates for deaf and dumb and blind, 10, 12 

Moneys formerly in the hands of, 66 



100 Index. 

OWEQO. 

PAGE. 

Special school act, 608 

Otster Bay. 

Special school act, district No. 4, 611 

Special school act, district No. 5, !! 611 

P. 

PAiMTRA. 

Special school act, 613 

Penalties. [See Fines and Penalties.'] 

Penn Yan. 
Special school act, 615 

Phelps. 
Special school act, 619 

PiTTSTOWN. 

Special school act, 619 

Plattsbitrgh. 
Special school act, 620 

POMFRET. 

Special school act, 621 

PotTGHKEEPSIE. 

Special school act, 624 

Poor, Overseers op 

Moneys in hands of, 66 

Titles of acts relating to, 481 

Population. 
Apportionment according to, 45 

Potsdam. 
Normal school at, 275 

Property. 
[These references are to the Digest.] 

Where property in the possession of public officers has been stolen or destroyed by fire, 
without negligence on their part, they are not bound to make good the loss, 344 

SuperviBor should take charge of all projperty bequeathed to a town for the benefit of 
common schools, when no other person is specified. He should communicate the 
fact of his doing so to Superintendent of Public Instruction 344 

Statute provides for a sale of property only "when a district is annulled, and portions 
thereof are annexed to other districts," 344 

The property of a district is to be sold "when a district is annulled, and portions there- 
of are annexed to other districts," and there is no provision for sale unless these 
conditions are fulfilled, 345 

Property. 

Of consolidated districts, 89 

Of annulled and dissolved districts, 90, 91 

Taxable property, how ascertained, 178 

Personal property, how ascertained, 179 

Public Money. 
[These references are to the Digest.] 
Public money cannot be paid for wa^^es of a past year. In other words, public money 
apportioned for any year must be expended for services performed within that 
year, 345 



Index. 701 

PAGB. 

The county treasurer is bound to pay over to each town all the school money appor- 
tioned to it and received by him from the State treasury. He cannot retain a per- 
centatre for receiving and disbursing, out of the money in his hands. Whatever 
claim he has is a charge against the county, 345 

When the district has given ^no direction, and the trustees have already appropriated 
the public money to a particular term of school, the district has no further control 
over the disposition of it. In the absence of any specific directions by the district, 
the trustees can apply the money as they may deem best for the interests of the 
schools, 345 

The wages of a teacher employed for the winter term may be paid from the school 
money to be received the next spring, 345 

In the absence of any specific directions by the district, the trustees may apply the 
public money to the summer and winter terms of a school in such proportions as 
they may deem just 345 

Town superintendents (supervisors) can pay over public money only upon the written 
order of the trustees, or a majority of tiiem, to the teacher entitled to receive the 
same 345 

The public money apportioned for one year cannot be applied to the payment of teach- 
ers" wages of a previous 5'^ear, except when a term embraces a portion of two years, 
in which case the public money of either year mav be applied indiscriminately to 
that term ". , 346 

The illegality or irregularity of the election of trustees is no excuse for a town superin- 
tendent "(supervisor) for refusing to pay over the public money, upon the order of 
such trustees. He must be governed by the report of these officers, made in con- 
formity to law 346 

Trustees, in the absence of express directions from the district, may, in their discre- 
tion, apply the public money for the support of schools as they may deem proper: 
but when they apply more than two-thirds thereof for the support of the winter 
school, the Superintendent of Public Instruction will interfere, 346 

The statute directing town superintendents (supervisors) to pay out public money only 
to qualified teachers, duly employed, upon the order of the trustees employing them, 
was enacted for the purpose of preventing embezzlement by trustees, and, if they 
pay the public money to a trustee or other person than the teacher, without his 
order, they do it at their peril, 347 

Authority of the district to interfere with the action of the trustees in dividing the 
public money, 347 

In the apportionment of public money, trustees should be governed by the wishes of 
the district ; therefore, when the inhabitants, at a district meeting, adopt a resolu- 
tion in reference to the apportionment of the ptiblic money which was not, by its 
terms, restricted to one year, the trustees should regard it as'continuous in its opera- 
tion, 348 

Public Monet. {See State school moneys.) 

Trustees to divide when authorized, 137 

Cannot be paid to unqualified teacher, 133 

How paid to teachers, 144, 197 

Pupils. 

Age of those entitled to attend common schools, 131 

Indian and non-resident , 131, 132 

Pulaski. 
Special school act, 628 

Q. • 

Qualifications . 

District officers, 125 

Teachers, 132 

Of voters, 98 

Queens Countt. 
Excise money how expended 261 

Quota. 
District quotas 44 

R. 

Railroads. 
How assessed, 178 



162 Index. 

Eandall, H. S. 

PAGB. 

Secretary of State and Superintendent of Common Schools, a 

Randall, S. S. 
Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

Rate bills. 

Abolished, 240 

Money raised by, for fifty-five years, 240 

Relationship. 
Prohibited degrees for teachers, 142 

Religious Meetings. 
[These references are to the Digest.] 

Use of school-house for religious meetings considered 348 

An application to close the school-house against religious meetings -must show some 

injury resulting from such use 348 

School-house may, under certain circumstances, be used for religous meetings, lec- 
tures, etc 348 

Trustees cannot, under any circumstances, be required to open the school-house for 

religious meetings, 349 

Trustees will not be ordered to open the school-house for religious meetings, 349 

Religious exercises are not a part of district school exercises, and, therefore, no por- . 
tion of the regular school hours is to be consumed in conducting them, 349 

Removal of School Officers. 

By Superintendent, 16 

Of officers of union free school districts, 224 

By the board of education, 220 

Rents. 
What and how taxable, 170, 174 

Repairs. 

[TTiese references are to the Digest.'] 

Repairs in the way of removing a desk and substituting a table approved as necessary, 350 

Where a district has voted to make certain repairs to the school-house at a certain 
expense, and these repairs have been made under the direction of one trustee, the 
other trustees will be required to unite in making out a tax and warrant for the 
expenses thu>' incurred, to the amount voted, ._ 350 

Trustees may make any repairs on school-house, pursuant to the direction of school 
commissioner, 350 

Tax for, may be postponed until repairs are made, 441 

Repairs. 

May be ordered by commissioners, 22 

What may be made by trustee without vote of inhabitants, 146 

Repeal. 

Of act of 1856. concerning the distribution of books, 211 

General repealing section, 239 

Reports. 

By State Superintendent, 15 

By school commissioners, 39 

By trustees, to district meeting, 150 

By trustees to school commissioner, 151 

False, penalty for 152 

By collector," 197 

By board of education of union free school districts, 223 

By trustees as to libraries, 210 

Residence. 

What constitutes 98 

Of district officers, 125 



Index. '703 



RmSIDENCE — NON-RBSIDENT PtTTILB. 

[These references are to the Digest.] 

PAGE. 

An inhabitant cannot gain a residence in another district b}-^ taking a portion of his 
family with himself thereto, so as tc send his children to school therein, 351 

A resident of a district is not responsible for the tuition of a non-resident pnpil who 
eimply boards with the former unless the trustees notify him at the commencement 
of the school that he will be held responsible for the tuition, 351 

It is illegal for trustees to enumerate children in their districts between the ages of five 
and sixteen, unless they compose a part of the family of their parents or guardians or 
employers, if such parents or guardians or employers reside at the time in such district, 351 

Children of temporary residents are to be enumerated in the annual reports of trustees, 352 

When an inhabitant moves from one school district into another for the purpose of avoid- 
ing an enumeration of his children in the former district, and immediately after the 
enumeration moves back, the town superintendent (school commissioner) should 
apportion the money drawn on account of his children to the former district 352 

The power to admit to the district schools non-resident pupils is vested by statute in the 
trustees exclusively, 353 

What constitutes residence, 353 

Trustees have the authority to exclude non-resident pupils from the district school,.. .. 353 

Where children whose home has been broken up are brought to the residence of a 
grandfather to find care and protection, for an indefinite period, they become resi- 
dents of the district in which such grandparent lives, 353 

Children attending an academy or boarding-school are to be enumerated by the trustees 
for the purpose of drawing public money only where their parents are actually resi- 
dents of the district in which such academy or boarding-school is situated, 353 

Where a child goes into a district to get employment, and not for the purpose expressly 
of attending the school, he is a resident of such district, and entitled to a portion of 
the public money apportioned to district, a,s also to share in the privileges of the 
school, 353 

Question of residence suflScient to entitle a pupil to the privileges of the school, consid- 
ered, 353 

The question of residence to entitle a pupil to the privileges of school to be liberally 
construed in favor of the pupil, 354 

Facts which prove residence in opposition to the affidavit of the party, 354 

Adults may be admitted to school on the same terms as non-residents, 354 

A meeting will not be ordered to enable the inhabitants to take action upon the ques- 
tion of admission to the school of non-resident pupils, 355 

What constitutes residence, 449 

Resignations. 

Of school commissioner, 20 

Of district school officers, 128 

Rice, Victor M. 
Superintendent of Public Instruction 2 

Richmond County. 
Excise moneys, how expended, 261 

Rochester. 
Special school act, 628 

Roue. 
Special school act, 631 



Sag Harbor. 
Special school act, 631 

Salaries. 

Of State Superintendent, 3 

Of school commissioner, *'." 20 

Of school commissioner, how paid, ' * 4,3 

Salem. 
Special school act 633 



704 Index. 

Salina. 

PAGE. 

Special school act 637 

Saratoga Springs, 

Special echool act, 638 

Savings Banks. 

Taxable for schools, 258 

Schenectady. 

Special school act, 640 

School Commissioner Districts. 

List of, 490 

School Commissioners. 
[These references are to the Digest.'] 

There is no law requiring a school commissioner to he a resident of the district which 

elects him, 303 

Commissioners cannot declare void proceedings of their predecessors, though they may 

annul or rescind them, 303 

Superintendent must have evidence of the appointment of a school commissioner before 

he can receive his salary, • 303 

School Commissioners. 

General powers and duties, 18 

When to'apportion State school moneys, 54 

To certify to State Superintendent and to supervisors, 55 

Duties in regard to the formation, alteration and dissolution of school districts, . .. 22, 75 

To appoint time for holding first meeting in new district, 92 

When authorized to call special district meetings, 95 

Cannot be trustees of school districts, 125 

Districts, how formed, 18 

How elected 18 

Term of otRce, 19 

Oath of office 19 

Office, how vacated, 20 

Vacancy, how filled and for what time, 20 

Salary of, and how paid ' 20 

Salary, when to be withheld, 21 

When to serve in another district, - 21 

Forbidden to act as book agents, 21 

Penalty for acting as book agent, 21 

How to apportion school moneys, 54 

Unexpended moneys in county treasurj-, 54 

Statement of fines and penalties, 54 

Apportionment to neighborhoods 54 

Apportionment on average attendance, 54 

Certificates of apportionment, to whom sent, 54 

Proceedings, when trustees dissent from order altering a school district, 84-88 

Joint districts, how formed, 88 

Joint districts, how altered 89 

Order to dispose of books, records, et c. , of dissolved districts, 92 

To approve tax for school-house above $1000, 121 

Powers as to joint libraries, 203 

Duties in regard to teachers' institutes, 225 

To visit and examine schools 22 

To Older the repair of school-houses 22 

To order the abatement of nuisances, 22 

To condemn school-houses unfit for use, 22 

To examine teachers, 23 

May annul certificates and diplomas, 23 

Examination of schools, 25 

Advising and consulting with school officers, 25 

Visitation of schools 24 

Proper studies, 26 

Discipline and conduct of schools, 26 

Course of instruction in schools, 27 

Books of elementaiy instruction, 27 

School-houses and grounds, 28 



Index. 705 

PAGE. 

The exnmination of teachers 28 

Certificates for teachers, forms of, — 32 

Kc-examination of teachers, 34 

Procedure on charges agaiust teachers, 35 

May administer oaths, 38 

May rake testimon J' on appeals, 38 

SubJL'Ct to rules of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 39 

Reports, when to be made, 3'^ 

Salaries, how paid, 43 

School-Houses. 

Care and custody of, 139, 148 

Use of, for purposes other than schools,. 148 

Who exempt from tax to build. 18(i 

Condemned by school commissioner and supervisor, 22 

General provisions regarding, l')4 

Sale of, 123 

Trustees may insure when authorized, 104 

May be used for certain purposes, 148 

School-house site bill 243 

Repairs ordered by school commissioners, 22 

Nuisances abated, • 22 

Must not stand on town lines 121 

Tax exceeding $1000,. 121 

Tax by installments, 121 

Schools and School-Houses. 
[These references are to the Digest. 1 

School may be opened with prayers, provided that it be done before school hours, and 
that there be no compulsion to enforce attendance, 355 

Trustees have the power, when in their discretion circumstunces require it, to estab- 
lish temporary branch schools in a district, and employ a teacher, without any vote 
of the district, and a due proportion of the public money should be applied to the 
payment oC such teacher, 356 

Trustees will be directed to establish a branch school in a remote part of the district, 
where there are pupils enough to support a respectable school, and where the 
school-house is inaccessible some part of the year, 35fi 

Action of trustee in establishin;j a branch school sustained , 357 

Discretion of a trustee in establishing branch school overruled, 357 

Trustees will be restrained from establishing a branch school when there is clearly no 
necessity for one 357 

Trustees under certain circumstances, will be sustained in having the school at other 
place than the school-house, '. 358 

A stove and pipe are necessary appendages to a school-house, and proper objects for 
the levying of a district tax, 358 

A school-house belongs to the district, but trustees have the legal control of it, and 
must not permit it to be used for purposes which interferf' with school. Bj^ general 
consent, they may allow meetings of an unobjectionable character to be held in it,. 358 

Where a school-house is shown to be wholly unfit for school purposes, the trustees will 
be sustained in directing the school to be taught in another place 359 

It is not a sufficient excuse for not opening a school that the school-house is unfit for 
use ; trustees are bound to put the house in the best condition in their power and 
open a school therein 359 

Trustees have no right to sell the old school-house when a new one has been built, 
without speci il authority from the district 359 

A new building erected for a district must be accepted by the trustees before it can be 
regarded as the lejial school-house of a district 359 

When a district has two school-hou-es, the trustees may call the annual meeting to 
assemble at either of them, unless one of them has been designated at a previous 
annual meeting as the place of assemblage, 359 

Where there is no" school-hou^e in the district, and the trustees have hired a house for 
school purposes, the district is bound to pay the rent whether a school is taught or 
nor.. ..T 362 

Where a te:icher is employed who has no license, the school thus taught becomes a pri- 
vate school 362 

Th'.> district is not bound to psy for fuel used in such school, 362 

Private school builning not exempt from taxation, 449 

SCH00L3, Common 

Free to all persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years, 131 

Colored, . ' " 004 

St^it'i tax for support of, '. . ..' 240-241 

First common school act, 4GI 

Evening schools, '. .. ,..".....,'.., 43 

89 



706 IXDEX. 

PASS. 

Exclusion from, causes for, 131 

Lancastrian school act, 402 

School Fund. 
Titles of acts relating to, . , 484 

School Ofpicebs. 

When and how removable, 16 

Eegisters, blanks forms etc., for their use, 18 

School Tax. {Sec Tax.) 

Amount of, and how raised, 41 

How paid out 41 

Towns may raise, 681 

School Yeak. 
What constitutes, ^ 44 

SCHROEPPEL. 

Special school act, 644 

Seneca. 
Special school act, , 647 

Seneca Falls, 
Special school act. 648 

Sing Sino. 

Special school act, 651 

Sites. 

Designation of, by district meeting, 104,110 

Title, how may be acquired, 110 

Tax for, and purchase of, 104,113 

Tax for enlargement of site, . 119 

When may be changed, , 122 

Sale of site and buildings, 123 

Moneys from sale of, how applied, 124 

How acquired by appraisal, 243 

Sites. 

[These references are to t/ie Digest.] 

A school district cannot delegate the power to select a school-house site. A designa- 
tion should be specific as to location and size, 362 

The cnere act of voting to select a particular piece of land upon which to erect a school- 
house does not establish the site. It must be followed by an actual leasing or 
purchase, 363 

In designating a site for a school-house, the description should be by metes and bounds, 
and the quantity of land should be stated, that every inhabitant of the district may 
be able to vote intelligently 364 

A district may purchase a site by a majority vote. It is ditferent from changing a site, . 364 

The occupancy of a school-house sufficient notice to purchaser of land, 364 

When the trustees have contracted to locate the school-house on any particular place 
upon the site, in the absence of any instructions from the district, this department 
will not interfere,, 364 

It is not necessary that a majority of all the taxable inhabitants should be obtained, in 
addition to the consent of the town superintendent (supervisor) in order to change 
the site, but only a majority of those present and voting at a meeting duly notified, 365 

A majority of voters at a scliool-district meeting may empower the trustees to purchase 
additional territory adjoining the school-house site, for the purpose of enlarging 
their grounds for school purposes. It is not a case of removal of site, 365 

In levying a tax for the purchase of a school-house site, the district is not limited as to 
the amount to be raised, 366 

The certificate of the town superintendent (supervisor) is not necessary, and the dis- 
trict may, by a majority vote, raise such an amount as shall be necessary for the 
purpose, 366 

When a district has been altered, the site of the school-house may be change by a vote 
of the majority of those present at the meeting 366 

Due notice of a meeting will be presumed, unless the contrary be shown, ,..,... 366 



Index. 707 

PAQB, 

A two-story school-house may be built upon land leased, with the agreement that the 
rent, or cont'ideration of the grant, shall be the use by the lessor of the upper story 
out of school hours, .. 3G7 

A school district has no authority by law, and this department will not permit the inhab- 
itants, to take a perpetual lease for the site of a school-house. The district should 
have the fee simple before building, .. 367 

Site of a school-house in union free school district established and changed by vote of 
inhabitants in same manner as in districts subject to general school law, 368 

Districts that have been altered in their boundaries since the establishment of a site 
and building of a house are not restricted in their power to change such site at any 
legal district meeting,... 369 

Where the consent of the supervisor to a change of site is obtained by misrepresenta- 
tion, the proceedings will be set aside, 369 

The department will not interfere with the action of a district in purchasing a site, 
except where the title to said site is clearly and conclusively shown to be defective, 370 

Where the district does not authorize a change of site, this department will not interfere 
to compel such change, even tliough justice requires it 370 

In locating two sites in a district, the whole district must act upon the question of each 
site, hot .simply the sections to be respectively favored, 370 

Where trustees purchase a site designated by the district, an appeal from their action 
will not lie ; it should be brought from the proceedings of the meeting in designating 
that site, 371 

Consent of supervisor to a change of site must be as prescribed by statute, 371 

Where two sites have been designated and purchased after a protracted controversy 
before this department, the question of the consent of the commissioner will not 
be considered upon a subsequent collateral issue, 371 

Power to designate cannot be delegated, 441 

Tax may' be raised before acquiring title, 441 

Consent of supervisor, when to be^given, 450 

Division fences 372 

Money must not be paid for site until clear title is obtained, 372 

Smith. E. P. 

Deputy Superintendent Public Instruction, 3 

Sole Trustee. 
His powers, 134 

SOUTHFIELD (AND CaSTLETON). 

Special school act, 512 

Special Meetings. 

To build school-house in place of one condemned, 22 

For change of site, 122 

How called by trustees, 135 

Spencer, J, C. 
Secretary of State and Superintendent Common Schools, 2 



State Certificates. 

How issued ... 15 

How annulled, ] . I6 

State School Moneys. 

What shall constitute 42 

Apportionment of, by State Stipenntendent, ■ ..'.'.'.'.... 43 

When payable, 48- 

Apportionment of, by school commissioners, .............. 54 

Disbursement of, by supervisors, . ., ... .... 68-71 

Trustees to draw ou supervisors for, , ..'.'..*.* 137, 145 

Library moneys, .*.'.'....' .' 45 

How apportioned by school commissioners, 56-61 

Errors, how corrected, 62 

How forfeited by districts !.!!.*..!.'!!..!..!!!.' 62 

Cannot be paid to unqualified teachers, .............. 133 

Orphan asylums to share in, 262 

State Normal Schools. 

See normal schools, ggg 

At Albany. Oswego, Brockport, Buffalo, Fredonia, Cortland, Potsdam and Geneseo 4 

Titles of acts incorporating, ' ' ' ' ^r^Q 



708 Index. 

State Supekintendent. 

PAGE. 

Election and general powers of, ^ , . i 

Shall prescribe rules for libraries, • 204 

Powers and duties in relation to appeals, 229 

Office in State Hall, ; 3 

Salary, 3 

Clerks in his office, 3 

His seal of office, 3 

Records and papers, how authenticated, 3 

Regent of the University, 4 

Trustee of Cornell university, 4 

Trustee of People's college, 4 

Supervision of normal schools, - 4 

Has visitation of institution for deaf and dumb, of the blind, and all similar institutions, 4 

Has charge of Indian schools 4 

Selects pupils for int^titution for deaf and dumb, 5 

Selects pupils for institution for blind, 5 

May extend term of pupils (notej, 5 

Visitors maj' be appointed 14 

Required to visit common schools, = . 15 

Annual report, what to contain, 15 

Annual report, when to be made, 15 

Teachers' certificates 15 

Certificates may be annulled, 16 

Certificates, lists of, to be kept bj', 1(5 

School officers may be removed by, . . 16 

Blanks, registers, etc., prepared by, IS 

Salaries of school commissioners, 20 

Salaries of school commissioners, when to be withheld, ; 21 

May order school commissioners to serve in adjoining districts, 21 

May remove school commissioners for acting as book agents, 21 

Countersigns drafts and checks for moneys raised by school tax, 41 

May borrow money to meet deficiencies in the school tax, 42 

Apportionment of State school moneys, 43 

Apportionment, to whom certified, 48 

His oversiuht of trust funds, 49 

Power to call district meeting, 97 

Consent to amend erroneons tax list, 196 

May examine into condition of libraries, 210 

When may select books for libraries, 211 

His duties in regard to teachers' institutes, 225 

Duties in regard to Indian schools... 23S 

School laws to be published under his charge, ^ 239 

Normal schools, suoervision of, 2T2, 291 

Digest of decisions," 293 

.Instructions to commissioners and supervisors as to State pupils in Cornell university, 679 

State Tax. 
For support of schools, 40, 240 

Stephentown. 
Special ?chool act, 654 

Stockholders of Banks. ' 

flow taxable, 258 

Supervisors. 

Powers and duties in relation to State school moneys, 68 

Must sue for all penalties, when the duty is not otherwise imposed, 69 

Duties in relation to property of dissolved school districts, 89, 90 

Cannot be trustees 125 

May accept resignation of district officers, 128 

May appoint trustees in certain cases, 127 

Condfimnation of school-houses, 22 

J)nties as to trust funds 49,262 

School moneys to be paid to 62 

Bond for safe keeping moneys, 62 

Refusal to <>ive bond a misdemeanor 64 

Trnstees of gospel and school lots, 64 

Report concerning gospel and school lots, 49 

Have charafc of certain poor moneys, 66 

Embezzlement by, ;i misdemeanor, 67 

Return to county treasurer, 68 



Index. 709 

PAGE. 

Penalty for falne return, 68 

When to act in formation and alteration of districts, f 69 

Disbursement of, and accountinjj for, Bcliool moneys 68-71 

Form of account and receipt, « Tl 

Pay for services in the alteration of districts 88 

To sell property of annulled districts and settje all of its affairs, 89, .90 

Power to call district mijeting, 97 

Consent I o change of site, 122 

When may fill vacancies in district offices, 127 

May accept resignation of district officers, 128 

To pay orders of trustees in favor of teachers, 137, 145 

To notify county treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction of moneys 

undrawn, 150 

Assessment of railroads, 178 

Equalization of taxes in districts composed of parts of two or more towns, 183 

Consent to renewal of warrant, 196 

■ Bonds to be given by, 62, 262 

SuPERvisoKS, Board op 

To provide support of deaf and dumb pupils 8 

To provide clothing for deaf and dumb pupils. . . ■. 10 

To provide clothing for blind, 13 

Salaries and expenses of school commissioners, 20 

Unpaid non-resident taxes to be paid by, 190 

Duties as to library and library moneys, 201, 204 

Selection of pupils in Cornell university, 679 

SUPERINTE>fDENT. 

\_These references are to the Digest.] 

Jurisdiction over school moneys, 446 

Jurisdiction on appeals, .' ' 452 

Syracuse, 
Special school act, 652 



Tax. 

For support of common schools, 49 049 

For fuel, appendages, repairs, libraries, deficiencies, contingencies, school-house and 

site, and to replace moneys lost or embezzled, 104 199 

Any legal sum may be raised by, .'.'.*.'. .*...*.*..'.'.' .' ". ' ' 147 

How assessed and made out, 166 

When tenants are liable for, -....'."''.'.'.'.".'.".'.'.'".'.'..".'.!!!!."!..'! 184 

What persons exempt from tax to build school-house, .'.".'.!!!."!!'!.!."!.. 186 

On non-resident lands, I86 

Payment of, may be made before levy, I93 

Collection of, .............[. 191 

For libraries, 104 117 

To build house in place of one condemned, '. '.*.'.'.".'."".'..'.'.."..'.'.'.'.'...... ' 2.3 

State school tax, how raised and paid out, 41 

Without vote of the district, 147 

Tax List. 

Trustees to make out. -jor -ioq 

When to be made out, •. . . i«r 

The form of, ".'.'. '.".''.'.".'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.,. Jo? 

How apportioned ^^i 

Equalization of, in districts composed of parts of two or more towns isq 

When tenants may charge owner of land, iq2 

When completed, : '..'.'.'.'.'..'.'. 1 l)o 

Erroneous, how corrected 

To buy site or build school-house, 



190 

i()4im 

To build out-houses, fences and appendages, 11R 

To buy mups, fflobes, blackboards, etc., Vn'j iir 

To buy books for libraries, lOi 117 

To make good deficiencies ."."!.'!!!.'"!."".'..'!!!."."'" 105 117 



710 Index. 

PAGE. 

To buy record books and blank books, 105, 117 

To replace moneys embezzled, 105, 118 

To make tjood general deficiency, 105, 118 

Exceeding $1,000, for school-house, 121 

By installments for school-house,... 121 

How apportioned for district taxation, 169 

Unpaid taxes on non-resident land, 187 

Collector's return of unpaid taxes. 188 

When trustees may sue for unpaid taxes, 195 

State tax for support of schools, 240 

City taxes for support of schools, 242 

School tax may be raised by towns, 681 

Taxable Inhabitants. 

Who are taxable inhabitants 175,179 

Persons working land under contract, 184 

Persons working laud by agents or servants, 185 

Taxable Pkopebtt. 
Valuation of, how ascertained, 178 

Tax List. 
{These references are to the Digest.] 

Any sum voted or legally a charge on the district may be included in, 441 

Making out tax list, a judicial act, 442, 449 

Time for making out tax list, • 443 

Cannnot alter after tax has been collected, . 443 

Shareholders of national banks, 451 

Taxes and Taxation. 
[These references are to the Digest.'] 

No notice of an assessment is required except where an original valuation is made ; 
nor is a notice that a tax list has been placed in the hands of a collector for collec- 
tion necessary 372 

When diiferent parcels of property, of different quality and value, lying in two districts, 
are so coupled together in the town assessment roll, in one aggregate valuation, 
that their separate value is not apparent, and cannot be fixed, without an exercise 
of judgment on the part of the trustees, a new valuation fehould be made, and 
notice given, 372 

Contiguous territory lying partly in two or more districts, occupied and cultivated as 
one farm, is taxable in the district in which the occupant resides, 372 

Where a tax payer voluntarily moves from one district to another he is liable to a tax 
for building a school-house in the latter district, even if within four years he has 
paid a tax for that purpose in the district from which he removes, . . 373 

A tax may be levied to finish the erection of a school-house commenced by subscrip- 
tion, provided the di^^trict own the site ; if not, the subscribers must first relin- 
quish their title to the district, 373 

When a school-house is so decayed as to be no longer adapted to its purposes, the 
district may raise money by tax to build a new one, by a majority vote, and without 
a special notice of the intent to propose such a tax, at an annual meeting, 373 

When the trustees make any change in the valuation of property differing from the 
valuation, as appears by the assessment roll, they should give 'twenty days' notice 
of the changes they have made to the inhabitants of the district affected" thereby, 373 

The assessment roll of a town, as revised by the assessors and delivered to the super- 
visors, is complete so far as to bind the trustees in making out a tax list, 374 

It is the duty of the trustees in laying a tax to assess the same against every person 
within the district who owns or is in possession of taxable property at the time 
of making out such tax list, 374 

Taxation of a person having the naked possession of land without color of title. A pre- 
vious case commented on and explained, 375 

Land worked under a contract, by which a lessee is to share in the produce thereof, is 
subject to taxation in the district where it is situated, 375 

Presumptively, the trustees of a school district have no right to go beyond the bound- 
aries of their district to tax ; and when they do, it lies upon them to establish the 
power to tax, and not upon the party taxed to disprove it, 376 

Trastees are to assess the road bed of a turnpike precisely as if that portion of it lying 
in their district belongs to an individual not owning the remainder; unless the net 
annual income of the company, over and above all expenses for repairs, etc., is less 
than five per cent upon the original cost, in which case the road is exempt from 
taxation,. 376 

When the assessment roll of a town is at the county seat, in the custody of the board 
of snpei'visors, and a. tax is voted in its absence, it is a sufficient excuse for not 
making out the tax list within thirty days after it is voted. The statute is merely 
directory, 377 



Index. 711 

PAGE. 

Where a person voted at a district meeting on the ground that he had fifty dollars in per- 
sonal property liable to taxation, it is the duty of the trustees to include him in their 
tax list, even though his name be not on the assessment roll of the town ; and, if 
they neglect to do so, the department will set aside their assessment and order them 
to include the person so left out, 37T 

It is the duty of trustees to as^ess all persons who voted on the ground of having fifty 
dollars' worth of property, unless before the tax list is made out such property is 
converted into real estate, in which case the latter is to be taxed if within the dis- 
trict, and the personal property is to be omitted, 3T7 

A mortgage given to secure the purchase-money of real estate is subject to taxation in 
the district where the mortgagee resides, 378 

A tax by installments cannot be raised for any other purpose tlian " for building, hiring 
or purchasing a school-house,'" and then the tax cannot be raised by installments, 
unless it exceeds $400. (Tax must now exceed $1,000— to be voted in installments), 378 

A tax voted for the purchase of a site cannot be raised by installments. A tax list 
for the whole amount must be made out within thirty days from the voting of the 
tax, 378 

Persons who are by their profession dedicated to the service of God and the cure of 
souls, and having a license to preach, or who have complied with the form and 
mode of ordination, are ministers of the gospel within the law, 379 

Non-practicing clergymen not entitled to the reduction of $1,500, made in favor of prac- 
ticing ministers of the gospel, 379 

The personal property of the deceased is taxable- in the district where the administrator 
resides, 379 

A lot owned l)y a church, on which there is no church building, is not exempt from tax- 
ation, 379 

Where territory is added to a district after tax has been voted to build new school- 
house, but before tax list for same has been made out and placed in hands of col- 
lector, it does not aff'ect the action of district in voting tax, and newly gained 
territory is liable to pay its part of tax, 379 

A special meeting may, however, be called at any time, and before the tax list has 
been completed by the delivery to the collector, the inhabitants may, by a majority 
vote, rescind the resolution authorizing a tax for a new school-house, 380 

Trustees act judicially in levying a tax, and this department will not set up its judgment 
in opposition to theirs, as to the correctness of the taxation, 380 

Distinction between inci'easing the valuation of real property and increasing the 
amount of personal property considered, 380 

Parcels of land bought of different parties, but all connected Math the original farm 
upon which the owner resides, are taxable as one farm in the district of his resi- 
dence 380 

Where trustees make an original assessment, they must give the legal notice of twenty 
days, and permit the party claiming a reduction to be heard at a time and place to 
be designated by the trustees, 381 

In making out a tax list, if the trustees follow the town roll, it will not be held invalid, 
^ although land belonging to the sou is assessed to the father, 382 

When the town assessors have assessed a minister of the gospel for his property, the 
trustees, in making out a tax list, must presume that the $1,500 exemption allowed 
by statute has been made, , 382 

When the board of education or trustees make an original assessment of personal prop- 
erty, and the person assessed does not appear to answer such questions as may be 
put to him in relation to his estate, but presents, by his attorney, an insufiiicient 
and unsatisfactory affidavit, a reduction of the assessment will be denied, 382 

Where town assessment roll is corrected by the assessors, or adopted by (hem without 
correction, it is henceforth the assessment roll of the town for all district taxes. 
Board of supervisors having equalized taxation, addition or subtraction of a percent- 
ai^e does not change nroportionate valuation between inhabitants of same town ; 
but, in joint districts, supervisors are to determine the relative proportion of taxes 
to De assessed upon real properry of parts lying in e.ich town, 384 

Where it is claimed that land lying in one district is taxable in another adjoining by vir- 
tue of its being part of a parcel, upon which me owner lives, in such adjoining dis- 
trict, that fact must be clearly proved 384 

The farm of a non-resident, occupied by a tenant, with an agreement on the part of the 
latter to pay the taxes, may be assessed to such tenant, or to the owner, in the dis- 
cretion of the trustees,. .. ". 385 

Trustees may modify or correct the tax list any time before delivery to the collector, 385 

When a person ceases to be an inhabitant of a district after a district tax is voted and 
before the expirat on of the time allowed trustees in which to make out their tax 
list, he should be omitt d from such tax list, 385 

A person set off" Irom one district to another, by an order that does not take effect until 
three months after its issue, will be liable on any taxes levied in the district from 
which he is set off, prior to the taking effect of such order, 386 

Assessment of a bond and mortL'age as personal property is good, but at the same time 
assessing the owner th< reof for the farm upon whi'h he holds the mortgage, and 
upon which he resides only temiiorarily, discountenanced 386 

A stockholder in a national banking association is liable to be taxed for personal prop- 
erty in the district where the bank is located, on the amount of stock owned by him 
in such bank, 387 



712 Index. 

PAGE. 

Where the iiihabitiints at a district meeting direct the trustees to do an act which thi'y 
are authorized by law to direct, as the removal of a school-house, the trustees may 

levy a tax to defray the expense, without a vote of the district, 388 

In case of vacancy two or even one trustee may do any otiicial act, 389 

The expense of investigating a title is a part of the expense of a site, and may be 

legally included in a "tax, 389 

A tax may be voted, levied and collected in a school district to purchase a site and 

school-house, but the money cannot be applied until a valid title is obtained 389 

When a tax list has been made out, but not dtlivered to the collector, it is no objection 
to the trustees calling another meeting of the inhabitants to reconsider the pro- 
ceedings of the meeting at which the tax was voted, if requested by a respectable 

number of the inhabitants, 389 

In making out a tax list, all the trustees must be consulted and act together, 389 

The trustees of a school district have no power to correct a tax list after a portion of 
the tax has been collected, without permission from the Department of Public 

Instruction, 390 

A tax list, made out by one of the trustees and signed by two of them, without notice 

to, or consultation with, the third trustee, will be set aside 390 

The form of a tax list is deemed important, 390 

The authority for levying a tax must not be indefinite. Taxes should be specifically 

voted, 391 

A vote to raise bj' tax a certain sum to build a school-house, the same to be paid at dis- 
cretion in labor or materials, is illegal and void, ...... 391 

A tax may be voted to pay expenses beyond estimates expended by trustees in building 

an authorized school-house, 391 

A district has no power to exempt any inhabitant from taxation in consideration of a 

gii't by him of a site, 391 

When a special meeting had voted a tax for building a new house, and had adjourned 
four weeks to consider proposals for building, and at the adjourned meeting voted 
to rescind the vote levying the tax, the vote to rescind was legal and valid, even 

though the tax list had been made out, and a part of the tax voluntarily paid, 391 

Objection to a tax list on the ground that property is omitted therefrom must be taken 

in time. 392 

Where a tax is voted to build a school-house, the trustees are not required, unless by a 
direct vote of the district, to deduct from that sum the proceeds of the sale of the 

old house ." 392 

Where trustees are authorized to build a school-house of certain dimensions, and they 
slightly vary from these dimensions by causing the ho^se to be built larger, paying 
for the excess out of their own funds, the district must pay such sum as the house 

would have cost if built of the specified size, 392 

Tax may be raised before acquiring title 441 

After tax is partly collected, meeting cannot rescind a vote for, 441 

Who are taxable 441 

What assessment roll is to be followed, 442 

Assessment must be after the vote , 442 

Liquidating amount, when no specific sum has been voted, 442 

Equalization in district partly in two or more towns 443 

Collector's fees 443 

Naming the person assessed, • • • • 443 

Power to assess tax is personal, 443 

Assessment of non-residents, 449 

School buildings exempt from taxation, 449 

When a tax may be said to be collected 450 

Banking corporations, 451 

Teachers. 

Who are qualified ■^^■^' Iqq 

ITuqnalified. cannot receive public money, l^g 

Shall keep list of attendance, 148 

Must be employed by trustee, J^ 

Must verify record J*^ 

May be required to assist in examination of library, -'i^ 

Certificates granted to, by Superintendent, 15 

Licenses granted to, by Superintendent, • • ^ 

Certificates mav be annulled, '2$ 

Certificates, by school commissioners' forms • g^ 

Examinations by school commissioners, '04 

Re-examination by school commissioners, •• ^ 

Attendance upon institutes, Ja 

Contracts with trustees, ]j^ 

Legal disabilities ]^^ 

Table of prohibited relationships, 1™ 

Wasres of. how paid ^^ 

To keep list of pupil* and their attendance, :[^ 

Form of afladavit verifying list, ^^^ 



Index. 713 

Teacuer. 
{These references arc to the Digest.} 

PAGB. 

Where a teacher is improperly dismissed, he is entitled to full wages for the period named 
in the contract, 393 

Trustees cannot dismiss a teacher on the ground that some of the inhabitants are dis- 
satisfied with him, while they themselves are not dissatislied, 393 

Where one trustee engages a teacher to teach in the place designated by a district meet- 
ing, and the other two engage a teacher to teach in a place selected by themselves, 
neither is a legal school, 394 

One trustee cannot legally engage a teacher for the district, neither can two trustees 
legally engage a teacher to teach in a place designated by themselves, when the dis- 
trict have seJected another place, 394 

Every contract made with teachers in our common schools necessarily includes the con- 
dition that the agreement cannot be binding for a longer period than teachers may 
hold certificates of qualification, and, on the'anuulling of their certificates, all claim 
for future services ceases 394 

A teacher employed under a contract to teach by the month, specified as twenty-six 
days, is entitled to dismiss school every Saturday afternoon, or each alternate Sat- 
urday, according to the custom of the country, and the trustees have no right to 
withhold any portion of the amount due him for so doing, 395 

A teacher can only be employed by the trustees. Therefore, a vote taken at a dis- 
trict meeting to dismiss a teacher and substitute another in her place is illegal and 
void 395 

Where one trustee employs a teacher without consulting with his associates, and his 
action is silently acquiesced in until the expiration of the term, their approval of 
the contract will be implied, and they should sign an order for the public money for 
feathers' wages when applied to,.. 396 

Where two trustees employ a teacher without consulting the third, the contract is bind- 
ing only upon the trustees making the bargain, unless the conduct of the third 
trustee is such that his acquiescence may fairly be inferred 390 

A consultation of two trustees, without the presence and advice of the third, can result 
in nothing which can be regarded as the action of the board, unless the third has 
been regularly notified and tails to be i)resent 397 

The vote of a district meeting to hire a certain teacher has no legal binding force upon 
the trustees, even though they may have agreed to abide such result, 397 

The consent of three trustees, separately given to hire a teacher, does not make a legal 
contract, 397 

Two of the trustees cannot hire a teacher without consultation with the third 398 

Where a teacher has, in good f^iith, fulfilled a contract to teach, entered into with one 
trustee, the others not dissenting, the contract will be enforced without regard to 
irregularities in its inception, ' 398 

Where one of the trustees is dele rated to make known to teachers the conditions of 
engagement to teach, he acts as agent for the whole board, and the board is bound 
by the ttu-ms of agreement as stated by him and accepted by the teachers 399 

Where two trustees, in the temporary absence of the third, hired a teacher, held, that 
the contract was not valid for a longer time than the majority of the trustees saw fit 
to continue the services of the teacher, 400 

A contract made with a teacher by two of ihe trustees, without consultation with the 
third, may be confirmed subsequently by taking the proper legal st p, ... 400 

Where an outgoing trustee, in answer to an application of a t-acher lor the winter school, 
says that if he had the power to contract he would hire him, it is not a coniract, even 
though the trustee had authority to hire, 400 

Under certain circumstances, the action of one of two trustees in hiring a teacher will be 
sustained 400 

Trustees have no right to employ teachers related to them within two degrees, except 
by consent of two-thirds of the legal voters of the district,. 401 

The approval of hiring certain relations for teachers must be had by a two-thirds vote 
at a district meeting, 401 

Trustees of union free schools may hire teachers related to them within two degrees,.. 401 

Uncles and cousins of any person are not related to him in the second degree, 401 

Trustees caniiot off'set against the wages of a teacher a note of his which they or either 
of them have purchased, 402 

If a teacher engages to teach by the month, the legal holidays will be allowed him. 
Three months from December 5, 18M4, extend to and include March 4, 1865, 402 

The word " month,"' in law, means a calendar month of thirty days 402 

Discharge of a teacher before the expiration of his term— when justifiable, 402 

Where a teacher leaves a school voluntarily before the close of the term for which she 
was engaged, even ai the request of the trustees, she can recover wages only for 
the time actually taught, 403 

Dismissal of a teacher before the expiration of his term of engagement, 404 

Where a teacher is engaged with the understanding that sht may be discharged at tlif> 
end of one month if her teaching is unsatisfactory, it will he impliecrtiiat ihe 
engagement is for the ordinary term, and, if no dissatisfaction is expressed at 
the end of the month, she cannot be discharged subsequently to that time 401 

90 



714 In^dex. 

PAGE. 

Where a teacher after teaching three days of his term found his school-house locked 
against him, and without applying to the trustee he left and made no demand for 
opportunity to continue his school until fifteen days afterward, held^ that he had 
abandoned the contract voluntarily, 405 

Difference of opinion between the teacher and the trustee concerning the proper 
discipline of the school does not justify the removal of the former before the 
expiraiion of his term, 405 

Where a teacher leaves his school before his term of engagement is concluded, because 
the trustees will not sustain him in the enforcement of reasonable rules, he is 
entitled to wages for the time taught, 405 

A teacher who closes his school upon other than legally authorized days for closing, 
without the consent of the trustees, abandons his contract and is liable to be 
superseded, 406 

A teacher who closes his school for any time other than the legal holidays or Saturdays 
allowed him, without the consent of the trustees, abandons his contract and forfeits 
the balance of his engagement, 406 

A candidate for a teacher's certificate should be examined as to learning, morals and 
ability to teach, '. 406 

When a candidate is refused a certificate on the alleged ground of " feelings of dissatis- 
faction on the part of some of the patrons of the school," a new examination will 
be ordered, 406 

The infliction upon a pupil of unnecessary and cruel punishment is good cause for 
annulling a teacher's certificate 407 

The department will annul the certificate of a teacher for cruel and unreasonable 
discipline in the government of a school, 407 

A teacher's certificate of qualification cannot be annulled without giving him notice 
and a reasonable opportunity, if he desire, to appear and be heard in defense, 408 

Refusal to annul teachers' certificate for inflicting proper punishment, 409 

Annulment of a teacher's license for incompetence known to the commissoner does not ' 
require legal notice, 409 

A teacher's license should be annulled for intemperance, 410 

A commissioner cannot withhold a certificate from a teacher with whose character, 
learning and abilities he is satisfied, on the ground that said teacher is employed in 
a district against the feelings or prejudices of the inhabitants, 410 

A commissioner is justified in withholding a certificate from a teacher where evidences 
of his good character do not affirmatively appear 410 

A teacher who goes into school without being duly qualified according to law violates 
his contract, and the same is not renewed by his obtaining a certificate subsequently, 
unless a new contract is made, 410 

Holders of State certificates are not exempted from examinations, by school commis- 
sioners or city superintendents, in the i)laces where they seek situations as teachers, 411 

Teachers' institute a training school for teachers. Prominent object, organization, gov- 
ernment, discipline and instruction of common district schools. Superintendent 
opposed to paying large sums of money to lecturers, 411 

The teacher is legally responsible for the safe keeping of the school register, and if it is 
lost or stolen through his carelessness he cannot receive any pay for his services. 
But if he can make oath that it was correctly kept, and not lost or stolen by any 
fault of his, the trustees may give him an order upon the supervisor for his wages, 411 

Town superintendents (supervisor?) can use no discretion in the matter of paying over 
public money on the order of the trustees, 412 

Examination of, and certificate, 446 

Annulling certificate, 446 

Dismissal of, by trustees 446 

Certificate does not exempt teacher from examination, 450 

Teachers' Institutes. 

Attendance by teachers, 44, 225 

Expenses of, how paid, 227 

Tenant, 

When liable for tax, 184 

When he may charge the owner 185 

Persons working lands on shares, how taxable, 184 

Persons working land as agents or servants, 185 

Terms of Office. 

Of State Sunerintendent, 1 

Of district oflicers 125 

Of school commissioners, 19 

Titles op School Acts. 
List of, 454 



Index. T15 

Town Clerk. 

PAGE. 

Dutiee of, 72 

Pay for services in altering districts, 88 

Towns. 
May raise school tax, 681 

Treasurer. 

County, shall pay to collector a sum equal to taxes returned as unpaid, 189 

Of union free school districts, to have custody of moneys, 222 

Treasurer (of State). 

How to transfer school moneys raised by tax, 41 

May borrow money to meet deficiencies in school tax, 42 

Truant Children. 
Act to provide for care of, 264 

Trustees. 

Who may not hold the office, 108, 125 

Di:?tricts to elect one or three 104,108,126 

Vacancies lu office of, how filled, 12T 

Vacate office, how, 127 

May fill vacancies in certain district offices, 127 

May admit non-resident pupils, 131 

Prohibited from employing unqualified teachers, 133 

General powers and duties of, 134 

To have custody of library, 202 

Liability for books lost or injured, 203 

To levy tax to build house in place of one condemned, 23 

Consent to alteration of district, 83 

Proceedin>:s where trustees dissent from alteration of school districts, 84-88 

Sale of site and conveyance by, 123 

Moneys from sale of site, how applied, 124 

Cannot be collector, clerk or librarian, 125 

Must be resident and qualified voter, 125 

Form a board and must act as such, 134 

Meetings of board, 134 

Powers in case of vacancies, 134 

To render 3'early account to district, 150 

To call special meetings, 135 

Notice of meetings in absence of clerk, 135 

To make out tax list and warrant, 136 

To purchase site and build school-house, 136, 138 

To insure school-house and library, 136 

To employ teachers 136 

To divide public money in two or more portions, 137 

To draw order on supervisor for teachers' wages, 137 

To collect residue by tax 137 

Care and custody of school-houses, 139, 148 

Repairs of school-houses, 146 

Hiring temporary school rooms, 146 

May provide certain things without vote of district, 146 

Trustees to furnish blank books, — '. 148 

Inventory to be kept by 149 

To pay unexpended moneys to successors, 150 

Penalties for refusal or neglect, 150 

When to sue predecessors in office, 151 

When to make annual report to school commissioner, 151 

Annual report, what to contain, 151, 152 

Directions for making annual reports 153. 156 

Directions for levying taxes by tax list and warrant, 166-178 

Valuatious of property, how ascertained 178-181 

Certificate on collector's return of unpaid taxes, 189 

Unpaid taxes to be paid to trustees by county treasurer, 189 

Collector's warrant may be renewed by, 195 

When to sue for unpaid taxes, 195 

Renewal of collector's warrant, 195 

Amendment of erroneous tax list, 196 

Pay teachers by drawing orders for money, 144, 197 



I 



VI 6 Index. 

PAGB. 

Suit against collectors for forfeitures, ... 193 

Report coiiceruing district libmry,.. '*. ... i.".'!.'.'.'.' .'.*.".',',.. .!.'! 210 

Wages of teachers attending institutes, ..'....".....'..'..'....'.'.'....'.. 226 

Costs and expenses in suits" and appeals, .' . . ,' ..'.". .*..'.•.'.*.'.'..'.'.' 1(J5, 236, 238 

Trustees. 
[T/iese references are to the Digest.'] 

An arbitration between the trustees of a school district and a person having a claim 
against it is proper and legal, and the award binding on the parties 412 

A school district cannot, by vote, authorize trustees to borrow money on its credit. If 
the trustees advance money to purchase a librar}^ they may repay themselves out of 
money voted by tax for that purpose, or received from the State, but they cannot 
charge interest. 412 

Trustees are not empowered to receive a note in payment of a tax imposed by them, 
. and canuot maintain an action to enforce paj'ment 412 

When costs have been incurred against dislrict officers in suits by or against them in 
the discharge of their otlicial duties, a majority of the voters of a district may allow 
the amount, and the trustees assess the same by tax, 413 

The inhabitants of a school district have no j)ower to direct the trustees to levy a tax 
to pay the expenses of an arbitration in settling difficulties in a district, 413 

Inhabitants have no right to re-elect, against Ms Vv'iil, a person whose resignation has 
been accepted 413 

The acts of trustees, de facto, holding office under color of an election,' subsequently 
declared void and set aside, are valid and binding upon their successors 413 

Trustees have no lien on moneys belonging to the district, for expenses incurred by 
them in its behaif 414 

If they have been directed by the district to act. they can indemnify themselves by levy- ' 
ing a tax without a vote of the district for tliat purpose 414 

Trustees of a school district have the sole power of making contracts relating to their 
districts, and of accepting the v/ork performed tinder them, 414 

When a trustee is absent from a district, so as to be unable to act with his associates, 
the town superintendent (supervisor), on the application of the other trustees, will 
appoint a successor, , 414 

Trustees cannot retnin moneys in their hands to compensate them for services which 
they may have rendered as trustees 415 

The drawing of an order for public money is a ministerial act. which does not neces- 
Barily require the presence of the entire board of trustees, . .' 415 

It ie the duty of the trustees to employ a competent teacher, and have a school in their 
district at least six months (2<S weeks) in a year, 416 

Trustees should not be teachers, 416 

The trustees should call district meetings when requested to do so by a respectable 
number of inhabitants for a legitimate object, 416 

The official acts of two trustees, performed without notifying or consulting the other, 
are illegal and void 416 

When a trustee is unable to discharge his duty as such trustee, by reason of imprison- 
ment, the town superintendent (supervisor) may appoint his successor after the 
expiration of thirty days from the time of such imprisonment, 417 

Trustees have the power to call special district meetings whenever they shall deem it 
necessary and proper, even though a meeting for the same pui-pose stands adjourned 
for a period more or less remote, 417 

A district meeting may prescribe the terms of a contract for building a school-house,. . . 418 

The trustees of a district are the only legal authority by which the vote of a district can 
be carried into executi(m, 418 

Where a building committee, in concert with the trustees, are invested with discre- 
tionary power, by resolution of a district, and have entered upon the execution of 
their trust, by making contracts for materials, etc., the district cannot control or 
interfere with their plans, 419 

The election of a trustee at an adjourned meeting valid, — 419 

If a trustee renders his annual account to an adjourned annual meeting, he will not be 
removed because it is unsatisfactory, 419 

The Superintendent has ))ower to remove a trustee from office, for corruption or inten- 
tional neglect of official duties, or for willful disobedience of the orders of the 
department 420 

The State Superintendent will, on proper application, remove a trustee for unwarrant- 
able nei^lect of official duty ..420 

When a town superintendent (supervisor) connives with a trustee to procure his resig- 
nation, and conceals it from the district, so that the inhabitants cannot elect a 
successor within thirty da^s after the resignation, and the town superintendent 
then makes the appointment, the department will set the appointment aside and 
order a new election, — 421 

A trustee will be removed from office where it appears that he persistently refuses to 
assist his associates in making out a tax list ordered by a district meeting, 422 

What will justify the removal of trustees, ...422 

A. trustee will not be removed for refusing to concur with his associates in their policy 
in the management of district affairs, nor for supporting a private school, 422 



Index. 7 1 7 

PAGE. 

Petition for the removal of a trustee for not agreeinc: with his associates, and for using 

rude and uncourteous language toward them, denied, 4-23 

Petition for the removal of a trustee for not au'reeinij with his associates, and for not 

being a suitable person for the otiicc, denied, " 42S 

A trustee will not be removed because he differs from his associates in opinion 423 

Where the trustees contracted with a man to build a school-house, and afterward con- 
tracted with another, who built the house : hdd^ that the remedy of the first con- 
tractor is at law, and not on an appeal to this department 423 

Trustees will not be required to let the building of a school-house to the lowest bidder, 

unless so instructed by a vote of tlie inhabitants .. 424 

Trustees may employ a person to do the merely clerical work of computing and writing 
out the tax list, they making the comparisons with the asses-meut roll, and fixing 

valuations of property not on the roll, ... 424 

Where the action of trustees is appealed from on the grounds of illegality, the illegality 
must be proved as alleged. Until it is, the action of the trustees will be presumed 

to have been legal, ' 424 

A trustee cannot be permitted to avail himself of hi? official position to adjust the 

amount of compensation for fuel furnished by him to the district, 424 

A general vote of a meeting in favor of a peaceful adjustment of protracted controver- 
sies and lawsuits does not confer upon the trustees power to levy a tax for the pur- 
pose of paying any and all claims that may have arisen in consequence of such 

controveisies, 425 

An agreement in writing between a trustee and a contractor to build a school-house 

must have an internal revenue stamp affixed in order to be valid, 425 

A person elected as a librarian of a school district cannot be displaced except by a 
direct procedure oa the part of some competent legal authority, nn information in 
the nature of quo lOCUTanto, or on appeal from the election, even though the incum- 
bent be an infant 425 

Not liable for clerks fraud 440 

Neglect to serve, . . 445 

Neglect to account, 445 

Power to remove encroachment, 445 

Power to contract, 445 

Liability to teacher, 445 

Costs against, 446 

Officialcharacter, how established, 447 

Implied power to sue 448 

Implied liability to be sued, 449 

Taxable for property held in trust 449 

Powers of trustees as to vacancies, 450 

Powers of trustees as to teachers, 450 

Trusts for Benefit of Common Schools. 

By whom and to whom may be made, 48 

Troy. 
Special school act, C56 

u. 

Union School Districts. 
[These references are to the Digest J] 
Tmstees have no right to refuse to call a special meeting for the purpose of considering 

the question of organizing a union free school, wheifrequested by fifteen legal votei-s 

of the district to call such meeting, 426 

The notice of a meeting to organize a union free school need not recite the names of 

the petitioners 426 

If the notice contain irrelevant matter, it will be regarded as surplusage,. 426 

The notice of a meeting to form a union free school district must state the qualifi ations 

of voters, as required by law, 427 

The trustees of a union free school district must be elected by ballot 427 

A meeting, though duly called, cannot acquire jurisdiction of the question of forming a 

uuifm free school, "when less than one-third of the legal voters of the district are 

present, 428 

When; less than one-third of the voters of the district is present at a special meeting, 

the meeting cannot take action in the matter of organizing a union free >'chool, . . . 428 
In a meeting called to organize a union free school district, it requires an affirmative 

vote "f two-thirds of th6se present and voting in order to establish such ilistrict, . . 428 
The tru^tejs of a uni-.m free school district are the legal successors of the trustees of 

the several districts consolidated, and. of course, are entitled to receive the several 

moneys apportioned on account of those districts 429 

A " union free school district" is not entitled to elect a district clerk in a.i lition to the 

boj^rd of education, 409 



IIB Index. 

PAGE. 

A nnion free school district which has once determined npon the number of trustees 
constitutiug the board of education has no power to increase or diminish the num- 
ber, ; ' 429 

In union free school districts, the clerk of the board is the district clerk, and as such is 
the proper person to give notice of special meetings of the voters, 429 

The board of education of a union free school must make to the school commissioner 
the same kind of a report as is required of trustees, 429 

Board of education of union free school districts can at any time appoint a new treasu- 
rer or collector, 429 

Treasurer and collector of union free school district cannot be a member of board of 
education, 429 

Union free school district? not limited in the amount they can raise for the building of 
school-houses, nor need they obtain consent of supervisor where more than $1,000 
is to be raised for that purpose 430 

Board of educaticm of union free school districts has no power to levy a tax for pay- 
ment of teacher's wages, without vote of district authorizing it, except an estimate 
of needful amount for this purpose has been presented by the board at some annual 
or special meeting, and inhabitants neoflected or refused to vote said tax 430 

Boards of education of union free school districts have no power to fix a different time 
for annual meetings than what the law has appointed. Meetings held on other 
days illegal, 430 

A tivci voce vote to raise a tax for building in a union free school district is legal and 
binding upon inhabitants. Union free school districts may raise any necessary sum 
for building without consent of supervisors. New building must be erected upon 
site now owned and occupied by district, unless inhabitants direct otherwise. 
Board must not sell or tear down old house without consent of inhabitants, nor 
must they fence school lot, or supply house with school furniture, without direc- 
tions from inhabitants, " .430 

A pupil may be expelled from the school by order of the board of education for immoral 
conduct or persistent disobedience, 431 

The board has the right to prescribe the course of study and the text books, 4.31 

The board has the further right to require regular and prompt attendance on the part 
of the pupils, 431 

Free school district? cannot return to the old sj^tem , 431 

Board of education of a union free school district cannot appoint as treasurer or 
collector a person who is not a taxable inhabitant of the district; but if the one 
appointed collector possesses personal property valued at fifty dollars, exclusive 
of such as is by law exempt from levy and sale on execution, he is a taxable 
inhabitant 4.31 

The trustees of a union free school district elected at the first meeting enter upon their 
office forthwith, and hold office until one, two or three years from the second 
Tuesday of October coincident with or following their election, 431 

Union Free School Districts. 

Formation of. = . . 211 

Election of trustees, 214 

Treasurer and collector of. 216 

Corporate authorities to levy tax for, 217 

Powers of meetings in, 218, 219 

No rate bills in 219 

Board of education, powers of, 219 

Manner of levying taxes in. 221 

Treasurers to have custody of moneys, 222 

Payment and disbursement of moneys in, 222 

Academical department 223 

Reports from 223 

Removal of officers of, 224 

Contingent expenses, how decided, 221 

University, Regents of 
Title of acts incorporating, 487 

U. S. Deposit Fund. 

How apportioned, 43 

Revenue of. how first appropriated 464 

Education of common school teachers, 464 

Utica. 
Special school act, 660 



Vacancy. 
[ These references are to the Digest.] 
A person elected at the same time clerk and trustee, and accepting the office of trustee, 
vacates the clerkship, and a new clerk must be elected or appointed in his place,. . . 432 



Index. 119 

PAGE. 

A trastee cannot be librarian 432 

District officers cease to be such when set off from an old district to a new one, 432 

Where a town superintendent (supervisor) decides that a vacancj' exists in the office of 
trustee, he should wait one month after announcinj"; his decision before assuming to 

fill the vacancy 432 

A member of aboard of education elected to and accepting the office of supervisor 
vacates his office as member of such board. The remaining members of the board 

have power to fill the vacancy until the next annual meeting, 432 

A legal appointment by the supervisor, of a trustee to fill a'vacancy, cannot be set 

aside by the department, nor be superseded by an election ..433 

Appointment of trustee by supervisor to fill vacancy is not for the balance of unexpired 

term, but only till next annual meeting, 433 

An incapacity existing at the time of the election of trustees, which the voters have 
disregarded, must be judicially declared by this department, before a vacancy is 

created that will authorize a new election, 433 

Election to fill 445 

Powers of trustees to fill, 450 

Vacancies, how filled 

In district offices 127,134 

In office of school commissioner, 20 

Office of State Superintendent, 1 

Van Buren. 
Special school act, 558 

Vagrant Children. 
Act to provide for, 264 

Valuation of Property. 

How ascertained, 178 

Reduction in, 180 

Van Dyck, H. H. 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2 

Visitors. 
Of common schools, 14 

Voters. 

Qualifications of, ." 98 

Challenge of, 103 

Illegal voting, penalty for,...' 103 

Voters. 
[These references are to the Digest.'] 

In an appeal to set aside the proceedings of a meeting on account of illegal voting, it 
it is not enough to allei^e that a man was not a legal voter. The specific grounds 
of disqualification should be set forth, ^ 433 

An election will not be set aside because of illegal votes when they do not affect the 
result 433 

Proceedings carried by illegal votes will be set aside on appeal, 4.34 

An alien who is a legal voter may hold office in a school district, 434 

In electing trustees, the form of the ballot is not material, if it unmistakably express 
the voter's preference, 434 

Qualifications necessary to entitle aliens to vote at district meetings, 434 

A chairman of a school district meeting is entitled to a vote upon all questions involv- 
ing the levying of a tax. 435 

Who are legal voters at district meetings, and what vote is necessary to raise tax by 
installments, 435 

An alien, though he has taken the incipient measures to be naturalized, is not qualified 
to vote at a school district meeting in the district where he resides, unless an 
affidavit of that fact be filed and recorded in the office of tlie Secretary of State, . . . 436 

The right to vote at a school disf^^rict meeting does not depend upon the fact that, the 
person oft'ering to vote has been actually taxed, but rather upon his liability to taxa- 
tion 437 

A morion to reconsider a vote of a district meetim^ maybe made by a person voting 
with the minority, unless the meeting have a different rule, 43T 

Right of iniiabitant to vote at school district meeting depends not on his being taxed, 
but on his liability to be taxed '. 437 

The fact that a man hires a house by the month or by the week, and pays the rent by his 
labor, and not in cash, does not change or take away his right to vote at school 
meetings. The rent of the house forms a part of the consideration paid for his 
labor, 438 

Chairman of board of education may vote, 438 

A husband cannot vote at district meeting because his wife owns real estate. He must 
have personal property of his own above the value of $50, and possess all other 
necessary legal qualifications, 438 



\ 



i 



V20 Index 

PAGE, 

A negro of ftill age residing in a district, and owning or tiiring real estate therein, is 
entitled to vote at scliool district meetings, even though he has not real estate 

assessed at $250, '. .' 439 

Deserters are not by Inw disqualified to vote at district meetings, 439 

Qualifications of certain ofiice holders, 439 

Moderator of a school meeting may voite, 439 

Duty of moderator, when vote is challenged, to find if person offering it is a legal voter, 439 
The law does nut declare the quantity of real estate necessary to entitle a man to vote 

at district meetings, 439 

When the trustees have neglected to raise a tax voted a new vote may he taken, 441 

w. 

Wakeant. 

For collection of tax, form of, 169 

May be executed where, 191 

Maybe renewed once by trustees, 195 

Tinie for execution of, 138 

How signed, 191 

Renewed warrant is a new warrant, 195 

Second renewal by consent of supervisor, ; 196 

Power to sell expires with the day limited for its return, 198 

Warrant. 
[ These references are to the Digest.] 

How to be executed, 444, 450 

Signature to warrant, 444 

Renewal of, 444, 450, 451 

Liability of collector, , 444 

When protected by warrant, 447 

Exempt property, '. 448 

Tardy 'execution, 448 

Seal atnxed to warrant, 450 

How far a protection, 451 

Waterford. 
Special school act 665 

Waterloo. 
Special school act, 665 

Watertown. 
Special school act, 666 

Watkins. 
Special school act, 670 

Weedsport. 
Special school act, 674 

West Farms. 
Special school act, 675 



Y. 

Yates. J. V. N. 

pagb. 

Secretary of State and Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 

Year. 

School year, 44 

Official year, 126 

YONKERS. 

Special school act. district No 2, 676 

Special school act, district No. 6, 677 

Young, Samuel 
Secretary of State and Superintendent of Common Schools, 2 













o> 






^^ 



, V 1 8 . 



.^^ ^^.- ■^; 






^^ v^ 






A 






^j» 



^^ ^^.. 



"oo^ 









^ V 



/;.^>? 



